Sausage vendor's ad causes controversy

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SIMRISHAMN, Sweden, July 10 (UPI) -- A Swedish hot dog vender has caused outrage with an advertisement featuring a woman's lips wrapped around a "thick sausage."

The kiosk, located at a city-run sports hall in Simrishamn, bears a sign advertising "thick sausage with bread" underneath an image of a woman gripping a sausage with both hands and wrapping her lips around it, the Swedish news agency TT reported Tuesday.

"This is a sexualized picture. A prime example of an poorly-thought through act and a traditional gender approach with the aim of drawing in customers," gender studies expert Britten Dehlin told the Swedish-language Ystads Allehanda newspaper.

Dehlin said the hot dog stand previously bore an advertisement depicting a naked woman wrapped around a sausage. She said the kiosk's advertisements give the wrong impression about gender equality in the city.

"We want people to come here, we want Simrishamn to have a good reputation and take the lead with our gender equality work. This is not just behind the times, but it's working against equality," she said.

Jorgen Andersson, owner of the kiosk, said he does not see anything wrong with the image.

"I think the picture's fun! The youngsters don't get it -- they only see the sausage," he said.

Andersson said the image was previously used by Swedish food retailer Scan.

A member of the local council, which leases the space to the kiosk, said he has not seen the advertisement but plans to have it removed.