Scandinavian Socialism, Sex and the Canadian Psyche
John Weissenberger and George Koch discuss Scandinavian "northern socialism" and its relationship to the Canadian intellectual elite and sex.
Scandinavia had a marked influence on the socio-economic and political thinking of our elites, which ultimately trickled down to society at large. Scandinavian sexual mores have had perhaps the most pervasive legacy, even with the average Canadian. There is the concept of the "Swedish babe" -- tattooed somewhere on the hoser psyche -- the perennial fight over which ABBA babe was hotter and the hoary jokes about busloads of stranded Swedish stewardesses.
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It was only with the arrival of Ikea that Canadians realized that all this Swedish sex actually occurred in short, narrow beds, covered by garish, odd-sized sheets. This seemed to confirm the seriousness of Scandinavian Eros, as these beds were obviously not designed for sleeping. So now the Swedes were telling us how to live as well as how to love.
