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LOVE

Five reasons to date a Swede (and five reasons not to)

Can't decide whether to date a Swede or a fellow foreigner this Valentine's Day? The Local guides you to the pros and cons of hooking up with a Nordic viking.

Published: 12 February 2016 11:17 CET
Updated: 13 February 2018 13:10 CET
Five reasons to date a Swede (and five reasons not to)
Can you find Swede love? Photo: Jessica Gow/TT

Five reasons to date a Swede

1) They're beautiful

We know appearance isn't everything, but let's face it, Swedes are the best looking people on earth. Swedish people constantly top the lists of the most attractive people in the world, and why would that not be at least a good starting reason to snag one for yourself? 

2) Gender equality

Gender equality is something the Swedes take seriously. Not only does it extend to nation-wide policies like incredibly generous parental leave, but Swedish men won't be averse to helping out with the cooking and Swedish women don't expect their Valentine's date to pick up the dinner check. The expression may be 'go Dutch', but it should be 'go Swedish'.


Sweden does gender equality on steroids. Photo: Hasse Holmberg/TT

3) Sweden is a brilliant country

Why wouldn't you want to end up in Sweden if the dating turns into a proper relationship, which it often does? It is stunningly beautiful (the nature as well as the people, see above), people are happy, and quality of life is great, with one ranking declaring it the best place in the world for immigrants. 


When in doubt, go for a Swede. Photo: Tove Freij/imagebank.sweden.se

4) They speak great English

The language of love is universal, but this is nevertheless a wonderful reason to date a Swede. If you're going to shoot for another nationality besides your own, the odds are ever in your favour of being understood if you pick a Swede (just watch out for these). Plus, you don't have to bother learning to say “my place or yours?” in another language.*


Swedes are very international. Photo: Alice Lessner/imagebank.sweden.se

*Ska vi gå hem till mig eller dig?

5. … the sex

Swedes are super liberal. The stereotype has to be based on something, right? Swedes are quite comfortable and open about one-night stands, and practice makes perfect, as they say. But be careful: the Swedes don't really date and if you stick around for breakfast in the morning (or fika in the afternoon) it means you are pretty much an item. Get ready to meet your svärföräldrar (in-laws) at their sommarstuga (summer house) next Midsummer's Eve.


Just one of the reasons Swedes are awesome. Photo: Karin Malmhav/SvD/SCANPIX

Five reasons not to date a Swede

1. You can forget the chatting

Swedes are not the most talkative people in the world. They often speak in syllables – or even sounds. This places a lot more responsibility on you as the foreigner to make the first move. It is not worth waiting for a Swede to ask you out – they won't. But if you take the first step and invite them to, say, a fika, they are almost programmed to accept. No Swede ever could say no to coffee, cake or a Valentine's date.


How do Swedes manage to hook up with each other? Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

2. They're sticklers for rules

If you want a bit of spontaneity in your relationship, you have picked the wrong nationality. Sweden is a country where the buses are on time and your Swedish date expects you to be, too. Don't even think about whisking them away for a surprise mini break – some of them might enjoy the thrill, but you run the risk of ending up with a nervous wreck on your hands. Swedes like to plan, they like to schedule, they like to know what's going on.


If you haven't made a date for Valentine's, it may be too late. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

3. They are difficult to impress

In Sweden, individual success is inappropriate. Don't brag, they don't want to know. Just got a promotion and raise? Nobody cares. Bought an expensive car? Your Swedish date will prefer to take the bus or metro (at least in the city traffic hell that is Stockholm). Subtly impress them instead with understatements, gender equality and by arriving on time.


Proud of your new car? Your Swedish date won't care. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT

4. They'll make you eat weird stuff

Swedes love being noticed by foreigners. They will rush to make you try all the country's national and regional delicacies (we use the word 'delicacies' in a liberal sense here). While we agree there are few things better than cinnamon rolls, Swedes also eat some pretty strange stuff, ranging from fermented fish, to pickled herring, to extremely salted liquorice. Want to date a Swede? Make sure you can stomach it. Literally.

5. Sweden's a great place for singles

Love is great, but it can be a hassle. Fed up with trying to decipher the reserved Swedes? Just stay solo. It's the best country for being single, with several laws designed to make it easier for people to enjoy life without a partner. According to this study, one in four Swedes live alone, the highest number in Europe. So in this single paradise (or is it?), nobody will judge you for enjoying Valentine's Day on your own or with a group of friends.


Sweden is just as enjoyable on your own. Photo: Per Pixel Petersson/imagebank.sweden.se

HEALTH

IN PICTURES: 7 of the French government’s sexiest public health adverts

An advertising campaign aimed at convincing young people to get the Covid vaccine has attracted international attention, but it’s not the first time that French authorities have sexed up their public health messaging.

Published: 8 July 2021 17:22 CEST
Updated: 11 July 2021 12:16 CEST
IN PICTURES: 7 of the French government's sexiest public health adverts
Image: AIDES.

It’s an international cliché that France is the land of l’amour – or at least the land of le sexe – and that reputation does seem to be justified, given how often French public health bodies have turned to sex in an attempt to get their message across.

From the suggestive to the downright scandalous, here are seven examples of health campaigns which relied on that oh so French fondness for romance.

Get vaccinated, get laid

The Covid campaign in question was created by regional health authorities in the southern Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region.

The poster which has got people hot under the collar features two very attractive and very French-looking people kissing, seemingly in the back of a cab after a night on the town. “Yes, the vaccine can have desirable effects,” it says.

The campaign has proved so popular that it will soon be expanded.

Promoting road safety

Earlier this year, the French Road Safety Delegation released a video ahead of Valentine’s Day, which showed a couple sharing an intimate moment in the bedroom.

The full 30-second video featured the slogan, “Life is better than one last drink for the road”.

Another image of two people kissing, seemingly without clothes, included the line, “Life, love. On the road, don’t forget what truly matters.”

Fight against HIV/AIDS

While the link between road safety and sex isn’t immediately obvious, less surprising are the references to intimacy in the health ministry’s HIV awareness campaign from 2016.

Each of the different posters shows two men embracing. Straplines include, “With a lover, with a friend, with a stranger. Situations vary, and so do the protective measures.”

The posters shocked conservative sensibilities, and several right-wing mayors asked for them to be taken down in their towns. 

HIV awareness campaign

Just a few days after the controversy over the ministry’s posters ignited, the non-profit AIDES launched its own campaign, and it didn’t hold back.

The posters showed scuba instructors, piano teachers and parachutists, all of them naked alongside their students. The slogan: “People undergoing treatment for HIV have a lot of things to pass onto us. But the AIDS virus isn’t one.”

“Even if we’ve been spreading this information since 2008, we realise that a lot of people don’t know that antiviral treatments prevent spreading,” head of AIDES Aurélien Beaucamp told France Info.

“People are still afraid of those who are HIV-positive.” 

Government-mandated pornography

It’s common for sexualised advertising campaigns to be labelled pornographic by critics, but in 1998, the French government went a step further and created actual pornography.

READ ALSO Language of love – 15 of the best romantic French phrases

The health ministry commissioned TV station Canal Plus to create five short erotic films to encourage the use of condoms and prevent the spread of HIV. The campaign featured up-and-coming directors such as Cedric Klapisch and Gaspar Noé.

“The only possible way to look at, to get people to protect themselves, is to show, show everything, show simply and without creating an obsession of the sexual act and the act of wearing a condom,” Klapisch said, according to an Associated Press story published at the time. 

You didn’t really think we’d include images of this one, did you? (OK, here’s a link for those who are curious).

A controversial anti-smoking campaign

https://twitter.com/MarketainmentSE/status/212863393143586817

It’s time to forget what we said about romance, because there is nothing romantic about this 2010 campaign from the Droits des Non-Fumeurs (Non-smokers’ rights) association and the BDDP & Fils communications agency.

The campaign featured several images of young people with a cigarette in their mouths, looking up at an adult man who rested his hand on their heads. The cigarette appeared to be coming out of the man’s trousers.

The slogan said, “Smoking means being a slave to tobacco”. The association said the sexual imagery was meant to get the attention of young people who were desensitised to traditional anti-smoking messages, but the posters caused outrage, with members of the government publicly criticising the choice of imagery.

Celebrating LGBTQ+ love

On the other end of the spectrum is this very romantic video from the national health agency Santé Publique France. It was released on May 17th 2021, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, and was part of a campaign against anti-LGBT discrimination and violence. It is set to Jean-Claude Pascal’s Nous les amoureux

Showing a diverse range of couples kissing, holding hands, and healing each other’s wounds, the video ends on the word play: “In the face of intolerance, it’s up to us to make the difference.”

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