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Mallorca’s souvenir scene could be in for a big clean-up as a political push to ditch the island’s more, shall we say, anatomically enthusiastic trinkets is causing quite the stir.

 

Apparently the days of plastic willy keyrings and boob-shaped bottle openers might be numbered.

 

Unidas Podemos, the island’s left-wing party, has decided the whole thing is less harmless fun and more hopelessly tacky. They spotted the issue in Alcudia, where shelves are groaning under the weight of novelty body parts, while the town prepares events for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. According to them, the contrast is not a great look.

 

Party spokesperson María Ramos basically said it sends the wrong message to locals, tourists and the world in general.

 

In her view, inflatable penises and the like contribute “to perpetuating sexism and, therefore, gender violence.”

 

A fair point, although you have to imagine there is at least one stag do somewhere disagreeing rather loudly.

 

The attempt to ban these saucy souvenirs did not land as hoped. The PP, Vox and UxA coalition voted it down, a move which Unidas Podemos feels means that Mallorca’s political parties are perfectly happy for shops to keep selling rude fridge magnets as long as they turn a profit.

 

Benidorm, of course, is already miles ahead in the war on novelty naughtiness. The resort has introduced fines big enough to make even the cheekiest shopkeeper blush. Anything involving explicit body parts has been banished and even those T-shirts with dodgy slogans that always seem to be bought by the loudest bloke in the group are now off limits.

 

And in Malaga, the crack down on noisy stag and hen dos has resulted in an all-out ban on penis-shaped inflatables.

 

Shops that ignore the rules get slapped with fines of between €1,000 and €3,000, but you’ll find plenty still ignoring it.

 

Local police have been running raids to clear the shelves and insist children should not have to walk past jugs with, ahem, dangling testicles attached to the spout. The police union has said the public display of private bits is not exactly what a family holiday is supposed to include.

 

What will come of this furore is still unclear and it remains to be seen if the plastic penises will survive another summer in Mallorca.

 

Image: Rudolph.A.furtado / Wikimedia Commons