Bear penis to remain on Bernese coat of arms
The bear on the coat of arms of canton Bern will continue to display its red penis, the cantonal government has ruled. The direction in which the animal faces will also remain the same.
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Bear penis to remain on Bernese coat of arms
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The cantonal government was responding to a written question from Liberal Green parliamentarian Thomas Brönnimann, who wondered whether it would not be more appropriate to depict the bear without its masculine attributes, so that the population as a whole would feel better represented. As a symbol of progress, the bear could also be moved from bottom to top and from left to right in future, he said.
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The executive rejected both proposals. The bear has a tradition that goes back at least 600 years and has been represented in this way since the 15th century, it said. What’s more, the bear has almost always run from right to left on seals and early coins.
The bear has always been depicted on official documents with a red phallus. In view of this tradition, the cantonal government believed that it was reasonable to continue to depict the bear in this way. Nor did it wish to conduct an online survey on the bear’s future appearance. In its view, such a survey would not be representative and would have little informative value.
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Adapted from French by AI/ts
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