When I was growing up Sweden meant three things: I Am Curious (Yellow), an erotic movie we could read about but not see, Bjorn Borg, and ABBA.

But now it means this:

That’s the cover of the latest Swedish edition of womens’ fashion magazine, Elle.

Cool isn’t it? As always, that’s the intention. To make things cool that you otherwise might not think are.

Elle is inviting a nation of famously liberated women to make a choice for the new chic look, and given the rapid changes happening there, it’s probably wise to make that choice well ahead of the demographic shifts.

Those changes will see the ethnic Swedes become a minority in thirty years time – even if there was some huge turnaround in their birth rates, and there’s no sign of that happening. It’s not just the likes of Elle who are getting, and delivering the message. Scandanavian Airlines is right in there too.

“What is truly Scandanvian? Absolutely nothing!

The advert makes a big deal about how everything Sweden, Norway and Denmark has got now has come from abroad; democracy (Greece), parental leave (Switzerland), windmills (Persia), bicycles (Germany), and so forth. Down twinkles for the bit about female sufferage and the USA; it’s New Zealand the advert should be thanking.

The message is that those three countries should simply shrug their shoulders about including more new things from abroad, as the USA has done so successfully over the last two centuries. Still, the US actually had – and still has – an overall culture that’s unique even with all those inputs. It assimilates, especially after a generation or two.

I always thought the Scandanavian nations did too but I guess there’s nothing to assimilate into any more – or at least that’s the message, which is that it all just all sort of …. happens. And for mysterious reasons that apparently have nothing to do with anything native to Sweden, Denmark or Norway.

Now despite their rather homogenous history compared to the USA and other multi-ethnic Western nations I don’t believe that. But clearly the Scandanavian Airlines PR gurus do, otherwise they would have surely talked about it; about how and why all those foreign things did get successfully incorporated into the local cultures.

And of course knowing how and why such assimiliation happens is going to be important in the future, as a Swedish radio station recently discussed::

In the Swedish municipality of Ronneby, the majority of children in six of nine preschools do not speak Swedish as a first language, with one school seeing most children speaking Arabic.

Around 60 to 89 per cent of the children attending the six preschools speak another language as their mother tongue with the Skogsgläntans preschool seeing the majority of children speaking Arabic, fueling fears of segregation in the municipality.

Luckily the Swedish government is ahead of the curve and are getting teachers trained up in Arab languages to cope with the growing tide of Arab-speaking kiddies. I don’t see any mention of training up in whatever the secret incredient of Swedish culture is regarding absorbing immigrants. It surely has to be about more than just teaching the kids Swedish?

Regarding Ms Asry – whose other fashion choices you can follow on her Instagram account – much as LBN’s can be a sexy look I just don’t think it’ll be the same when watching some 21st century version of ABBA dressed like her,

I see that her account is sub-titled “Fashion With Faith“, which is also interesting given how proud the Swedes are about moving away from relgious faith and embracing secularism, especially when it interferes with that famous fun-loving Swedish lifestyle.

I mean the following would never fly in Sweden:

And actually the following women probably would not either, though she’s my idea of what a beautiful Muslim woman is (well – ex-Muslim, now Atheist): Ayaan Hirsi Ali.