It may have won over the hearts of music lovers across the globe, but it’s the lyrics to Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ that have seen it land a new found foe in the UK’s Edinburgh University.
Why?
Find out below!
Thanks to lyrics many say downplay the importance of clear consent when it comes to sexual relationships, the song has now been banned at the University by its very own students, citing their ‘End Rape Culture and Lad Banter on Campus’ policy as grounds for their decision.
Introduced in March of this year, the policy was introduced to combat the “dangerous victim-blaming views about women who experience rape and sexual violence”, which they say the #1 single intentionally endorses, with the lyrics…
I know you want it
I know you want it
I know you want it
You’re a good girl
Can’t let it get past me
You’re far from plastic
Talk about getting blasted
I hate these blurred lines
Now barred from being played at any of the University’s buildings, the song’s lyrics forced its performer to explain its premise during an interview with GQ upon its release and subsequent criticism.
He shared:
“We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women. Because all three of us are happily married with children, we were like, ‘We’re the perfect guys to make fun of this.’
“People say, ‘Hey, do you think this is degrading to women?’ I’m like, ‘Of course it is. What a pleasure it is to degrade a woman. I’ve never gotten to do that before. I’ve always respected women’.”
However, it seems his explanation wasn’t enough to fall within the University’s policy, which reads:
“What will we do?
- To campaign against myths and stereotypes around sexual violence in conjuncture with the VPSA, Women’s Convener and Women’s Social and Political Union and the Feminist Society
- To support women’s campaigns across the campus and Edinburgh to stand up against these misogynist views
- To mandate the VPS and VPSA to work together with the Women’s Convener and Women’s Social and Political Union to make all night clubs in Edinburgh sign up to Zero Tolerance policies against sexual harassment and sexual violence
- To produce guidance educating academic staff/student union staff on the reality of sexual violence
- To support Reclaim the Night marches held in Edinburgh
- To No Platform known rape apologists such as George Galloway
- To campaign against lad culture and the websites/companies that promote it such as UniLad and ‘Spotted in the Library’ Facebook pages
- To begin a campaign to educate students on the negative effect of websites such as UniLAD, lobby websites such as UniLAD to remove all such material as would be considered by this motion to be offensive and lobby to have them shut down under the appropriate laws should they refuse to comply
What is the background to this?
- A significant proportion of students and the wider population hold dangerous victim-blaming views about women who experience rape and sexual violence
- These views are regularly expressed in our learning and social environments on campus, often without challenge from even from academic staff
- Following sexual violence on or near campus, our institutions and the police are still telling women to change their behaviour – i.e. do not walk alone, get a taxi etc.
- During the summer of 2012, MP George Galloway via podcast publicly commented that having sex with a woman who is asleep isn’t rape, if sex had happened earlier in the evening. He suggested this was just ‘bad sex etiquette’
- UniLad is an organization operating through a website and Facebook group run by an unknown author
- UniLad is aimed at male University Students and claims to be the ‘top student lads magazine’.
- It focuses around producing articles aimed at male students with titles such as ‘Want the Gash? Spend some cash’
What beliefs motivate the actions you propose?
- That such views can be triggering and distressing for survivors of sexual violence
- That such views must be challenged in our social and academic environments in order to dispel the dangerous myths and stereotypes around sexual violence
- That the solution to sexual violence is for rapists to stop raping, not for women to restrict their movement
- UniLad website glamorizes and promotes the sexual objectification of women.
- UniLad and other lad culture promoters trivialize rape and by doing contribute to a culturally permissible attitude to rape which is disgusting and cannot be allowed by our union.”
Was the University right to ban ‘Blurred’?
Weigh in below!
Good. I love the song but it’s dangerous when you really think about it.
Come on – that is BS.
Not BS at all. That is the problem with violence against women. It’s trivialized in pop culture to the point where women are seen as playthings. Think about it. Why would married men with children even be interested in making music about “dirty girls who know they really want the D”. At that stage in life they really should have other interests going on.
Before I saw the video and heard the song I thought the song was about people who are torn between wanting to be sexually free but being pressured to be more conservative. But Robin basically said yea we thought it’d be cute and fun to make a cliche song about s**** because we’re such nice guys so it’d be out of the ordinary for us. That is the true BS.
.Are you still single ? You are not alone. Free join~~~MixedLuv.Çom~~ Millions of singles have joined it.. This is a Serious interracial dating site for black and white singles seeking relationships, friendships, dating ,love and more. Single black people meeting single white people is why we are here.With the background verification system, you can easily find someone real, serious, quality. Have a try.xcb
a song can’t be dangerous. if people raised their kids right, they wouldn’t have to worry about idiots following pop culture and doing these “dangerous” things.
Can’t say I don’t understand why.
I’m in two minds. On one hand I think they’re doing too much but they do have a good point.I’ve heard of so many stories where guys convince themselves that a girl is sending them out a signal and tell themselves that the girls wants it even when she hasn’t made it obvious that she does.
If we want the d, please believe we’ll tell you and if a girl is messing about and won’t make herself clear DON’T mess wid her. You don’t wanna face jailtime over a misunderstanding.
I would say they’re exaggerating but then my forgetful ass remembered what Sean Fatass Kingston did.
Listen, there’s nothing wrong with a little fun but most dudes are so misogynistic and think that chicks OWE them s** and OWE them attention when we actually don’t.
Sometimes I’ve been out in the club and seen someone I like but don’t wanna make it too obvs in case people call me a h** so I’ll do a little flirting and whatever BUT that doesn’t mean a man has the right to take me by force if I decide to change my mind even If I did lead him on.
That’s my right as a human being, I have the right to change my mind.
The worst thing is that some guys even try it on with girls who don’t flirt and get mad when the girl turns them down.
I read this story yesterday about a d***** bag who smashed a champagne bottle over a girl’s face and pour drinks over her head when she said she didn’t want to dance and I was like wtf. This has to stop.
Very good, Girls like Rihanna give classy girls a bad name.
Why are Tamar’s sales dipping already?
Why did Riherpes spend one week at the #1 of BB 200 and then suffered a massive drop the next week?
the salvation army aint s*** for doing that to riherpes though 😀
Why hasn’t any Gaga music made any REAL impact since the Fame era? Why is Lana Del Ray on course to outsell BTW? Why is Roar kicking Applause’s ass? Where’s Gaga’s hip surgery scar? Why did Miley’s performance and Rihs facial expression get more coverage than Gaga’s performance at the VMA’s?
And gold digging, f** h**, loud mouthed, insecure, cheating, botoxed broads like Tamar give women a bad name period. F*** outta here. Rihanna doesn’t have s*** to do with this, and I will drag Tamar by her $15.99 Sally’s Beauty Supply synthetic lace wig. Have several f**.
It’s my favorite song but I completely get why they’ve done this. At the end of the day, it’s just like talking about shooting someone in a song. Even if you know you mean no harm there’s always some loon who’ll listen to what you said and use is it as motivation.
I LOVE the zick but i don’t want you telling me that I want, if I want it i’ll tell you and when I do you’ll know.
this is funny though
Like Gaga’s decline?
Wow I never looked that deeply into the song tbh.
The University has a good point but banning the song won’t do much
I do understand where they’re coming from especially with the ‘I know you want it’.
Never paid attention to the lyrics. Ciara is a flop
How about ban it because nobody ever wants to hear that joke of a song again. Giving me Macarena T’s
I agree with the opposers of this ban because it will simply not do much, but i also agree that the ban isn’t to stop r*** competely, its just to show the universities message and intollerance toward it. Either way sexual assault needs to end altogether.
Rowldawgggg are U pressed boo? 🙂
C’mon is just a song, how can a song being dangerous to anyone, also the video is just fun, nobody forced those girls to be naked, they were paid and they loved.
Give it 2 U is more explicit:
Big d*** for yah, let me give it to yah.
Navy vote for rihanna on pop crush right now
Oh please.
LOL MEN CANT BE CONTROVERSY OR ITS COMES ACROSS AS DANGEROUS!!!! BUT WHEN WOMEN DO IT (RIHANNA) IT DOMINATES THE AIRWAVES EVERYWHERE…
Thid is gonna make me blast thr song loufer and buy it on ittune. Stupid people. Im sure most peoplr didnt even read into the lyrics like rhay. Secondly whether this song is banned or not. People are still gonna sin and cause harm to others. If they didnt then the world would be perfect. Too many i wanna save a h** h*** in the world. Worry about your damn life. I bet half the ppl at that school on drugs or having un protecteSex or doing something wrong.
Excuse my typos. I guess this is why i should not be texting in class lmao.
Big gurl put that Large Sonic Blast down before you get all dem keys sticky. With yo fat fingers. Ch…
I’m sure the artists are extremely worried some UK campus won’t play their song… lol