Guild Responds to ‘Blurred Lines’ Ban

The Guild responds to Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ being banned in Edinburgh University’s Students’ Union.

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Surrounded by half-naked women whilst boasting “I’ll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two,” Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ has been a consistently contentious issue since its release earlier this year in March.

Currently the UK’s second biggest-selling single in 2013, ‘Blurred Lines’ (and its sexually explicit music video) has been described in the British media as openly disrespectful towards women – a claim Thicke, 36, strongly denies.

Yes, everyone look at Robin #Thicke, who is a parent, by the way.

In the latest developments in response to the song, whilst it has also been the subject of various parodies on YouTube, Edinburgh University Students’ Guild (EUSA) has decided to ban the song from being played in all EUSA buildings.

According to The Tab, “a DJ was told to fade out the song mid-way (during a night in Edinburgh’s Students’ Union), despite the fact that the students were given the choice not to listen to the song by switching to another channel on the headphones.”

EUSA’s decision to ban the song in their buildings was taken as a result of their ongoing anti-sexism campaign: ‘End Rape Culture and Lad Banter on Campus.’

The purpose of the campaign, according to EUSA’s website, is “to campaign against myths and stereotypes around sexual violence” after “a significant proportion of  students and the wider population” were found to have “dangerous victim-blaming views about women who experience rape and sexual violence.”

Besides nudity, what’s the purpose of having a lamb in the video?

In response to EUSA’s decision, Hannah Barton, Guild President, said: “any initiative that removes myth and stereotype around sexism, misogyny and sexual violence is a huge success and we should constantly be striving  to move forward in this area.

“The Students’ Guild exists to ensure students are represented and their voices are heard. If our student body should request something similar to what EUSA have done, we would certainly take action on this.”