Despite several student unions across the country banning Robin Thicke’s summer hit ‘Blurred Lines’ from playing on their university and college campuses, the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA) has chosen to keep the track on its playlists.
A total of seven UK student unions have now banned the track on the basis that its lyrics, such as ‘I know you want it / But you’re a good girl’, condone violence against women in their use of language associated with rape culture.
However, critics of the boycott have pointed out that although potentially offensive, Thicke’s track is not the only one guilty of misogyny. It is for this reason that Strathclyde’s student union has decided to abstain from the boycott. Speaking about the issue, USSA President, Kwaku Adjei, said:
“USSA is aware that some people view the content of Robin Thicke’s: ‘Blurred Lines’ as offensive and that some student unions have decided to remove the track from playlists. We feel that it would be hypocritical to demonise one song with a knee jerk reaction, when many pop songs contain similar content.”
The National Union of Students (NUS), however, is encouraging student unions to ban the song and challenge the sexism ingrained in the music industry. In a joint statement, the Women’s Officers of NUS, headed by National Officer Kelley Temple, called for a nationwide ban on the ‘deeply offensive and dangerous’ track:
“The truth is, that there are many songs out there like “Blurred Lines” and most of the time there is very little challenge to the normalized sexism in the lyrics in music of many genres.”
“However, challenging the sexism in these chart songs and exposing them for what they are allows us to have the debates where we establish that consent is key and the trivialization of rape is not acceptable.”
“We want to see a society that recognizes “no means no,” that doesn’t engage in victim blaming and doesn’t think that rape is a “blurry” concept.”
Controversy has followed the song since its release in March. The unrated version of the track’s accompanying music video was removed from YouTube following complaints that it violated the site’s terms of service. The video, which features several semi-naked female models dancing around the fully clothed Thicke, T.I. and Pharell Williams, has been deemed derogatory in its objectification of women, as well as ‘creepy’ and ‘rapey’, by critics. A rated version of the video remains on YouTube and has accumulated over 200 million views, while the original video is still available on Vevo.
Then at the MTV Music Video Awards in August, Thicke courted more controversy, when his risqué duet and dance routine with Miley Cyrus caused outrage and sparked a wider media debate about women in the music industry.
And Thicke can expect even more controversy; this week, Marvin Gaye’s initiated legal proceedings against the artist and the song’s producers for allegedly plagiarizing the late singer’s ‘Got To Give It Up’.
It seems like the ‘blurred line’ causing Thicke the most hassle is that between fun pop song and general nuisance.
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