Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines' banned by Leeds University
September 20, 2013
The Yorkshire campus is the latest university to outlaw the hit single following the University of Edinburgh
Robin Thicke's track 'Blurred Lines' has been banned by The University of Leeds' student union, making it the second university in the UK the song is now blacklisted by.
The controversial track, which features the lyrics "I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two" has been branded by critics as sexist, with allegations that it promotes non-consensual sex with the chorus "I hate these blurred lines".
Earlier this month the song was outlawed in student buildings at the University of Edinburgh.
Alice Smart, an officer at Leeds' student union, told The Independent that the song is no longer able to play in any of the three campus nightclubs and two bars operated by the union as it "undermines and degrades women. The reaction has been mainly positive," she adds.
"A few students are asking why if we have banned this song, we aren't banning everything, but we've chosen this one as an example, because it's so popular."
The Edinburgh ban on the chart-topping hit is part of the University Students' Association policy 'End Rape Culture and Lad Banter on Campus', which as student newspaper
The Tab reports, aims to shut down the "myths and stereotypes around sexual violence" and prevent the sexual objectification of female students.
Thicke recently claimed that the song's lyrics were a "feminist movement within itself".
He said: "It's supposed to stir conversation, it's supposed to make us talk about what's important and what the relationship between men and women is, but if you listen to the lyrics it says 'That man is not your maker' – it's actually a feminist movement within itself.nme.com