“Blurred Lines” Banned At U.K. University, Gender-Studies Majors Rejoice

Some of our commenters did not look too kindly upon Mr. Robin Thicke when we reported yesterday that the singer claims to be nothing but happy in his marriage. This is despite a mid-VMA Miley-grinding session and a post-VMA butt-grabbing scandal. Those same readers should gladden upon hearing that Thicke's earworm "Blurred Lines" has been blacklisted by the Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) and banned from being played in any of the university's buildings.

Although Thicke has repeatedly denied his song is anything but a good old-fashioned, sleazy-corny bachelor-pad track, he has faced continual criticism for the lyrics' "rape-y" attitude. The decision to bar the song at the school falls in line with Edinburgh's "End Rape Culture and Lad Banter on Campus" policy, enacted in March. The policy argues that so-called "lad culture" and its promoters "trivialize rape and by doing [so] contribute to a culturally permissible attitude to rape." Banning the song has the added benefit of giving everyone's brain a break from that infectious funk loop that's invaded every radio station's rotation in North America and beyond.

But who's to say how far this policy could be taken? A song that contains the lines "I'll give you something big enough to tear your a** in two" surely falls within Edinburgh's new parameters. But what about Snoop Dogg's god-given right to walk leashed women down a red carpet? What about ODB's entire oeuvre? Where will the persecution of the patriarchy end? (BBC)