The Guild bans ‘Blurred Lines’

The Guild has banned controversial Robin Thicke hit single Blurred Lines.

The news comes after the NUS issued a statement which calls on student unions to ban the song.

In a statement released earlier today they said, “On Monday 23^rd September- the Guild implemented a new and extensive ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy, condemning all forms of oppressive and discriminatory behaviour, especially sexism, racism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, ageism or discrimination based on gender definition, religion or nationality.

As part of this, the song ‘Blurred Lines’ will no longer be played within the Guild and we strongly encourage other institutions, and the venues we interact with, to ban it also.”

“The song, which was been shrouded in controversy over its lyrics and video, can cause great distress for survivors of sexual assault and those students who deal daily with the fear of such violence; something which shouldn’t be dismissed in a context where 1 in 7 women students experience serious assault during their time at university.”

The statement continues, “The Guild feels that playing this song in its venues would be overtly distressing and could cause discomfort for a large number of our students and this is simply not acceptable. At the Guild, we are proud to be taking a strong stand against offensive and discriminatory attitudes.”

Blurred Lines was the second fastest selling record of 2013 in the UK, spending five weeks at the top of the charts.

Birmingham is the 6th university in the UK to ban the song, following Edinburgh, Leeds, Kingston, Derby and West Scotland.

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