Petition to stop BBC broadcasting Eurovision song that glamorises sexual strangulation (before the watershed!)

It's horrible to have to explain things when you feel they are not ready for it. (My 5-year old once read a headline about "rape" and wanted to know what rape was - just wouldn't let it go! .) But on the plus at least she knows now and will not accept it as a normal part of sex.

Thanks @DreamyHedgehog , I filled in the survey and specified that I didn't watch Eurovision this year due to their inclusion of a song normalising violence against women.

I'm glad they're asking why numbers are down. I thought they would probably assume it was due to the controversy around including Israel (to be fair, that controversy contributed to me finding the whole competition less appealing)

I complained to the BBC and got a holding response. I said that the warming given before the song was inappropriate - it drew attention to the problem lyrics but underplayed it and didn’t give time for people to switch off/over. Also tgat the song wasnt bleeped - clearly inappropriate for younger viewers - and they knew that kids were watching after watershed because they read out all their messages at the end. I had to explain all this sex related strangulation to my teen DD which was not what I expected to be doing - although at least she is now aware of the problems her age group will be facing. We decided that it’s a shame she’s not gay

Good idea to follow up now they've seen the numbers.

BBC coverage of Eurovision suffers huge UK ratings blow, losing a million viewers

I expect these viewers were lost for a number of reasons and most of all due to what's happening in Gaza, but I think I'll take this opportunity to write to the BBC and explain why I chose not to watch Eurovision this year, despite having been a fan for many years.. I'm disgusted by how weak the BBC have been... yet again.

Yes. These people who go on about ‘autoerotic asphyxiation’ like it is a legitimate sexual practice are part of the problem imo.

A far stronger public message alongside the new law is needed to communicate the harms and that this should never be tried.

Even on this thread Kimura has got the law completely wrong. How many others are similarly confused?

No. You are wrong about the law.

Non-fatal strangulation is a specific criminal offence in England and Wales under Section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, which came into force on June 7, 2022. It applies when a person intentionally strangles or suffocates another, restricting their ability to breathe, with maximum penalties of up to 5 years in prison.
Key Aspects of the Law
Definition: The law makes it an offence to intentionally strangle or do any other act that affects a person’s ability to breathe, such as suffocation.
No Injury Needed: A conviction does not require proof of visible physical injuries, addressing a gap in previous legislation where cases were often hard to prosecute without marks.
Serious Nature: The offense is treated very seriously, often resulting in immediate custody, with a sentencing starting point of 18 months.
Consent Defence: While consent can be a defence, it does not apply if the victim suffers serious harm or the perpetrator intended/was reckless as to whether serious harm occurred.

Apparently.. the lyrics were never intended to be taken literally as a reference to autoerotic asphyxiation. It's supposed to be an edgy metaphor for being overwhelmed by emotion and self doubt. Take that for what it's worth.

So? It doesn’t matter how they claim they were ‘intended’ and I didn’t say it was glorifying murder, I made a reasonable comparison with glorifying murder (which strangulation often results in).

Where am I ‘fibbing’?

Strangulation in any form with any intention is dangerous and there is absolutely no justification for going anywhere near the topic unless to highlight the dangers.

Research is showing that even when it doesn't cause obvious outward harm, it leads to persistent brain injury that builds up over time and looks remarkably similar to the brain damage seen in American football players who get repeatedly hit in the head. There are all kind of studies showing changes in brain function on MRI, effects on memory and cognition, etc.

It's so f-ed up when you consider that surveys are showing that over 60% of young women are being choked during sex nowadays. Seems like there's going to be an epidemic of impaired brain function in an entire generation of women! And still they say it can be "healthy and fun" (see the second link below). It sickens me.

https://www.unimelb.edu.au/newsroom/news/2024/july/study-finds-strangling-during-sex-common,-but-understanding-is-low

bwell.brown.edu/tool/sexual-strangulation

It's irresponsible to broadcast this song at any time because it normalises a dangerous practice which can cause sudden death. Feminist campaigners have been trying to combat violent porn and the normalisation of men strangling women during sex, and this song is a step back in the fight against VAWG.

Shame on the BBC. I'm surprised they never learn. They must have sleaze written through them like a stick of rock.

Signed

Of course they have. Pretending that those lyrics aren't promoting violence - especially against women and girls - is essential to preserve the corporation's RSOH delusion.

Just now Radio two have done a laboured explanation of how Romania’s song is referencing the singers emotions. I think this may well be the party line. 8.20 on the breakfast show.

This is horrific

'Always'?

How old are you because I can tell you that nothing like this was around in the 70s and 80s and not much into the 90s either.

Non fatal strangulation is a criminal offence in this country and several European countries

It is, but so-called 'sexual strangulation' for gratification among consenting adults is not automatically a criminal offense in the UK for example.

The law only kicks in here when someone is seriously hurt or worse, as a person cannot consent to serious injury or death.

It's applied this way so that someone accused of seriously harming someone or worse cannot claim 'rough sex' as a defence.

we shouldn’t air a song glorifying murder, this is also not on.

Apparently.. the lyrics were never intended to be taken literally as a reference to autoerotic asphyxiation. It's supposed to be an edgy metaphor for being overwhelmed by emotion and self doubt. Take that for what it's worth.

Anyway, even if we ignore that and say it is about autoerotic asphyxiation, there is quite plainly nothing that's 'glorifying murder' in the songs content.

You can make the perfectly reasonable argument that the lyrics are inappropriate for a pre-watershed broadcast without telling fibs.

Signed, thank you for sharing.

The tastemakers and/or executive/media class of Western societies seem to have unilaterally decided sometime in the last 10 years that anything of a camp nature automatically falls under the auspices of 'queer’ and they must, therefore, make the strongest attempts possible to change that thing so much that it becomes unrecognisable and no longer interesting to mainstream culture or longterm fans. I cite Eurovision, Doctor Who and Star Trek as recent examples.

Graham Norton does take the piss as well, to be fair.

I think Eurovision is very entertaining (on the whole) and far more interesting than it was say, in the early 2000s, when all the performers seemed to sing the same bland pop songs in fake half-American accents.

2021 was a particularly good year with several songs which would have made worthy winners. 2022 and 2023 were also strong years and I loved the communal solidarity for Ukraine. Unbeknownst to me though, there were allegations of vote-rigging against various countries.

The vibe was clearly off in 2024, when there were allegations of backstage harassment and covert filming of performers (including Joost Klein) and journalists, which apparently went unpunished. The audience weren't happy either.

The sleaze also seems to be be gradually increasing in a minority of the performances and I think it sometimes goes too far. But this year's entry from Romania is something far worse and it disgusts me. In all conscience, I can't watch the contest this year. I don't know if I'll ever watch it again.

The whole thing has become one big celebration of queer culture, the songs have become neither here nor there. And then of course there's the political voting. I miss Terry Wogan gently taking the piss out of the whole thing

Celine Dion represented Switzerland in one Eurovision.

The nationality of the singer isn't relevant, or even the songwriter, all that matters is which country is putting them in as their entrants in the competition.

I think so, yes.

Absolutely.

Plus, why is he representing San Marino? Can anyone represent any country?

And Boy George is representing San Marino despite his unsavoury criminal record. FFS Eurovision.