Strangulation in relationships - normalisation in media

[OurLine]

Hello lovely mums,

The Romanian's Eurovision entry this year is called 'Choke Me.' It features themes of strangulation throughout and "choke me" appears 30 times.

I am a survivor of strangulation and I know that normalisation of it is a factor in the increase. 66% of young adults who've had sex have been strangled. There's a law now against non-fatal strangulation in England and Wales that most people aren't aware of.

Via Our Line HQ, I have created a petition asking the BBC to request a revision to the lyrics. I have summarised the research in the petition: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-bbc-airing-eurovision-content-that-normalises-violence-against-women

I would be grateful for your support in reading, signing and sharing this petition to raise awareness of the dangers of strangulation - both the risks in domestic abuse as well as the increasing strangulation happening during sex.

Thank you

signed

Signed but not hopeful.

I'm sure I saw another petition for this a couple of weeks ago on here, just mentioning because itihhgbne worth finding it and amalgamating rather than have several running at once?

Bloody hell. That’s horrendous. Have signed. Sorry about what happened to you OP.

I don’t think you are correct OP.
But I completely agree strangulation should never ever be part of intimate relationships.
I was just about to sign the petition but first I looked the song up on YouTube.
There is no visual sexual reference that I can identify and the blurb says it is about young artists and their struggles. Maybe they could have translated the words differently but we don’t actually know what they say and mean in their own language.
On that basis I can’t see what the petition would achieve.
This is the description from YouTube:
Choke Me” captures the emotional pressure, doubts and inner struggles many young artists face while trying to find their voice and place in the world. Through a haunting atmosphere and a raw, powerful vocal performance, Alexandra Căpitănescu transforms vulnerability into strength on stage. Intense, intimate and deeply felt, “Choke Me” invites listeners into a moment of honesty, courage and emotional release.

From BBC article. Romania's Eurovision entry, , has been labelled "dangerous" and "reckless" for lyrics that appear to reference sexual strangulation, an unsafe practice that can lead to brain injury and death.
But Alexandra Căpitănescu, a Master's student at the Faculty of Physics in Bucharest, says campaigners have got it all wrong.
"Choke Me is a metaphor for the pressure we sometimes place on ourselves," she says.
"It speaks about inner fears, self-doubt, and the feeling of being emotionally suffocated by our own expectations. It was never intended to represent anything sexual."

Feeling choked when overwhlemed is very different from ‘choke me’. I don’t buy this. They were trying to be edgy and got it badly wrong.

I would have signed but was asked for money. I don't use social media so wasn't able to share and avoid the forced donation.

Images from the video.

Yup nothing sexual here at all!

Branster
Yes, I would say that was quite a stealthy way of getting that song which refers to obeying and lungs exploding through to the competition.

Last year Malta's entry 'Serving Kant' had to be rewritten because 'Kant' sounds rude. Malta argued that 'Kant' there means 'singing'. They were still told to rewrite it because of that word.

Intention is not a good enough argument because not everyone is going to know what the intention is unless they read to find out. This is a competition that is broadcast on primetime TV with young people watching. We are in a particularly complex climate of violence against women.
43% of 16-17 year olds who have had sex have been strangled at least once. And TV is a source of information on strangulation for 29% of young people and music is another source.
[That data come from the IFAS study last year]

The petition does not ask the song to be banned, only reworded as has happened before with other songs at the BBC's request. It's about being socially responsible.

keepincool
You can skip the donation (I realise they don't make that obvious!). You can share without donating,

InLoveWithAI - thank you, that was my petition - I posted elsewhere initially.

I’m not sure how they could rewrite the song. It isn’t a one off line it is the main theme. My images are still under review but the subtitles read

“Born for you to control
i want you to choke me
ch-ch-ch-choke me, ch-ch-ch-choke me”

“Love me, make my lungs explode”

there is absolutely nothing about self doubt, vulnerability turning into strength or any of the other bollocks they have sprouted to try and claim it isn’t sexual.

I’ve signed, also a survivor and this is disgusting that they even thought to sing about it