“Whores” have themselves to blame if they are murdered, and men should have the right to expose themselves to women. That’s how the message in the Engineering Student Union songs from the section song books might be interpreted.
“These songs are oppressive,” says student Johanna Helldén, who also criticizes the song books for elements of racism and homophobia.
In the song “I met a Whore in the Park” in the F-section song book, a person from his own perspective tells the story of how he meets a woman and has sex with her. Throughout the entire song, the woman is referred to as “whore”. The song continues with the lines “And now she lies in a wooden box/’cause that’s what you get when you’re sucking cocks” and “I dig her up every now and then/she did me before and she’ll do me again”.
Mathematics and gender science student Johanna Helldén finds the song sexist. She has notified The Engineering Student Union, Teknologkåren, on Twitter, which resonated loudly.
“The song is about a man killing a ‘whore’. The message is that it’s her own fault and that if she would have been willing to have sex once, you can have your way with her,” she says.
Johanna Helldén heard the song for the first time at a sitting with a different organisation last fall.
“I felt very offended and didn’t know how to react. I felt that I never wanted to attend another sitting,” she says.
Johanna Helldén also brings out the song ”Theobald Tor” from the D-section song archive, which describes a man exposing himself to a lady and kills her dog with his genitals.
“After that he is acquitted, and in the last verse the lyrics go “and like the judge, we believe that girls shouldn’t give a damn if one swings his dick around”. It’s problematic considering the fact that we have social emergencies with men exposing themselves to women. As a female, it’s very awkward attending a sitting where guys loudly sing that they should have the right to expose themselves. You strongly feel like you’re not supposed to be there.
Johanna Helldén thinks that the Engineering Student Union should revise the sections’ song books in order to remove degrading songs.
“In the D-section song archive, there’s “Utvandraren” where they joke about selling ones dromedary, and wanting aquavit to go with the kebab and so on. It might be catchy, but it’s based on stereotypes about people from the Middle East,” says Johanna Helldén.
“There’s also “Homosång från Linköping” where sex between men is described as something strange and incorrect. Another example that was not included in the song books, but which I heard was sung at sittings, is the song “Malmö Högskola“. In that song they say that you are “forced” to be around “working class scum” in Malmö and that no thoughts with any signs of sense are being meditated there as oposed to Lund. These song are oppressive.”
Do you think they might be thought of as making fun of prejudice?
“Even if they are, the songs are written on the premises that they are to be sung by white, heterosexual men from the upper or middle class. That makes the ones who are not in this category to feel unwelcome.”
After Johanna Helldéns criticism, the songs have been removed from the D-section song arhive on the internet. The Engineering Student Union Chairman says that the song books will be revised and that “I Met a Whore in the Park” will be removed.
Engineering Student Union: “It should have been addressed earlier”
Amendment: F-section Chairman is sought-after for comments.
Text: Ida Ölmedal
Translation: Maximilian Aleman Tennell
