'Sexist' party song stirs political debate in Germany
A debate over a "sexist" summer party song heated up in Germany on Wednesday after the country's justice minister waded into the row.
"Layla" by DJ Robin and Schürze has been at the top of the German singles chart for almost three weeks and has been a hit at traditional summer festivals across the country.
The song includes the lyrics: "I've got a brothel and my madam's name is Layla / She's prettier, younger, sexier."
Earlier this week, authorities in Würzburg said they had banned the song from being played at the Bavarian city's annual Kiliani summer festival.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann spoke out against the ban, which was trending on Twitter on Wednesday under the hashtag #Layla.
"You don't have to like pop song lyrics. You can even find them stupid or tasteless. But to ban them officially, I think, is one step too far," he
tweeted on Tuesday.
Man muss Schlagertexte nicht mögen. Man kann sie sogar doof oder geschmacklos finden. Sie aber behördlich zu verbieten, finde ich, ist eins zuviel. #layla
— Marco Buschmann (@MarcoBuschmann) July 12, 2022
The Junge Union, the youth wing of the conservative CDU-CSU alliance, had also come under fire for playing the song at a regional party conference in Kassel last month.
Rival Social Democrat lawmaker Sophie Fruehwald accused the youth organisation of "sheer sexism" and said it showed the party was not serious about promoting women.
The song's video features two young male revellers arriving in a new town, where they are led to the eponymous Layla - represented in the video as a man in drag.
But this queer twist does nothing to detract from the message, music expert Michael Fischer from the University of Freiburg told Der Spiegel magazine.
"Of course the song is sexist," he said.
Comments
See Also
"Layla" by DJ Robin and Schürze has been at the top of the German singles chart for almost three weeks and has been a hit at traditional summer festivals across the country.
The song includes the lyrics: "I've got a brothel and my madam's name is Layla / She's prettier, younger, sexier."
Earlier this week, authorities in Würzburg said they had banned the song from being played at the Bavarian city's annual Kiliani summer festival.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann spoke out against the ban, which was trending on Twitter on Wednesday under the hashtag #Layla.
"You don't have to like pop song lyrics. You can even find them stupid or tasteless. But to ban them officially, I think, is one step too far," he
tweeted on Tuesday.
Man muss Schlagertexte nicht mögen. Man kann sie sogar doof oder geschmacklos finden. Sie aber behördlich zu verbieten, finde ich, ist eins zuviel. #layla
— Marco Buschmann (@MarcoBuschmann) July 12, 2022
The Junge Union, the youth wing of the conservative CDU-CSU alliance, had also come under fire for playing the song at a regional party conference in Kassel last month.
Rival Social Democrat lawmaker Sophie Fruehwald accused the youth organisation of "sheer sexism" and said it showed the party was not serious about promoting women.
The song's video features two young male revellers arriving in a new town, where they are led to the eponymous Layla - represented in the video as a man in drag.
But this queer twist does nothing to detract from the message, music expert Michael Fischer from the University of Freiburg told Der Spiegel magazine.
"Of course the song is sexist," he said.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.