Mon 1 Nov 2010 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
The Broadcasting Standards Authority has upheld a complaint against radio station The Edge, over a song about a public figure's reported lesbian relationship, which included the lines she “wanted to go rug munching” and she “got sick of dicks”. [Editor's note, 8 November: As television presenter Alison Mau has just publicly confirmed her bisexuality GayNZ.com can now advise that she was the subject of the following song.] With backing from Beyonce's Single Ladies, the host sang the following lyrics: [Name is] into ladies, [Name is] into ladies, [Name is] into ladies, [Name is] into ladies, she's giving guys up Broke up with [Name], 'cause he's a guy, decided men weren't her thing Didn't need [Name], or any other fellow, wanted to go rug munching She's into chicks, got sick of dicks, wanted to try some new things Met a nice girl, gave gay a whirl, and now what I really want to know When they make love do they have to put a strap on it? Has she ever thought about making a tape of it? When they make love do they have to put a strap on it? A listener complained that broadcaster Radioworks breached the standards of good taste and decency saying “this kind of behaviour [was] unacceptable for early morning radio that no doubt a lot of children around the country were subjected to without choice.” Standards RadioWorks agreed that the song breached the Radio Code and upheld the complaint. It said that the host involved had been severely reprimanded and advised that his comments and the song were inappropriate for broadcast at that time of day and in the context of the programme. However it maintained it was not a serious breach of broadcasting standards. The complainant was not satisfied with the action Radioworks took and did not agree the host has been severely reprimanded, saying he had only been suspended for one day and claimed the host then “sarcastically stated how bad he felt about what he had done and wore a saint's outfit”. The Broadcasting Standards Authority disagreed with RadioWorks that the broadcast did not amount to a serious breach of broadcasting standards. “On the contrary, we consider that the host's song lyrics were vulgar and phrases such as ‘rug munching', ‘she got sick of dicks' and ‘when they make love do they have to put a strap on it' would have been considered offensive by the majority of listeners when broadcast at 8.20am when children would have been listening.” The BSA has upheld the complaint that given the nature of the breach, the action taken by the broadcaster in reprimanding the host was insufficient. Radioworks has been ordered to pay $2,000 for breaching good taste and decency over the song, ruling it was unacceptable for broadcast at 8.20am. You can discuss this New Zealand glbt community news story in the GayNZ.com Forum
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 1st November 2010 - 2:15pm