iTunes Canada has removed several dancehall songs with antigay lyrics from its online store, Canadian news site Xtra.ca reports (xtra.ca, 4/7).
The songs reportedly contain lyrics that advocate the killing of gay people—a musical and cultural phenomenon that has been linked to rising rates of HIV in Caribbean communities. Because some people assume those who are HIV positive are gay, and because being identified as gay in this region of the world puts a person at risk for hate crimes, those with HIV in the Caribbean are especially afraid to come forward to receive care and treatment. Fear of being stigmatized also prevents people from getting tested, which prevents them from knowing their status and can lead to the spread of HIV. iTunes has removed both the individual songs and the albums that contain them.
“iTunes is exercising its corporate responsibility by pulling this murder music and raising the bar for other retailers and distributors to do the same,” says Akim Larcher, the founder of Stop Murder Music, one of the groups that led a campaign against the songs.
The article also reports that the controversy has sparked a debate about censorship and freedom of expression.
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