#aspergersynthdrome

Asperger Synthdrome is the name of the synth-pop band formed by Adora Batbrat with her sister, and later joined by her friend Victoria Lovelace. The band quickly became controversial for its name; many found the play on Asperger syndrome to be insensitive to those who live with the condition. 

Victoria responded to the concern with a video in which she stated that she herself has Asperger syndrome and never intended to cause harm or offense. Furthermore, she expressed that she was conflicted about remaining in the band, as well as her relationship with Adora, who offered no solution but claimed that the name was intended to spread awareness for the underdiagnosed Swedish girls with Asperger syndrome. 

Victoria’s apology video has been taken down, but she has since left the band and renamed a product that was previously named after her former bandmate.

Adora has also been the singer and lyricist of Aberrant Behavior, a band whose work includes a remix that appears on Angelspit’s 2018 album “Puncture Marks”, as well as a song titled “Assfuck” which Adora explains is “about an ordinary night out in my life” in an interview with Zero Magazine. “Assfucking young boys is a hobby of mine. The more they suffer the better.”

The interview transcript can be found here: https://zeromagazine.nu/2017/07/14/19195/

Lyrics to this song include:

Stupid boy to get with me / Sweet innocent looks / I just want to deceive /  To get what I want / Now, shut up, stop crying / It’s time for round two

And:

Scream for me / Make me hear / The panic is real / It’s me you fear /  Take it, take it, take it like a man / Take it, take it, as deep as you can / Take it, take it, take it like a man / when I fuck you in the ass just because I can 

Although many of Adora’s fans are ecstatic about her music, others have expressed concern that this song seems to be about nonconsensual sex with young teenage* or perhaps even pre-teen boys. Such imagery goes beyond making listeners uncomfortable; portraying such actions as positive normalizes them as okay and invalidates the trauma of those who were victims of similar actions. Although it is unclear whether or not this was Adora’s intention, it is the artist’s responsibility to make sure that their work does not include such strong common triggers without warnings and does not promote harmful or dangerous ideologies such as the normalization and romanticization of abuse.