Baby it's PC Madness Outside

It was inevitable of course, that when various broadcast media from CBC and Global to numerous private radio stations jumped on the bandwagon to banish Baby Its Cold Outside from its airwaves as inappropriate Christmas fare, that the floodgates of ridicule would open. And open they did with lists spreading on social media faster than Donald Trump could tweet something stupid.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer should go because it’s body shaming, Frosty the Snowman has go because it is sexist, and on and on. Silly of course but it makes the point that if you are determined to be offended, you will find something to be offended about in just about anything.

Which brings us to the over-reaction by these broadcasters to Baby it’s Cold Outside. I agree that if it were a new song, just written, there would be validity to shun it, and to question where the writer was coming from, what with #MeToo and Bill Cosby and the reality that women do have to be conscious of things like roofies in drinks. But that entirely misses the point.

Those offended people who think this song is, as some put it predatory or “a rape anthem”, are absolutely missing the context.

This still of Baby It’s Cold Outside from the 1949 movie Neptune’s Daughter

The song was written in the 40’s, and at that time, good girls didn’t spend the night with men they weren’t married to.  The girl in this flirty back and forth with the guy isn’t protesting his pleadings that she stay, she wants to stay, her concern is what her friends and family would think. Notice in the song she’s not saying “no no no” like those who say it should be banned think she is. She’s saying, “I OUGHT to say no no no”.  As cultural historians point out, at the time this song was written, this song-and-dance was expected. Even women who wanted to stay felt an obligation to put up at least a token resistance. Unlike today “no” did not mean “no”. That’s the difference that has been lost amid the outrage.

This is a song about a girl asserting her power, not the opposite. She wants to stay and is searching out excuses to do so. Because that’s what good girls did.

Where are the feminists? Why are they silent on this? They should be defending this song. The girl in the song is asserting her will.

This is nothing short of misdirected political correctness. If these radio programmers are concerned about lyrics on the airwaves – have they listened to any rap or hip-hop lately?

“Chances are, if she was acting up/ Then I f*cked her once and never f*cked again/ She could have a Grammy, I still treat her ass like a nominee/ Just need to know what that pu**sy like so one time it's fine with me."

How’s that for objectifying women? That’s Drake, darling of the airwaves. Kayne West is ten times worse but as far as I know, no one is banning him.  

The point is that banning Baby It’s Cold Outside by all these broadcasters is extreme hypocrisy, given what they are OK with. Not that I want to see any of it banned, I would not support that. I just want to make the point that their decision in this case is Political Correctness gone berserk.  And here’s a question – what about the Lady Gaga / Joseph Gordon-Levitt version where the roles are reversed, where’s she’s trying to convince him to stay and he’s protesting that he must go? Is that version banned as well?

Will Ferrell co-singing Baby It’s Cold Ouside in the 2003 movie Elf

And what about Elf? I don’t really care if they play the song on the radio as I don’t really listen to music on the radio much anyway. But if anyone decides the movie has to be banned because of the scene with that song in it, then that really will be a step too far.  But with CBC banning the song from its radio side, how can they not also ban the movie because the song is in it? You have to be consistent right?

All concerned are splitting some pretty slender straws here, and it’s silly.

Thanks for reading. Shares always appreciated.

So here’s the version mentioned above with reverse roles.