’Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ pulled from some radio stations following #MeToo complaints

[anxiety]

 

TORONTO — “Baby, It’s Cold Outside†is getting a chilly response from Canadian radio stations.

CBC Radio says it will join at least two other broadcasters in the country, Rogers Media and Bell Media, who have pulled the controversial Christmas favourite out of their rotations this year.

That comes as the duet, written back in 1944, faces renewed scrutiny over what some say are inappropriate lyrics which have been amplified in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

CBC spokeswoman Nicola Makoway says the broadcaster plans to remove the song at midnight on Tuesday with “no plans to play it going forward.â€

Earlier this week, Cleveland radio station WDOK-FM announced it was no longer playing the song in response to listener feedback. Some took issue over lyrics where one singer is trying to persuade the other to stay inside, with exchanges that include, “What’s in this drink?†and “Baby, don’t hold out.â€

Bell Media spokesman Scott Henderson says the company, which runs two 24-hour Christmas stations in Vancouver and Ottawa, chose not to include the Christmas tune on its playlists this year.

“The song wasn’t scheduled for airplay on any Bell Media Radio stations and there are no plans to play it in the future,†he wrote in an emailed statement.

Rogers Media also runs a number of all-Christmas music stations, including 98.1 CHFI-FM in Toronto and 98.5 CIOC-FM in Victoria. Spokeswoman Caitlin Decarie says the broadcaster also removed the song this year, but declined to outline how it reached the decision.

“There are so many wonderful songs that celebrate the holiday season,†she said.

A representative for CBC Radio was unable to answer whether its stations include the Christmas song in its current rotation.

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside†has been considered a holiday classic ever since it won the Academy Award for best original song in the film “Neptune’s Daughter.â€

It’s since been covered countless times by singers including Ray Charles and Betty Carter, Idina Menzel and Michael Buble, as well as Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart.

Concern over the song has existed for years, leading to many reinterpretations of the lyrics.

Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt flipped the gender roles in a performance for the pop singer’s 2013 holiday special with the Muppets.

And two years ago, Minnesota couple Lydia Liza and Josiah Lemanski rewrote the lyrics to include lines about consent, such as a response to the woman’s line “I ought to say no, no, no†with the man saying: “You reserve the right to say no.â€

[25%Cotton]

that's an outdated response though. recent interpretations taking into account the historical/cultural context are much better, and i thought were already part of the mainstream. guess not.

[chiirbii]

I can't say I'm surprised, there's been criticism of the song for a long time. But when you put the song into context of the time it was written, it's more a commentary about how women have to abide by certain roles and expectations, even if they don't want to.

[Cerulean]

the song is trash

[blank_stare]

the song is trash

[olivefoss]

cool, while they're at it, can they ban all christmas songs

[Winter Bear]

This is why movements start to gain negativity, they bulldozer through everything without a rational thought for context.

[discobread]

Meh, I remember singing this in my 6th grade chorus for our Christmas concert

I never interpreted it as a "trash" song, I thought it was about some guy wanting his gf to stay over (not necessarily for sex).

[urhandsrnaughty]

I'm pretty sure the lyrics aren't meant to be taken literally. People, especially women, at the time, were more coy and would not be straight forward with their words and actions. That's why men had to be persistent in courting them just to get them to say "Yes."

 

Also, the "what's in this drink" line. OMG. It doesn't mean he spiked her drink! Are people unaware that people didn't live, act, and speak the same way in the past as we do now?

[sickwithsin]

This is why movements start to gain negativity, they bulldozer through everything without a rational thought for context.

 

^^^

[sakurahanabira]

I mean in modern context, yeah the song sets off a lot of alarm bells but as some people in here have said, the time during which this song was written matters. It's actually about a woman flirting with a man and vice-versa

 

 

https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3y02vb/what_is_baby_its_cold_outside_really_about_whats/

It's not about rape.

 

It's a song about two couples flirting and about to have pre-martial sex. Back then before Feminism really took off, "Good Girls" didn't do that sort of thing, and so you get a list of social expectations while the partner continues to knock them down before they both sing "Baby, It's cold outside" together.

 

Essentially they both want to have fun sexy time, but society says that good people don't do that.

 

What happened is that you have a bunch of people who didn't live in the era trying to examine it in the context of today's society where it isn't exactly a big deal if you have sex outside of marriage.

 

It's sort of how like people think "I saw momma kissing Santa" is about a woman cheating on her husband, when the reality is that Mommy and Daddy(Dressed up as Santa) are kissing

[sakurahanabira]

cool, while they're at it, can they ban all christmas songs

but Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You is iconic tho

[olivefoss]

but Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas is You is iconic tho

lmafo, i'm sorry i'm just a very bitter/stressed out retail worker T___T

[Siobhan Halo]

It's interesting that for the article's writer "Some (Cleveland radio station listeners) took issue over lyrics" becomes a #MeToo complaints headline. It's a transparent way to put the blame onto #MeToo.

[blank_stare]

lmafo, i'm sorry i'm just a very bitter/stressed out retail worker T___T

Can relate

[Soar]

Click here to view the Tweet

[Sdm]

If you watch the video the girl is clearly supposed to be flirting and acting coy for the man. These sjw's need to stop being pig headed and actually think.

 

Also the real predatory person in this song is the aggressive girl towards the man

[Seriously]

[Soar]

Kentucky radio station plays 'Baby It's Cold Outside' on repeat for 2 hours straight

A radio station in Kentucky played “Baby, It’s Cold Outside†for two straight hours on repeat Sunday morning as controversy swirls around the 1940s classic.

The two-hour marathon session played five different versions of the song.

Radio station WAKY in Elizabethtown decided to play the tune, announcing on Facebook, “We’re not afraid to play it.â€

"I'm not sure why it's controversial," Joe Fredele, director of programming for the station, told local CBS News outlet WLKY. "We've played this song for years, you know, this song is older than WAKY is. It's almost 70 years old."

The Christmas song made headlines and sparked controversy earlier this year when a radio station in Ohio removed the holiday hit from its lineup after a listener expressed concerns over the lyrics.

The song has raised the issue of consent with lyrics that have a man trying to convince a woman not to leave his home as she openly ponders whether to stay.

To Fredele, the song is a Christmas classic that means no harm and has a happy ending.

"This song is not about that. All it is ... is a dialogue between a man and a woman, and at the end of the song, you hear them harmonize together, so they're agreeing basically," Fredele said, according to Fox News.

A California radio station initially pulled the song off the airwaves before returning it after an “overwhelming†amount of listeners said they wanted the song to remain on air.

Fredele echoed those sentiments, saying his listeners and social media users thanked the station for playing the tune.

"It's just a fun way of saying, 'Hey, this is our vote for that song. It's a fun song. It's a romantic song, don't pick on it,'" he said.