Can someone please explain to me why "baby it's cold outside" is about date rape?
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Anonymous
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I keep seeing Facebook posts about it and I have heard people talk about it in real life. I always just thought the song was about a guy wanting a girl to stay and her putting up a half hearten fight, even though she really does want to stay. I mean, it seems like if she wanted to leave she would've picked up her purse and left. There's no lyrics to the song about him tying her down or forcing her to stay... it's all very playful.
Of course this is one of those things where when something is allegedly about rape if you disagree, suddenly you're "OK with rape ". I'm a feminist and I do think we have a serious problem with rape in our society and allusions to not giving women freedom over their choices however I don't think this song is an example of that. I also don't think the part in the song she asked "what's in the drink? "Is alluding to her being roofied... it just sounds like she's drinking some eggnog with alcohol in it and maybe I'd getting tipsy. Also I don't think this song is really about sex, I think it's about her feeling like society is going to have so much to say if she spends the night so she's giving him excuses as to why she can't but I guess in the end she decides to stay. Anytime I hear this song, I think it's flirty and kind of tip toes around the fact that the two people like each other but they aren't immediately jumping into bed. They have this flirtatiiom but it doesn't seem like at any point she says "I want to go home, let me go, I'm scared" or anything like that. Am I completely wrong or do other people feel like people have decided that this song is more than it seems? |
Anonymous
| You're correct, in my opinion. I've always liked the sexiness of this song. It's cute. |
Anonymous
| Did you read the lyrics? |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| I've heard it with the typical gender parts reversed and think it's very cute that way. |
doodlebug
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| I agree with you. People are looking at it with modern PC lenses and not looking at it from the perspective of when it was written. Back then, women and men didn't sleep together or stay overnight with each other (even w/o sex) without the potential for people whispering about it. I think she wants to stay out late, is trying to make flimsy excuses about why she can't...what will people say? Totally cute song and anyone who thinks it's about rape can drag their narrow, self entitled brains out of the gutter and see me in hell where I'll give them a lesson in history. |
Anonymous
| It's only about date rape if you are a tumblr feminist and spend your life reposting memes. |
Anonymous
| I agree also. This kind of over-the-top PC culture is what got Donald Trump elected. Yes, rape is a big problem, but not every attempt to seduce a woman (and I'm not sure this song goes so far as a seduction) = rape. |
Anonymous
| I agree also. This kind of over-the-top PC culture is what got Donald Trump elected. Yes, rape is a big problem, but not every attempt to seduce a woman (and I'm not sure this song goes so far as a seduction) = rape. |
Anonymous
| My first thought was that the date rape thing was a total overreaction. I just read the lyrics- unless the implication is that he slipped something in her drink, I still think date rape is a reach. |
Anonymous
I voted for Trump and I think the song is rapey as hell. Not a fan. |
Anonymous
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I don't literally think the song is about date rape, but I do think it's a song that comes from an era where the norm was that the woman's role was to say no, and the man's role was to convince her otherwise. That cultural piece has contributed to a lot of the confusion that people have about consent, which can play a role in both date rape, and the lack of consequences for date rape.
I like the song. The tune is sweet, it makes me smile. I hum along when I hear it on the radio. But it also makes me glad that I live in a time and place where I can say what I want without having to worry that I'll be judged for wanting it, and where I can also say no with the expectation that my no will be respected. I also think that while the "say, what's in this drink?" line was innocent at the time, it makes me think of roofies. |
Anonymous
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The thing I don't like about the song is not rapeyness but the attempt to make double standards look cute.
The man stands to lose nothing and he pushes the woman hard to blow her reputation over an evening together. That double standard doesn't exist for most of us now, but for the women on the wrong end of it over history it wasn't, and isn't, cute. |
Anonymous
| Agree with you x10000000% OP!!! |
Anonymous
I agree with you. I am a millenial, and I think, for someone of my age, it's very shocking to hear. I'd rather hear Ariana grande sing, enthusiastically, that "you got me walking side to side" because that confers consent and enthusiasm. The "I want to leave" and the man not letting her thing... yeah, I don't get it. It makes me uncomfortable to listen to. I don't think history will be kind to this song, though I know it has a lot of nostalgia for older folks. |