Baby, it's not cold! It's censorship.

The recent decision by several North American radio stations to ban the iconic Christmas song, “Baby, it’s Cold Outside”, written by Frank Loesser in 1944, because of a perceived notion that the lyrics depict a secret agenda of date rape is, in my opinion, long overdue. 

A song, written 74 years ago, under the pretense of flirty banter between a man and a woman trying to find a way to have some extra smooch time under the mistletoe and avoid the social stigma of premarital sex, has finally been given the criminal label it deserves. It is my hope that now other Christmas classics will be given the same scrutiny.

This cheating mother, as portrayed by Norman Rockwell,
has been a detriment to the nuclear family model.

Countless times I have had to cover my children’s ears when “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” was played over the sound system at the mall. It is outrageous that a song, so clearly glorifying adultery, has been given a white-gloved thumbs up all these years.

And, how do I even begin with the scandalous meaning behind the song, “Santa, Baby”. First of all, she wants a fur coat. A fur! And the level of raunchy flirtation and outright sexual innuendo she makes in order to bribe Santa to fulfill her wish list makes me blush.

Poor Rudolph clearly had a problem with the white stuff.

“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”? This ain’t no song about a misfit discovering a secret talent and saving Christmas. Red nose? Banned from participating in all the games?  Yeah, obviously little Rudy sniffs a little too much of the white stuff in the reindeer stables and has the shiny nose to prove it.

Frosty the Snowman? Straight-forward references to the occult and sorcery- I mean, come on, a "magic" hat gave him life, for Pete's sake!

And where do I even begin with the religious ones trying to force their beliefs on us about some baby named Jesus, when the true meaning of Christmas comes down to gifts, gifts and gifts! I am not referring to the three special gifts given to this Jesus character by some wandering wise men. I mean the big, flashy and expensive stuff that measures one's love for another. Clearly.

Or maybe, just maybe, the decision makers at these radio stations have hearts which are two-sizes too small. Maybe they feel pandering to a few taking the #metoo movement in a radically over- reactive state is necessary.

Let’s be real here for a moment. Social rules and expectations were dramatically different in 1944. Especially for women.  And this song was sold to MGM to be used in the movie, Neptune’s Daughter, which was a romantic comedy. Analyzing the song based entirely on the lyrics without incorporating the visual of the production is misleading. In fact, in the movie there are two renditions of the song- one featuring actors Ricardo Montalban and Esther Williams and then the roles reverse and Betty Garrant is trying to convince Red Skelton that, baby, it's cold outside!

Besides the symbolic re-messaging of a classic and academy award winning song, there is another aspect of this decision that is truly a warning for anyone who enjoys being able to have the freedom to read, listen or watch what he/she chooses. The social media spin of the ridiculousness of this decision is overshadowing what truly happened.

"Baby, it's Cold Outside" was featured in the MGM romantic comedy, Neptune's Daughter. 

Several stations have decided to remove the song from their playlists without allowing the public the freedom to decide for themselves whether to sing along or turn the tune down if offended by the lyrics.These stations played "big brother" and banned a song from it’s entire listener-ship.

Banning a song, after nearly 80 years of play, because now a few people believe it is a song about date rape should not be accepted. It does not matter if you believe a drink was roofied or whether the couple was enjoying some rum in eggnog. This banning can lead to banning anything in our society people do not agree with and decisions being made by a few can take away the freedoms and consciousness of an entire society. Today it is lyrics. Tomorrow it will be books. And where does it go from there?

The fear-mongering is laughable in this particular case, but that is how it begins. It is a comical situation and the memes have already been popping up. But, take out the humour for a moment and think about how easily this decision was made and enforced.

We have the right to listen to what we want to. We have the right to read what we want to. We have the right to watch movies and television shows and visit art galleries and museums and enjoy the work of all artists. Our opinions or perceptions will not always agree, but that is the point of freedom. I can choose not to add a book I dislike to my personal shelf, but the public library should not be able to ban a book based on the librarian’s perceptions.

I happened to catch about the last half of the movie, National Lampoon’s Vacation on the weekend. It was interesting to watch it on two levels. The first was an adult versus child mode. I found myself appreciating a lot of the humour and scenes that went way over my head in my youth.

The other was a 2018 versus mid-nineteen eighties mode. I still laughed and enjoyed the movie- however some of my laughter felt tainted with guilt. There are several jokes and scenes that would not be put in a movie today because of how sensitive our culture has become with not offending anyone. But that is basing it on society of today- not how society was in 1983. Were there some offensive jokes? Yes. Should it be banned? NO! Should we have the choice to decide to view it or not? Absolutely.

In 1944 a woman’s entire reputation and life could literally be ruined with a simple rumour of un-ladylike behaviour- such as staying, unchaperoned, in an unmarried man’s apartment late at night. 

This song, as clearly shown in the movie, is a tongue-in-cheek response to societal expectations.

When I was about ten-years-old, I remember one Christmas at my Nanny and Grampy’s house. Grampy playfully grabbed a hold of Nanny as she walked by and he hugged her tight and they snuggled by their fireplace for a moment. He looked at her lovingly and said, “baby, it’s cold outside” and her eyes lit up and she laughed shyly as she looked around the room to see if anyone had overheard him. I remember feeling so happy in that moment. I remember thinking they were silly and loving and, not knowing about the movie at that time, I literally thought it was about snuggling and being warm. I do, in retrospect,  believe there is a hidden meaning to the song. 

Simply: let’s meet under the mistletoe, darling. 

And let’s leave it at that.

Watch the actual scene from Neptune's Daughter depicting "Baby, it's Cold Outside" here
.Neptune's Daughter