A teacher explained the lyrics to ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ and it’s blowing people’s minds
Few Christmas songs generate quite so much debate as ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’.
A call and response duet, it tells the story of a man attempting to persuade a woman to stay the night, and the woman listing all the reasons why she shouldn’t.
Lots of people think it should be banned with its lyrics entirely inappropriate in the #metoo era, a ‘rape anthem masquerading as a Christmas song’.
So much so that a radio station did this (and it’s not the only one).
Except, well, a former English teacher went on Tumblr to argue that it was no such thing and it really shouldn’t be banned at all. Not even the Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews version.
His argument went viral after it was shared on Twitter and this is what he had to say.
Here’s what happened when this chap shared it on Twitter.
How “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” didn’t used to be about rape, why we think it is, and a subtle backstory for why some men still think no means maybe. pic.twitter.com/2HxBIAARU6
— Adam Heine (@adamheine) November 29, 2017
It’s interesting that the responses to this are simultaneously “See? It’s not about rape!” and “See? It’s problematic in today’s culture!”
— Adam Heine (@adamheine) November 30, 2017
Today’s lesson: Go viral by tweeting something just vague enough that everyone can validate their own pre-existing beliefs :-/
— Adam Heine (@adamheine) November 30, 2017
This person might have had the best idea.
Here's an idea. Let's sing it but in the 1940s. Not now.
— Dominic Angadi (@DominicAngadi) November 30, 2017