# In defense of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2016, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155 "2016-12-19T17:36:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/101 "2018-12-10T14:48:14Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > The only feeling of rage this song ever brought me was all the nosy ass people that were up in this poor girl’s business. She \* obviously\* wants to stay (if you can’t see that, well, I don’t know what to tell you)but can’t because god forbid, “what will everyone think”? What a shame to have this lovely tune taken off the air. Of course, that’s what Spotify is for. Well, that’s exactly the sort of response I’d expect from someone looking for love in all the wrong places. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/102 "2018-12-10T15:45:57Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > The only feeling of rage this song ever brought me was all the nosy ass people that were up in this poor girl’s business. She \* obviously\* wants to stay (if you can’t see that, well, I don’t know what to tell you)but can’t because god forbid, “what will everyone think”? What a shame to have this lovely tune taken off the air. Of course, that’s what Spotify is for. Well, then she should quit whining and stay already. No one cares! This isn’t the past, or present - we’re living in the future. And it’s OK for women to like sex. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/103 "2018-12-10T15:46:21Z")
I’m beginning to believe this whole thing is yet another right-wing manufactured outrage along the lines of the “War On Christmas!!!”. There are a bunch of fake news stories out there(along with matching petitions) on Facebook about how the song is being banned by all the radio stations. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/104 "2018-12-10T16:03:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m beginning to believe this whole thing is yet another right-wing manufactured outrage along the lines of the “War On Christmas!!!”. There are a bunch of fake news stories out there(along with matching petitions) on Facebook about how the song is being banned by all the radio stations. The link mentioned upthread mentions a few stations either removing it or considering it. And one running a poll about it where over 90% want it kept in rotation. I haven’t seen claims that it’s being banned by “all the stations” but Facebook being what it is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone saying it either. Most popular memes (or what passes for a meme these days) are a back-and-forth argument ending with some version of “It’s not that great of a song anyway!”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/105 "2018-12-10T16:19:10Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > The link mentioned upthread mentions a few stations either removing it or considering it. And one running a poll about it where over 90% want it kept in rotation. > > I haven’t seen claims that it’s being banned by “all the stations” but Facebook being what it is, I wouldn’t be surprised to see anyone saying it either. Most popular memes (or what passes for a meme these days) are a back-and-forth argument ending with some version of “It’s not that great of a song anyway!”. One station removed it, and other stations are discussing it because it is a hot button topic that increases the listenership. There is no censorship problem going on here, just hyped up manufactured rage for the sake of ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/106 "2018-12-10T16:21:36Z")
I’m not calling it censorship. I’m saying that the “stations are ‘banning’ it” thing isn’t made of whole cloth. Honestly, the “Date Rape!” argument sounds just as much like recreational outrage to me as the “War on Christmas!” argument so I can see why the “Gah, everyone shut up” meme is winning on my Facebook feed. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/107 "2018-12-10T16:52:47Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > I’m not calling it censorship. I’m saying that the “stations are ‘banning’ it” thing isn’t made of whole cloth. > > Honestly, the “Date Rape!” argument sounds just as much like recreational outrage to me as the “War on Christmas!” argument so I can see why the “Gah, everyone shut up” meme is winning on my Facebook feed. “Stations”? What stations have actually banned it? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/108 "2018-12-10T17:37:18Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “Stations”? What stations have actually banned it? From the article linked previously: > [@](#): > > All this over the San Francisco radio station’s decision to pull “Baby It’s Cold Outside” from its rotation after roughly 100 complaints got the attention of program director Brian Figula. Just days before, a Cleveland radio station found itself in the crosshairs for doing the same. Station **s**. Sheesh. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/109 "2018-12-10T17:58:35Z")
This song is from an era when it was harder for women in America to own their sexuality, it’s still too hard for a lot of people. The song is a play on the kind of dance people had to go to in order to have sex. This song is from a time when women who enjoyed sex were sluts, when Jews couldn’t join country clubs and when black people couldn’t sit where they wanted on a bus. America was a fucked up place and because it was so fucked up, men used the fact that women couldn’t expressly state their sexual desires to take advantage of them and then later claim that “she wanted it.” The woman in the song may want to stay over, but it’s much better to live in a time when adults can just fuck when they want to fuck. Some radio stations decided that this song from a fucked up time in America is no longer relevant to their listeners and decided not to play it any more. Other people are outraged by that fact, why I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/110 "2018-12-10T18:01:13Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > From the article linked previously: > Station **s**. Sheesh. :rolleyes: 2 whole stations? Wow! There are 11, 341 commercial radio station is the U.S., which means we are talking about 0.017% percent of the radio stations that have stopped(or temporarily stopped) playing this one song. Of course I haven’t filtered out news stations and the like…but if you could, through various filters, get the number of effected stations up to a whopping 0.1% I would be surprised. When you throw in the number of stations that have added the song or played it more often just to make headlines, then I daresay this has actually turned from an incredibly minuscule problem to to an actual plus as far as that song is concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/111 "2018-12-10T18:16:29Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Some radio stations decided that this song from a fucked up time in America is no longer relevant to their listeners and decided not to play it any more. They better go after _Jingle Bells_ next–after all, how are one-horse open sleighs relevant to modern listeners? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/112 "2018-12-10T18:34:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > They better go after _Jingle Bells_ next–after all, how are one-horse open sleighs relevant to modern listeners? You mean the same two radio stations that stopped playing Baby It’s Cold Outside? I think we’ll survive. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/113 "2018-12-10T18:37:40Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > 2 whole stations? Wow! Who cares? I said “stations” and you went on some pedantic “Oh, stations, huh?” like you were going to get me on there only being the one in Cleveland. There was more than one – so you put an “s” at the end. That’s how plurals work. I also put “banning” in quotes because I don’t think that’s really the appropriate word for it. Yes, people going nuts over it being off the air from some… two… one… whatever stations is dumb. So is going ape irate over how it must be a rape song because people don’t grasp history or context. So it goes – give people a reason to whine and bitch and they’ll grab and defend it. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/114 "2018-12-10T18:53:50Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > …So is going ape irate over how it must be a rape song because people don’t grasp history or context. So it goes – give people a reason to whine and bitch and they’ll grab and defend it. I would argue that the people not grasping history and context are the ones defending the song. They seem to be incapable of grasping that context changes and that we view history in a different light now and that a song where a woman can’t express her sexual desire is fucked up. Also, I think that the defenders of the song are the ones who are looking for a reason to whine and bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/115 "2018-12-10T19:18:15Z")
At Christmastime? Not me! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/116 "2018-12-10T19:19:15Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > a song where a woman can’t express her sexual desire is fucked up. Oh, I think the Mouse expresses desire pretty damn plainly. > [@](#): > > Also, I think that the defenders of the song are the ones who are looking for a reason to whine and bitch. Or just point and snicker. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/117 "2018-12-10T19:36:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > One station removed it, and other stations are discussing it because it is a hot button topic that increases the listenership. There is no censorship problem going on here, just hyped up manufactured rage for the sake of ratings. Like I said, a publicity stunt. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/118 "2018-12-10T20:29:57Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > They seem to be incapable of grasping that context changes No, the whole point of context is that it doesn’t change and thus allows you a view into what something is actually about by looking at the surrounding circumstances. > [@](#): > > Also, I think that the defenders of the song are the ones who are looking for a reason to whine and bitch. You have two groups of people (“Date rape!” “War on Christmas!”) trying desperately to make a major thing out of a rather minor thing and picking it apart for any “evidence” to fit their agenda even if those things don’t actually hold up to examination. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/119 "2018-12-10T20:39:06Z")
Now I’ve got relatives posting versions of the stupid song with the tag “Come on, post it! I dare you!!!” How brave![not enough :rolleyes: in the whole fucking world for this shit]. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2018, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155/120 "2018-12-10T20:56:02Z")
I don’t care about the rape. I just don’t like the song. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-defense-of-baby-its-cold-outside/775155.md?page=7)