‘Baby, it’s cold outside’ a liberation tune
Re ‘Baby, it’s cold outside’ a 1940s liberation tune, Teitel, Dec. 6
Finally, some rational thought on this recent media kowtowing. Emma Teitel is right; the “resistant woman” in this 1940s classic is in control. It could be seen as a feminist anthem from an era when Hollywood could only show a married couple sleeping in separate beds; an early version of “you’ve come a long way baby,” touted so successfully for Virginia Slims in the late 1960s.
I do recall a similar holiday season brouhaha when, in 1952, little Jimmy Boyd nasally sang that he had seen mommy kissing Santa Claus. The religious right were outraged at the hint of possible marital infidelity. Some radio stations in the Bible Belt refused to play it. Even the Roman Catholic Church in Boston condemned the song, temporarily, because it associated Christmas with kissing. That silly song is still heard every Christmas.
Do young people today really listen to music on Bell Media, Rogers Media or the CBC, the major Canadian broadcasters who have axed this very popular duet? Not the teens I see almost every day in high school, with those amazing hand-hand electronic gizmos that store a gazillion of their favourite songs. And “Baby, it’s cold outside” won’t be one of them. It’s just not their music. My only complaint to lyrics that I have enjoyed for more than 60 years, is the gal’s hesitating, “Well, maybe just a cigarette more.” To me, kissing a smoker would be like kissing an ashtray. Hardly enticing. Should the Canadian Lung Association also give it a thumbs down because that line could be perceived as endorsing smoking?. Garry Burke, Oro-Medonte, Ont.
Good grief, what’s next …
Do we ban “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” because all the other reindeer were bullies … and don’t get me started on those six geese a-laying … Elizabeth Thompson, Oakville
I find it interesting that some of the radio stations banning certain Christmas songs or carols play rap and hip hop music.
Both of those styles of music refer to women as hos and bitches. They also have lyrics promoting violence against police or in general.
I guess the world has gone mad! Gary Brigden, Toronto