By banning song, we risk halting conversation
I’m still not over the beating I took for linking comedian Aziz Ansari’s alleged attempts to badger an unco-operative date for sex to a larger culture of toxic masculinity.
“Aziz was ambushed by an entitled snowflake!” crowed the Grumpy Traditionalists on Twitter. “Down with your obnoxious virtue signalling, you phoney!”
And here we are again, stuck in the middle of another controversy in the sticky terrain of sexual politics.
This, of course, is nothing new in the 14 months since the #MeToo movement kicked off a concerted effort to shine light on sexual assault and the entitlement culture that spawns it.
It was inevitable the focus would shift, at this time of year, to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” an aged holiday chestnut about a smoochy couple bantering about whether it’s time for her to go home.
“I ought to say, no, no, no, sir,” she croons in this Oscar-winning duet as her smitten suitor rallies back with “mind if I move in closer?”
It’s an engaging, flirtatious back and forth that, in its time, came off as playfully innocent, but, through the lens of 21stcentury social politics, has been construed as an unwitting endorsement of sexual coercion and date rape.
In light of Bill Cosby’s conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging unsuspecting women, sensitized listeners argued that lines like “say, what’s in this drink?” and the song’s implication that “no” doesn’t really mean “no” give it a tone that feels, ahem, creepy.
And so it was banned by a glut of radio stations — including Canada’s CBC, Rogers and Bell Media — after programmers feigned a great understanding of cultural sensitivities and took decisive, politically correct action.
That oughta boost ratings.
Until, that is, the biggest blowback since the Nivea skin care campaign with the explosive tag line “White is purity!”
While six per cent of listeners appreciated the stations’ enlightened stance against rape culture, radio polls indicated up to 94 per cent thought they were nuts and wanted that song back on the air, pronto, before their heads exploded.
Among the ticked-off subgroups:
Those who consider the vintage Christmas song a cherished seasonal favourite or fell in love with the 2003 movie Elf, which featured it prominently.
The daughter of the man who penned the song (Frank Loesser) and the daughter of the man who crooned it with schmaltzy gusto (Dean Martin), who pointed out that the context in which it was written had nothing to do with sexual improprieties of the #MeToo era.
Tweedy culture profs who argued that in the repressed social landscape of 1944, the song was actually a protofeminist empowerment anthem, with the woman defying convention with a nudge and wink.
Gasket blowers on social media, who insist that rape culture, like global warming, is a construct of left-wing propagandists.
William Shatner, who cited the totalitarian novel 1984 and encouraged followers to bombard CBC with demands for reinstatement “just to stick it to the Myopia Censorship Club.”
Everyone I know, including avowed lefties, who consider the song’s banishment a gross overreaction that hurts, not helps, the push for social change. But really, 94 per cent? Radio people are not idiots. They understand that without listeners they’ll be slinging Son of Baconator burgers on the midnight shift at Wendy’s. So before you could say “what’s in that drink?” the ban was lifted by several stations, including CBC.
And yet, I would humbly submit, even for those opposed to the song on principle, there is evidence the world is unfolding exactly as it should.
“It’s great to see there has been discussion about this from the CBC end,” noted Kirsten Yri, an associate mu- sicology professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, after the broadcaster overturned the ban.
“That they have restored the song based on feedback may perhaps be read as a sign of their listening audience’s generation, but I would rather see it as a process of informed discussion winning out.
“I hope this is good news for the development of more nuanced discourse.”
I don’t know about “nuanced,” but there has definitely been discourse about context, body language and a hilarious parody video, “Baby, Just Go Outside,” that responds to original lyrics like “My mother will start to worry” with “Definitely text her right now,” and “My father will be pacing the floor” with “Here’s the coat and there is the door.”
In the end, a simple pop song has sparked the kind of multifaceted response that eluded the polarized smackdowns over Aziz Ansari, Harvey Weinstein and the alleged sexual assaults by students at St. Michael’s College School in Toronto.
“It points exactly to the issue at play,” Yri agrees. “The ‘no means no’ and ‘consent’ discussion, without being overly pedantic.”
Outrage — the hallmark of 21st-century discourse — still exists, but the radio flip-flop on banning indicates the paradigm may be shifting toward a reasonable middle ground, with space for the sorts of varied responses one hopes for in a debate that is in theory black and white, but, in practicality, is filled with shades of grey.
“We debate these things in the classroom regularly,” notes Yri, who points out that when it comes to interpreting music, context is as important as lyrics.
“And I’ve been happy to see, on some discussion boards, people calling out others for stating an opinion without supporting it and poking holes in the logic.
“But how to get the fuller picture out to people I do not know. We need nuance and informed discussion to be sexy!”
Many people support the move toward a more egalitarian society, she says, “but the extremism present in some of the headlines provides fodder for their dismissal.”
What we need, she says, “is for informed, nuanced and reflective comments that pay attention to context to become a viral phenomena, instead of the knee jerk, lemming-like behaviour that constitutes much of what passes for dialogue on the bulk of social media today.
“Maybe this is where the next generation comes in. But we need ‘space’ for that to occur.”
“Baby, It’s Cold,” of course, is one song among many on the politically incorrect hit list, with one satirical meme implicating everything from “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” (infidelity) to “White Christmas” (racism) to “Fairytale of New York” (gay slur) as candidates for ethical repositioning. And that’s just among Christmas tunes.
“We have to differentiate between using words that have sexist, homophobic and racist connotations … and concepts that are tied to particular movements,” insists Yri, noting that “Baby, It’s Cold” falls into the latter category.
“Words can be easily removed and the song can be ‘updated’ to avoid such offensive slags.
“But the latter — concepts like ‘no means no’ and ‘#MeToo’ — can’t simply be fixed by banning songs.
“In fact, one could argue these songs are more valuable for the way they ask people to reflect on social meaning, consider historical and contemporary contexts, and take on some debate.
“By banning them, we risk stopping that conversation. A return to literalism is definitely not the answer.”
It may be cold outside, baby, but in the world of social politics, things are just heating up.