Baby, It's Cold Outside: Date Rape

The Christmas season has finally arrived, bringing with it the revival of classic holiday songs that take up a majority of play time on the radio. Everyone has songs they either adore or hate, and some people just cannot stand holiday music all together. However, no song this season has received more attention and backlash than “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” With the lyrics, “Say, what’s in this drink?” and “Oh baby don’t hold out,” many have claimed that the song implies date rape. Although the song does appear creepy and forceful at first glance, upon further inspection the song, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” does not allude to date rape, but rather tells of a scandalous romance for that time. Even though it is the most controversial line of the song, “Say what’s in this drink?” does not imply a date rape drug, but most likely refers to a popular, cultural excuse. During the time when this song was written (1944), women would often excuse their embarrassing actions by using the idiom “what’s in this drink?” to blame …show more content…
The lines, “what’s the sense in hurtin’ my pride”, “oh baby don’t hold out”, “how can you do this thing to me?”, and “gosh your lips look delicious”, come across as manipulative, audacious, and/or slightly entitled. However, the man does not cross any boundaries, make a move without consent, or intimidate the woman. The man even asks for permission before making a move, which can be observed in the line “mind if I move in closer?”. Also, at all times, the woman has the opportunity to get up and leave, but never does. This blatantly displays her desire to stay. Yes, the man does persistently persuade the woman to stay and some people might even consider him prideful or pushy, however the woman has the ability to leave at any time and the man does not pose a