Whether it’s traditional hymns or new radio hits, we have no shortage of songs to fill the air during this holiday season. In recent years, our standards of what makes a “good Christmas song” have changed over time, creating discourse surrounding controversial holiday tunes.
One of the most divisive Christmas songs is “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” Originally written in 1944 by Frank Loesser, the song is performed by two singers, a man and a woman. The woman tries to find reasons to leave the man’s house, but the man insists that she stay because it’s too cold to go outside. While some people consider it flirty and cheeky, others sense a more sinister undertone.
National Public Radio explains that to a modern audience, the song comes across as the man forcing advances. Lines such as “What’s in this drink?” even seem to imply date rape. Some radio stations including WDOK in Cleveland banned the song due to this content. The article states, “The call and response duet has a female voice trying to tear herself away from her date in myriad ways.”
The real meaning of the song might be benign after all. According to The Guardian, the song makes sense in its historical context. “Others have read the song as a knowing portrait of a time when women were not allowed to be openly sexual,” the article explains.
The woman’s denial in the song might show her trying to protect her image, despite actually wanting advances. The “What’s in this drink?” line was likely referring to alcohol and not a more dangerous substance. The female character might be playing hard-to-get because it was the societal expectation, not because she is genuinely uncomfortable.
“Baby It’s Cold Outside” is a holiday favorite for many people, but for others it is an uncomfortable reminder of gender inequality in the past and the present.
Another song to reconsider is “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid. The song was originally written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for Ethiopians as they faced famine. According to Ure in a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary, the song raised £8 million within a year, leaving a major impact.
It has been re-released multiple times over the last decades to support similar causes around the world, with the most recent 40th anniversary edition being released in 2024.
Although this charitable cause demonstrates the holiday spirit of giving, the song itself leaves much to be desired. It has been criticized for misrepresenting Africa and perpetuating harmful stereotypes in its lyrics.
Band Aid was a supergroup composed of many artists from the United Kingdom and Ireland who came together specifically for the purpose of charity. The lyrics of the original 1984 version call those in more wealthy countries to, “say a prayer, pray for the other ones … thank God it’s them instead of you.” It also asks the question of the famine victims, “do they know it’s Christmas time at all?”
Activists believed that these lyrics portrayed Ethiopia as pitiful and helpless, and most egregiously, misrepresented their religious beliefs. Although African countries may seem absurdly alien to the Western World, they are not.
Ethiopia has one of the largest and oldest Christian communities in the world, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook. To imply that they don’t know about Christmas is ridiculous. The lyrics portray Ethiopians as heathens who need to be exposed to the Christian God, but this is an inaccurate stereotype.
Today, humanitarian efforts try to avoid this kind of misrepresentation. When raising awareness about problems around the world, it is important to portray the issues realistically.
According to Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan writer interviewed by the BBC, “There has been a push within humanitarian agencies to start seeing people in a crisis first as human beings and not as victims. The idea that these people were incapable of doing anything for themselves was always a misconception.”
It is also true that the song may not have sold as well if it weren’t for this portrayal of Ethiopia. The images in the song conjure feelings of pity, and this strong emotion draws people to action.
The song made a real difference to many people back in 1984, and these positive effects continued when it was re-released in subsequent decades.
Despite this, we should still be considerate of how we portray other cultures.
While the holidays give us opportunities to honor the past, it is necessary to look closely at the traditions we participate in and the songs we sing. Do these songs align with our modern understandings of social issues? Are they appropriate for this holly jolly season? We must find a balance between appreciating historical context and embracing new perspectives.
