Hi there, folks! It's me, Michael Bach, your Diversity Dude,
and it's time for another episode of Monday Morning Musings.
In fact, it's the last Monday Morning Musings of 2018!
CCDI's offices close on Friday the 21st, and we will be closed for two weeks,
so I get a vacation for a couple weeks.
And so do you! I hope you'll survive.
As my last musing for the year, I thought I would chat about something that's been in the news lately,
and that's the backlash against the song "Baby, it's cold outside".
For those of you who don't know, the song has come under a lot of scrutiny this year
and been pulled by a number of radio stations because people believe it perpetuates rape culture.
So the song was recorded, written by Frank Loesser in 1944 to be sung at parties with his wife Lynn Garland.
Don't know if there's any relation to Judy, but move on...
And it's a call-and-response song where the man is trying to convice the woman to stay over because it's 'cold outside'
and the woman is struggling with whether or not she wants to stay.
And there's be a lot of critical commentary about the song on both sides.
There've been people who have been supportive and people who've been against it.
And particularly this year.
You know with #MeToo and #TimesUp, it's been really such a pivotal year
around breaking down this hyper-masculine, toxic culture of sexualizing women,
and I'm so happy that it's happened finally.
It did take until 2018 and I really hope that that continues,
that the groundswell around women's empowerment continues.
And a lot of radio stations have banned the song because of the connotations.
I've personally always had a bit of a weird kind of irk about this song,
and it's one line in the song where the woman says "Hey, what's in this drink?"
And I've always thought to myself: Did he just roofy her?
And it was another article that I read by a woman who, she sort of turned it around
and she reexamined the song as being more about women's empowerment and saying that:
No, traditionally there's been a lot slut shaming, particularly around 1944 and around women, you know,
should not be having sex with men, particularly outside of marriage,
they should not be in private with men, et cetera,
and this was a woman taking charge of her life.
Regardless of the intention of the song, I think it's important that we focus on the problem, not the symptom.
I think the song is a red herring.
I'm absolutely in support of women who have been sexually assaulted.
I stand with you.
My whole point is just to say: The song's not the problem.
If we start poking holes in songs, we're going to be in a... there's not going to be much music left.
The problem is the rape culture.
The problem is living in a society where people are sexualized unnecessarily,
where men don't take "no" for an answer, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
That's the problem.
I choose to listen to the song.
It's a pretty song.
I actually enjoyed the most recent version with Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon Levitt,
where they reversed roles, and she seems like the aggressor, and I think the song is not the problem.
This is like blaming the word 'chocolate' for me being overweight.
It's not the chocolate's fault.
We need to address the bigger issue and keep up the work around Me Too and Time's Up,
and not let the incredible sacrifices of women, particularly this year,
who have come out and spoken out about the challenges they've faced.
We need to make sure that that has not been in vain.
So, with that, I want to wish you Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa.
I want to say to everyone that I hope you have a wonderful break.
I hope you *get* a break, first off!
I hope you spend some time with friends and family and loved ones.
This can be a troubling time for some people and just remember you're not alone.
That's it for me.
Remember to subscribe to my channel by clicking on the link somewhere...
...here.
And I will see you not next week, nor the week following, but three weeks from now,
for another episode of Monday Morning Musings.
Bye-bye!