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  • It’s that time of year again when regardless of whether you celebrate, enjoy, participate

  • or even care about Christmas youre constantly inundated with painfully cheery, sappy and repetitive Holiday music,

  • everything from the Bing Crosby classics to the latest pop star’s rendition of jingle bells.

  • Every store you go into, every mall you enter, and all over our television screens and radios

  • these songs are stuck on repeat for a solid month, if not more!

  • Those of us who happen to live in the West, probably know all the words by heart and find ourselves unintentionally singing along.

  • But have you ever really paid attention to what’s going on in these lyrics?

  • Some of the messages are just down right creepy

  • and theyre passed off as holiday cheer

  • with hardly a comment year after year.

  • Here is my list of the top 5 creepiest and sexist Holiday songs.

  • At number 5 All I want for Christmas Is You

  • Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you

  • While it might sound like an old time classic,

  • it’s actually a contemporary Holiday song, produced for Mariah Carey in the 1990′s.

  • On the surface it may seem cute and romantic but there’s a nasty little message embedded in the lyrics.

  • It’s the tired old, all women need is a man myth.

  • We see this disturbing message embedded in Hollywood movies,

  • especially in romantic comedies where it essentially serves as the back bone of the entire genre.

  • In these stories were taught that women’s primary goal in life is to find Mr Right

  • and without him, apparently our lives are all unfulfilled, boring and meaningless.

  • “I just want you for my own, More than you could ever know, Make my wish come true, All I want for Christmas is you

  • With lyrics like: “I just want you for my very own, More than you could ever know

  • Make my wish come true, All I want for Christmas is you

  • the singer expresses no desire, needs or interests in anything other then being gifted a man for Christmas.

  • While most covers of this song are done by women such as Shania Twain, Miley Cyrus, and Mercedes from Glee,

  • it’s not any less creepy when a man sings it because the lyrics could be interpreted as bordering on stalker territory.

  • Here are some other things that you might want for christmas in addition to romance:

  • quality time with friends and family,

  • days off for relaxation,

  • good homemade food,

  • or an 11 inch, cast zinc, life size, replica of Buffy’s Slayer Scythe complete with authentic ostrich skin wrapped hand crafted wooden handle

  • ...just an idea.

  • And at number 4 is I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

  • “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus, underneath the mistletoe last night

  • This song was commissioned by Saks Fifth Avenue in 1952 to sell their annual Christmas Card and was originally recorded by Jimmy Boyd.

  • It’s still a widely popular holiday song, covered by a variety of musicians

  • from Amy Winehouse, The Jackson Five to Reba McEntire.

  • The song starts with “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night,”

  • and then it goes on to say “I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus underneath his beard so snowy white.”

  • The story is about someone’s mom whose cheating on her husband with Santa Claus

  • and the poor kid has to watch the whole thing,

  • or in the best case scenario it’s his dad dressed up as Santa Claus,

  • but either waybleh.

  • Number 3, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

  • It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go, take a look in the five and ten

  • This Christmas favourite was popularized by Perry Como and Bing Crosby back in 1951.

  • And while they sing about candy canes and silver lanes,

  • they also celebrate and reinforce harmful gendered stereotypes in children’s toys.

  • “A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots, Is the wish of Barney and Ben. Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk, Is the hope of Janice and Jen.”

  • The lyrics go: “A pair of hopalong boots and a pistol that shoots, Is the wish of Barney and Ben. Dolls that will talk and will go for a walk, Is the hope of Janice and Jen.”

  • Really? Baby Dolls for little girls and guns for little boys?

  • Continuing to segregate and advertise toys based on gender just works to perpetuate those nasty sexist stereotypes,

  • plus it severely limits the development of all young people.

  • You can check out my video Toy Ads and Learning Gender for more on all of that.

  • Coming in at number 2 is Santa Baby

  • Santa baby, a 54 convertible too, Light blue. I’ll wait up for you dear, Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight.”

  • Santa Baby was originally recorded by Eartha Kitt in 1953

  • and has been covered countless times since then by artists such as Shakira, The Pussycat Dolls, Taylor Swift, Madonna.

  • This song might seems cute, and sweet and some have even tried to make it sexy,

  • but it’s just another tired old stereotype about how women are materialistic and shallow.

  • This woman is urging Santa to hurry down the chimney and bring her a convertible, a yacht, a duplex, and a ring.

  • The Gold Digger trope is sadly still pervasive in our popular media from pop songs to hollywood movies

  • and this particular holiday song gets dragged out every year again and again.

  • And at Number 1 for the most sexist holiday song, Baby It’s Cold Outside.

  • “I really can’t stay but Baby it’s cold outside I’ve got to go away but Baby it’s cold outside,

  • This evening has beenBeen hoping that you’d drop in, So very nice

  • Occasionally referred to as the Christmas Date Rape Song, this duet was written by Frank Loesser in 1936.

  • While the song has a sweet melody to it, this style of duet is often referred to as mouse and wolf

  • where the mouse part is traditionally sung by a woman and the wolf part by a man.

  • The predatory style description is amazingly accurate

  • given that the man spends the whole song subtly pressuring the woman into staying with him for the night.

  • In the first verse the woman sings “I really can’t stay, I must go away, my mother will worry

  • and the man responds by sayingbaby it’s cold outside”.

  • Beautiful, please don’t hurry Well Maybe just a half a drink morePut some records on while I pour.

  • The neighbors might thinkBaby, it’s bad out there. Say, what’s in this drinkNo cabs to be had out there

  • When she reluctantly agrees tohalf a drink moresuspiciously askingsay, what’s in this drink.”

  • He responds that she shouldn’t be in a hurry, she wouldn’t be able to get a cab anyway,

  • and oh yeah, by the way your lips look delicious.

  • He also resorts to the use of guilt, with lines likeWhat’s the sense in hurting my prideandBaby don’t hold out”.

  • Throughout the rest of the song he uses deceitful and manipulative techniques

  • to constantly pressure her into giving in and getting what he wants,

  • and just in case you aren’t clear on this point, what he wants is to get laid.

  • Through his slow and sustained pressure he lowers her defenses by refusing to accept her insistence on leaving.

  • And he may have even drugged her.

  • “I simply must go but Baby, it’s cold outside The answer is no but baby, it’s cold outside

  • I mean, she literally says, “The answer is noyet he ignores this and keeps persisting.

  • The song concludes with her finally giving in with the shudder inducing line, “well I really shouldn’t…. alright”.

  • These lyrics are a perfect illustration of the way men pressure women into experiences that they don’t want, aren’t ready for or aren’t interested in.

  • Songs like this work to normalize this problematic male behaviour, a behaviour which contributes and perpetuates rape culture in general.

  • Yes, most of these songs were written over 50 years ago

  • but every year the airwaves are flooded by the old versions as well as new rerecorded ones by the pop star of the hour.

  • While you probably won’t be able to avoid any of these songs this month,

  • maybe you can use them as a way to engage in a conversation about sexism with your friends and families over the holidays.

  • It will make for a interesting and lively conversation, I promise.

  • Or you could just show them this video

  • If you enjoy these videos and wanna help keep Feminist Frequency going please donate today!

  • Just visit feministfrequency.com/donate

It’s that time of year again when regardless of whether you celebrate, enjoy, participate

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