"There she sits with stars in her eyes
But too afraid to dance
'Cause every guy that she holds so close
Just wants to get in her pants."
- Sammy Hagar, "Can't Get Loose"
To be effective, comedy has to be rooted in truth. If Dustin Nickerson had made up descriptions of how the Looney Tunes characters behave or focused on characteristics that today's viewers would not find uncomfortable, his bit would not have inspired me the way it did. It was that connection to reality that allowed me to write about aging art as a barometer of society's shifting morality.
Another comedy bit I came across by comedian Tom Cotter has now inspired me to write this essay, but for an entirely different reason. Instead of looking for laughs by staying firmly attached to the truth, he relied on fake outrage as he compared the Christmas classic "Baby It's Cold Outside" to the modern"'day hit "WAP." Ignoring the deep social problems highlighted by the former, he focused on the difference in the language used to convey the message.
As pointed out by Cotter, the lyrics of "Baby It's Cold Outside" appear wholesome; there is no vulgarity or graphic description of sexual acts. To prove his point, the comedian paraphrases a few lines from "Baby It's Cold Outside," highlighting how the lyrics seem polite and even charming on the surface. The woman talks about her family worrying and her reputation, while the man frames his insistence that she stay as a simple concern about the weather.
Conveniently, Cotter stops quoting from the lyrics before he gets to the line from the song that lands hardest with today's audience:
"What's in this drink?"
While the meaning of this question may be different now from when the song was written in 1944, to a contemporary audience it reads as, in Cotter's words, "rape-y." At the very least, the male protagonist doesn't seem to grasp that "no" is an answer, not an opening to negotiate.
The woman does not mince words and tells her suitor, "The answer is no," but he continues his pursuit. This may have been acceptable during the era in which the song was written, but society has progressed since then. If a woman says she's "gotta get home" then lend her a coat and stop trying to get into her pants.
Yet, Cotter does not seem to think that this coercion is questionable. Since the words are set to a soothing melody and have gone largely unquestioned for decades, refusing to play it on the radio now becomes, in his view, an example of cancel culture gone too far. He says this is particularly true when the song is compared to the more contemporary hit "WAP."
There is no question that a song about a "Wet Ass P*ssy" is vulgar. Forget about double entendre; Cardi B is as direct as she can be in describing what she wants. The woman in "Baby It's Cold Outside" may have been concerned about what "the neighbors might think," but the liberated woman in "WAP" doesn't care about that kind of scrutiny.
But the biggest difference between the two songs isn't the type of language that is used; it's the presence of consent. The response to "No, no, no, sir" is not "Mind if I move in closer?" She has clearly stated she isn't ready to move forward, and the decent thing to do is step back and change the dynamic so she no longer feels uncomfortable.
However, if the woman says "I want you to park that big Mack truck right in this little garage," there is no question that the green light has been signaled. A song set in this scenario is a celebration of lust, not evidence in a date"'rape prosecution.
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