It's Christmas time again, meaning it's the time of year when all the criticisms of "Baby It's Cold Outside" get passed around. I don't see the value in repeating what's already been said by so many others about it, so I'll just add my reply to idea that our criticisms come from a modern take on the lyrics, but in the context of it's time, it's not what it sounds like to us now. I haven't heard that addressed yet, so here it is.
Interpreting it charitably, it could be that the woman actually does want to stay with the man, but realizes she will be criticized if she does (she mentions her sister, neighbors, and aunts being "suspicious") so she's looking for an excuse to stay (the weather, too much to drink).
But how is this better? The modern take is that the man won't accept her "No," and that's why it rapey, but in this world, her consent doesn't even exist! There's no difference at all between her ability to say yes and no! Just to do what she wants, she has to pretend to be coerced or else be judged by people who have no business even butting in! And then we wonder why our society has such a difficult time "understanding women" when this is the background we come out of. Don't forget, people who grew up in this mindset are still alive today and, since they didn't reject it but instead sings songs about it, would have passed on those ideas to their children.
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