If you listen to the radio or the top twenty pop hits, my guess is that you’ve heard the song “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor(if you haven’t, the link is at the bottom of the article.) My roommate absolutely adores this song. She plays it all the time… literally, ALL THE TIME. Don’t get me wrong it’s an awesome song, but I can only hear it every so often until I get to the point where I’m banging my head on my desk. It has a great message, but some people have gotten very offended by it.
The song is, for the most part, extremely uplifting for women. Media displays women being “perfectly” skinny and most of the time, these women have the exact same body type and look. This makes people believe that that is how all women should look, and it is not true. Everyone, women and men alike, have different body types. Some women do look like people in magazines, but most women do not! Some women have more curves than others; some women have more fat in their thighs or their stomachs, or their arms.
In the song, Trainor sings, “I see the magazine workin’ that Photoshop, we know that sh*t ain’t real, C’mon now, make it stop. If you got beauty, beauty, just raise ‘em up, Cause every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top.” If that isn’t inspiring, I don’t know what is! The whole song is about loving yourself and being content with your body, even if it doesn’t look EXACTLY like the pictures in magazines, which is an amazing message for everyone! It’s when she says, “I’m bringing booty back! Go ‘head and tell them skinny b*tches that, nah I’m just playing…” is where people start getting offended.
Even if you aren’t a “skinny” girl, it is understandable as to why it’s seen as offensive, even though she says, “I’m just playing”. Yes, the point of the whole song is empowering all women to love their body, no matter what body type they have. But currently, body shaming is aimed at bigger girls, not skinny girls. The song is mostly for bigger girls to try and counteract the body shaming and low self-esteem as a result of the portrayal of the “right” body. Trainor could have said this in a less offensive way and promoted love for all body types instead of bashing skinny girls, but this isn’t the part that everyone should be upset about.
The entire song is about loving yourself the way you are, but then, Trainor sings about how “boys like a little more booty to hold at night”, which is sending a TERRIBLE message!!! Who cares what boys want to “hold at night”?? If all a boy cares about is your physical appearance, LEAVE HIM. If a boy ever tries to change anything about your physical appearance, LEAVE HIM. It’s your body!! If you like it the way it is, don’t change it, especially for a boy! If you want to lose weight, or dye or cut your hair because you aren’t happy with the way you are now, go for it! Do it because it makes YOU happy! Don’t ever change because someone else doesn’t like the way you look!
Yes, this song is extremely catchy even though it bashes “skinny” girls and promotes being a certain way for boys, but as a public service announcement, DO NOT change for a boy or anyone else. No matter what body type you have, love yourself! You are beautiful and you don’t need a boy or media to tell you that!
Listn to All About That Bass here!