I love to sing and I love to write- so lyrics in music is something I pay heavy attention to. With that being said, I was beyond excited the first time I heard Meghan Trainors new single come on a local radio station- I'd heard high praise for the song All About That Bass which was supposedly a protest to body shaming and encouraging everyone to love themselves no matter their size... Needless to say, I was dissapointed when the entire song seemed to put down thin girls in order to boost curvy girls self-esteem.
The pre-chorus of the song alone contains several slams to thinner girls size starting when Megan proudly proclaims that "boys like a little more booty to hold at night". How can anyone learn to love their shape if they're basing it off of a mans opinion? The answer is, they can't. As much as I hate to break it to Trainor, men aren't total bricks- all of them have their own desires and "type" when it comes to looking for a women, so if we start to base our perception of our bodies off of what we think men want, we'll end up dissapointed sooner or later because not all men want the same thing. Later in the pre-chorus, Trainor states that she "won't be no stick figure silicone barbie doll", as if being thin is a negative thing, when in some cases it simply genetics.
In my opinion, the most offensive part of the song occurs during the bridge which begins with "I'm bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that". So because someone isn't you're shape, that gives you the right to call them an extremely derogatory and negative name? No, it shows immaturity on her part. But wait, it gets better (well, actually worse) with the lyrics following those being "Nah- I'm just playing, I know you think you're fat" and a laugh. Meghans reference to skinny girls who think they're fat sounds a lot like a dig at people with eating disorders and body dysmorphia, which a serious issue that should never be laughed off by anyone.
So what is my overall opinion of this song? Yes, its catchy. And yes, Meghans music style and voice has a unique vintage, 40's sound. But labeling the song an anti-body shaming song seems to be a little bit of a stretch. Our society and media like to focus on curvy girls body issues, while forgetting that thinner girls also have insecurities. Its so easy to let the media soak into our minds and taint our perspectives and their praise for Meghans song stands as proof. So whats my take away? No one is perfect and if you have to put someone else down to make youself feel better you need to figure out a different way to build your self-esteem.
So give the song a listen yourself. What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk
The pre-chorus of the song alone contains several slams to thinner girls size starting when Megan proudly proclaims that "boys like a little more booty to hold at night". How can anyone learn to love their shape if they're basing it off of a mans opinion? The answer is, they can't. As much as I hate to break it to Trainor, men aren't total bricks- all of them have their own desires and "type" when it comes to looking for a women, so if we start to base our perception of our bodies off of what we think men want, we'll end up dissapointed sooner or later because not all men want the same thing. Later in the pre-chorus, Trainor states that she "won't be no stick figure silicone barbie doll", as if being thin is a negative thing, when in some cases it simply genetics.
In my opinion, the most offensive part of the song occurs during the bridge which begins with "I'm bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that". So because someone isn't you're shape, that gives you the right to call them an extremely derogatory and negative name? No, it shows immaturity on her part. But wait, it gets better (well, actually worse) with the lyrics following those being "Nah- I'm just playing, I know you think you're fat" and a laugh. Meghans reference to skinny girls who think they're fat sounds a lot like a dig at people with eating disorders and body dysmorphia, which a serious issue that should never be laughed off by anyone.
So what is my overall opinion of this song? Yes, its catchy. And yes, Meghans music style and voice has a unique vintage, 40's sound. But labeling the song an anti-body shaming song seems to be a little bit of a stretch. Our society and media like to focus on curvy girls body issues, while forgetting that thinner girls also have insecurities. Its so easy to let the media soak into our minds and taint our perspectives and their praise for Meghans song stands as proof. So whats my take away? No one is perfect and if you have to put someone else down to make youself feel better you need to figure out a different way to build your self-esteem.
So give the song a listen yourself. What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PCkvCPvDXk