The Problems I Have With Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass"

For those of you unfamiliar with the song:

I normally don't dissect catchy songs trying to send a good message on the internet, but this one has been on my mind (and I admit, stuck in my head) for a while now--enough so that I decided to share what about the song bothers me, despite Trainor's good intentions.

1.) "Every inch of you is perfect" . . . unless you're a skinny girl.

One of the best lines of the song--"'Cause every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top," is negated in later verses. Case and point:

You know I won't be no stick figure

and

I'm bringing booty back. Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that

So apparently "every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top," unless you're a skinny girl. Because we all know that underweight women have no reason to feel self-conscious about their bodies, right?

The point of the song is that we should feel beautiful regardless of what society's standard of beauty is, but unfortunately "All About That Bass" attempts to achieve this by elevating one body type over another, which just repeats the same problem we have with women and media image in the first place.

2.) Women shouldn't have to measure their personal worth based off what a man wants.

I know I know, sites like BeautyRedefined.org have turned me into somewhat of a feminist. But women and girls alike should feel good about themselves and about how they look because they're comfortable in their own skin. Because they've realized the standards society has placed on them are ridiculous. Because they've striven to build up their own confidence.

However, lyrics such as "boys like a little more booty to hold at night" and "I've got the boom boom that all the boys chase" is encouraging us to measure our beauty by what men want us to look like. Go ahead and tell me I'm stretching things, but those lines do encourage female objectification, however subtly.

Beauty is in the eye of the [male] beholder.

3.) Don't worry about your size. Except you should?

Trainor sings:

My mama she told me don't worry about your size
She says, "Boys like a little more booty to hold at night."

So your mother told you don't worry about your size... unless you've got a flat butt? Because if boys like a woman with a grab-able booty (see point #2), then girls who don't have one now have to worry about putting weight on. So really, your mama was lying to you. (Don't worry about your size, but better not lose weight or you won't have any more cuddle-buddies!) (Not to mention the lines are more or less referencing that "more booty" is beneficial only in a sexual context.)


So, there you have it. While I think "All About That Bass" is catchy, and Meghan Trainor is a very talented and well-meaning individual, the song rubs me in too many wrong ways. /feminism