As I focused on in my last blog post, Meghan Trainor’s all about that bass does seek to help make women of larger sizes feel comfortable with their bodies, which is positive. However, there are quite a few negatives with Trainor’s hit single.
This article by Chloe Angyal wonderfully picks apart the issues with Meghan Trainor’s song. From problems with the video imagery to the lyrics, Angyal explains everything wrong with the at first seemingly positive song.
First, Angyal mentions that while Trainor is doing a good job of not conforming to the industry imposed beauty standards, her lyric “Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase. And all the right junk in all the right places” just demonstrates that she is following the beauty standards imposed by boys instead. This creates a troubling scenario where women are still subjected to harmful standards imposed by others.
Next, Angyal continues to point out how a lot of the lyrics show that Trainor justifies her body based on boys opinions of it. This practice creates some pretty flimsy self-worth as it is reliant on only what others think of your body. It is much more valuable and correct to base your self-worth on your inherent value and beauty simply as a human.
Finally, Trainor’s song struggles through its particular emphasis on “boom boom”, or only girls of plus-size. It almost comes across like Trainor is saying that only girls who are of greater size are beautiful. If so, this is an entirely hypocritical message for the meaning of her song. Lyrics such as, “She says, boys like a little more booty to hold at night” and “Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches” only serve to prove this point.
Overall, despite Trainor’s positive intentions and few positive outcomes, “All About that Bass” proves to be a pretty troubling song for women in today’s society. After examining the song closely, it becomes clear that the song ends up contradicting the very message it seeks to promote.
Charley’s WGSST feminism blog 