What I Think About 'All About That Bass'

You've probably heard 'All About That Bass' by now, the really catchy feel-good tune by Meghan Trainor. In so many ways it's become a body positivity anthem, sending out the message that 'every inch of you is perfect' and that you shouldn't worry about your size. Meghan also tells boys that if they're not into her body type, that they should 'go ahead and move along', which I totally agree with. She also calls out Photoshop, and says that we should make it stop because it 'ain't real.' 

Whilst I love the body positivity Meghan promotes in her song, there are some real problems in Meghan's message of body positivity. Firstly you have the lyrics, 'I can shake it, shake it like I'm supposed to do' and 'all the right junk in all the right places' that suggest that if you don't have a body which is curvy then it's a bad thing, and that you're not a real women.  She also uses phrases like 'stick figure silcone barbie doll' and 'skinny bitches' which promote a tension between skinnier girls and curvier girls. Whilst she does explain in the song that she's 'just playing' and not using the term 'skinny bitches' seriously, it seems unnecessary to use the phrase in the first place. And even worse, her explanation of 'I know you think you're fat' seems almost a bit mocking of skinnier women. 

Like most campaigns that promote body positivity for 'curvier' women, there always seems to be an element of putting down skinnier women for how they look. A perfect example of this is the ever popular phrase 'Real Women Have Curves.' Whilst this phrase empowers many, the harsh reality is that people who are naturally slim, and not very curvy at all are made to feel as if they're not real women. The main problem is that there's an element of resentment towards skinny women. In my younger teens, I used to always think 'If only I was skinnier, my life would be so easy.' There's almost this illusion that skinny women have perfect bodies, so they aren't allowed to be insecure about them, and therefore they must be perfectly content with how they look. But the reality is that girls are made fun of for being a 'stick', having a 'boyish figure,' and being flat chested among many other things. Whilst I think Meghan had no intention to make girls feel bad if they have skinnier figures, there's a real undertone of skinny shaming in her song, that is quite hard to ignore. 

On a positive note, one way in which All About That Bass really succeeds is that it's message is not overly sexualised. Compared to songs like 'Booty' and 'Anaconda' which celebrate big behinds purely on sexual value, All About That Bass isn't about how sexually attractive you are to men, rather how positive you feel about your own body. Although the song does refer to how men like a little more booty to hold at night, the overall message of the song is that what's most important is that you accept your own body. 

In many ways, All About That Bass should be applauded. It is a song that helps to promote body positivity for lots of women and girls out there. It's just a shame that this song doesn't promote body positivity for all of us. Personally I think the way forward for body positivity is to accept all sizes. No one should decide what the perfect figure is, instead we should be happy with our bodies slim and curvy, just the way they are. After all, we are all so much more than our bodies, and the size of our waists shouldn't dictate how we feel about ourselves. What we achieve, and who we are is far more important. 

YOUTUBE | BLOGLOVIN' | TWITTER