“All About That Bass” is one of the very few songs promoting a positive body image which is currently circulating and becoming popular. When I heard the song for the first time last week, I immediately knew that I wanted to blog about it. There are so many songs in the music industry that emphasize being super skinny when, in reality, the majority of the population looks nothing like the girls featured in so many popular music videos. The constant depiction of video girls with an itty-bitty waist as well as a big chest and rear-end gives women a skewed view of what is “real” and how they’re “supposed” to look. It also sets standards that are absolutely ridiculous and almost impossible to attain in a healthy way.
One of my favorite parts of the song is when Trainor calls out the fashion industry and magazines that constantly use Photoshop to alter images:
“I see the magazines working that Photoshop, we know that s**t ain’t real, come on now, make it stop.“
I find Trainor’s video to be inspiring and very upbeat. It’s certainly a message that I support and I applaud her for the song’s success thus far. I can only hope that it inspires other musicians to create more music in the future that promotes a positive body image.
I’d like to make sure that I emphasize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being skinny and there is also nothing wrong with having plenty of curves. The most important thing about your weight and shape is that you are healthy! Everyone is not built the same, so people are going to look different. I believe that once the music and fashion industries recognize this and start realistically representing the population, the number of girls (and guys) who struggle with body image will decrease exponentially.
