All About That Bass: Song Analysis

Meghan Trainor’s hit “All About That Bass” become a popular song among young women after its release in 2014, since at first glance the song seems to promote self-confidence and self-acceptance by encouraging women to love their bodies regardless of its size and curves. However, for those who read between the lines of Trainor’s song, it becomes obvious that the message it entails to deliver is far from feminist or empowering. A closer analysis of the song’s lyrics and music video will demonstrate that the message sent by “All About That Bass” encourages women to seek external validation and conformity with societal beauty standards, as well as it promotes body-shaming of those individuals with smaller body frames and supports postfeminism

Meghan Trainor reassures women do not need to be concerned about meeting the standards of beauty imposed by the fashion industry (e.g., “see the magazines working that Photoshop, we know that shit ain't real so make it stop”), and yet, meeting the standards imposed by men is necessary if a woman wants to feel loved, desired, and consequently, accepted (e.g., “I got that boom boom that all the boys chase in all the right places”). Carrie Fisher’s ideologies, as described in the article written by Sady Doyle (2016), empower women to set their own rules and refuse to fit stereotypical and limiting roles society attempts to force upon them (e.g., “Things come out in the media about me… it’s someone else’s version of me. I want it to be my version”). Meghan Trainor must include similar ideologies in her songs, as women need to be reminded that they are beautiful regardless of how their bodies look or what society labels as beautiful. The song contradicts itself by promoting self-acceptance (e.g., “don’t worry about your size”) while at the same time advocating for external validation (i.e., “boys like a little more booty to hold at night”). In summary, the real message being sent by Meghan Trainor’s song is that a girl’s worth does not come from what they think of themselves, but rather what society, and especially

Not only is Trainor skinny-shaming, she is also saying being skinny is not okay because boys prefer girls who “have a little more booty to hold at night”. Being thin does not make you a bitch, dumb, or slutty; calling women who have slimmer bodies “bitches” and those who have curves “real women” is not empowering or productive, instead it promotes hate and low self-esteem. The music video of the song reinforces the idea that those with curvier figures are the ones who are desirable by portraying voluptuous people dancing in the video who are happy, smiling, and having a good time, while one of the females who is of smaller size, is portrayed as stupid, superficial, and unable to dance. In fact, there is a moment where one of the dancers comes close to the smaller female to dance on her and eventually pushes her out of the picture; by doing so, the smaller figure woman is portrayed as weak and unable to defend herself, while the dancer is represented as a powerful, confident, and successful. Body shaming, regardless of what body type is being attacked, is wrong; shaming skinny girls while trying to uplift up curvy girls encourages division, and thus, hate and discrimination between the two groups. The song should instead try to inspire women to be confident in their own skin and