I absolutely can not stand the song “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor. It makes my blood boil. I think that my biggest problem with this song is that the lyrics are glib and hypocritical. The song has been hailed as many as one about being accepting of yourself and not being preoccupied with the “ideal” images set fourth by the media. This in itself is a good message, but the song is a cheapened, watered down, and insincere shadow of that ideal. One of the lines that gets under my skin the most is “Tell them skinny bitches hey”. It completely contradicts what the song is supposedly about. Just because someone is skinnier than you does not make it okay to call them a bitch. That being said, she does recant (somewhat) in the next line with “No, I’m just playing I know you think you’re fat”. Although she claims to be kidding it comes off as disingenuous. Also, not every “skinny bitch” thinks they’re fat, and some of them work really hard to have a strong body that just happens to be skinny. There is no need to put others down in order too make yourself feel better. Furthermore, although I approve of sending a message that you don’t have to be skinny, I don’t think it’s healthy to encourage a lack of concern for one’s health. There is a male featured in the video who appears to be severely overweight. People shouldn’t be shamed for not being a “size 2”, however, they also shouldn’t be told that being overweight is perfectly fine and nothing to be concerned about. I also can’t stand the sexualization. I know that a lot of popular songs are very sexual, but you should be happy with the way you are for yourself, not because “boys like a little more booty to hold at night”. Making self acceptance about pleasing the opposite sex debases women and cheapens the sentiment. I also can’t stand the repetitive chorus. I know that choruses are repeated throughout songs, but hers is just a repetition of the same phrase five times with a couple other words sprinkled in here and there. The song is severely lacking in substance. Ironically…the song contains a lot of treble. Hypocrite.
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Writing on Music, Summer 2015 
I am very happy that someone else chose to do this song, as I was having a tough time choosing between this and the song I chose. I had a roommate that would play this song at the early hours of the morning and it would drive me crazy. Not only is the song bringing up one group as it shoots down another, it is also very repetitive and annoying to say the least! I think that the message behind it is absolutely great but I also think that it is opening the door for people to take something too far. While everyone should be accepted for character rather than appearance, there is still something to be said about health and being too overweight is still not okay by that standard.
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I totally agree with you; your points about the hypocrisy of this song are so true! I think often people think they are being proactive and benefitting feminism or other movements when their actions are somewhat counterproductive and miss the mark. It’s one thing to be proud of your healthy curves, but it’s another to project the message that your body type, which you are demanding respect for, is the best type, especially when your initially premise is that people should not put down others for their body types. The line “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top” especially contradicts the line “boys like a little more booty to hold at night”. It’s like saying its ok to be whatever you are, but just know if you don’t have a big butt, boys won’t really like you as much. I don’t think the artist had poor intentions with her song, I just think its easy to produce music like this because the pop industry doesn’t put a ton of lyrical judgement into their selections, oftentimes.
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Great post! I completely agree with you! The message of self-acceptance brought forth by this song is basically counter-acted by the lyrics. This song has received some hate for this reason. I think Meghan Trainor, herself, is self-confident and that rubs off on her fans, especially young girls, but her songs from a lyrical perspective don’t agree with her message. The lyrics you point out “tell them skinny bitches hey” also upset me. Everyone is different in their own way and a lack of self-confidence and self-acceptance is not only a challenge for someone who is weight, but it can also be a struggle for someone who is underweight; it’s something everyone has to deal with, no matter their size. Regardless of the degrading lyrics, the upbeat tempo of the song makes it catchy and fun; for me, that doesn’t really make up for it’s inappropriate lyrics.
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I thought this post was so great. This song really bothers me a lot too. I hate the fact that she is trying to share a message of acceptance, and yet she says the phrase “skinny bitches”…. Really not something that screams equality despite your size. I think that it’s great for someone to try and spread awareness about acceptance of people who are larger than the models we see in magazines, but I think Trainor failed miserably at doing so. I also think that it’s a little ridiculous coming from her, seeing as she is (in all actuality) probably like a size 6. Not overweight at all. This song certainly does have a catchy tune, and while the lyrics send a message that I don’t agree with, they are simple enough to memorize and sing along to the song– which, in my opinion, is an important ingredient for a commercial hit. Thanks for your post. I really enjoyed reading it, and I thought you had some really great insights.
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