“All About That Bass,” by American singer/songwriter, Meghan Trainor, is a hit song that Trainor released in the summer of 2014. With a catchy vibe and message encouraging girls to have pride in their own bodies, the song quickly gained fame. Having spent time on the charts for twenty-six weeks, Trainor’s hit single reached ranking as the tenth top song in the Billboard Top 100. The 57th Grammy Awards also nominated the song for “Record of the Year” and “Song of The Year.” Excited about these nominations, River Harper ’18 commented, “I enjoy listening to this song and think that it is very catchy.” While this song aims to send the message that people are beautiful in their bodies, it has been the subject of some controversy recently. Despite this song’s strong and inspiring message, Trainor used derogatory terms in this song towards girls who are underweight, shedding potentially negative light on Trainor’s hit.
Although people have argued that Meghan Trainor’s song attempts to get the message across to people that everyone should feel beautiful no matter their body type, some people argue that she puts forth a stereotype about skinny and underweight girls, suggesting that they are the bullies or that being larger is the right way to be. One line in the song states, “I can shake it, shake it, like I’m supposed to do.” Trainor’s hit could be seen as insulting to people who are underweight due to eating disorders. Many social media users attacked Trainor, claiming that “All About That Bass” actually functions as a body-shaming song. Some people think that this song has a powerful, strong message, while others find themselves on the other side of the argument, believing that the song shames girls with smaller bodies.

Due to its popularity, most people in the Friends Community have heard of this song. Upper School Chemistry and Physics teacher, Kate Zipin, stated, “This song is really great in a lot of ways. Trainor is being vocal and is not ashamed of her body size. It’s interesting, because her mother told her not to be ashamed of her body size, but the line about skinny women still burns a little. Trainor is saying that her weight is the new beautiful, which gives the impression that we can’t all win. She is also saying that she likes her body, because men like her curves, which is the wrong reason to like your body. But despite this, this is still a very strong empowerment song.” Not only do girls care about what boys think of them, but some girls also tend to compare themselves to others, whether it simply be someone they know or a woman on a magazine cover. OWN’s “Miss Representation” shows that women in the media have actually been “digitally modified” in the sense that the way that they appear on these magazine covers is not how they actually look in real life. Girls often compare themselves to these women who do not actually look like they do in media. “All About That Bass” can give these girls confidence that they fit in too. Emma Davis ’18 understands the controversy of this song but also stated, “Certain parts of the song give women a kind of confidence that you don’t have to be this perfect girl with the perfect hair and the perfect weight to be happy.”

Despite the controversy of this song, Meghan Trainor insists that she loves all women and body-types and just wants everyone to be happy in their own skin. In recent interviews, she claimed that she did not mean to offend anyone with any vulgar language or derogatory statements towards women with smaller bodies. The future may contain more controversial issues and debates about Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” but it remains a popular song and will continue to play on the radio.