Why All About That Bass is Terrible for Body Image

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I’ve been wanting to write this since I was a senior in high school. The reason I never wrote it is because Meghan Trainor and I are from the same area. Considering all the bad press The Cape gets, I didn’t want to add any flames to the fire, but this song should not be praised for its message about body image.  

The song does bring up some good points about body image.  That you should love your body and how horrible Photoshop is, but Meghan Trainor lost it when she explains what she believes is beautiful.  

Photo courtesy of gallantgirls.com

Let’s start with “Yeah, my mama she told me ‘don't worry about your size’, she says, ‘boys like a little more booty to hold at night’”.  Not only is this quote saying that girls are more beautiful if they have curves (not that all girls are beautiful), but is also saying that women should measure their self esteem based on what guys think about them.  

This was the line that hurt me the most, “Go 'head and tell them skinny bitches that, No, I'm just playing, I know you think you're fat”. For the most part of my life, I have always been 5’5” and 120 pounds. When I was a senior in high school I got very sick. I started to get sick everytime I ate and eventually lost my appetite. I lost around 20 pounds.  

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Gaining that weight back was extremely challenging.  I had to completely change my diet, while still getting sick with things I ate. It was extremely painful, I was the weakest I’ve been in my life.  

Everyone’s body is different, and I’m naturally a size 2 and like most girls, I also have body issues. I’ve been told I weigh too much, I’m too skinny, or that my body is perfect.  Meghan Trainor does save herself by saying “I’m playing” after saying skinny bitches, but then says “I know you think you’re fat” which made me sad because just because does not mean you don't have body issues.

Photo courtesy of sodahead.com

I do think that Meghan Trainor is a great person with an amazing voice, but I think she needs to apologize for this song.  The reason being, it is not positive about body image.  It is one sided and does not appreciate all different body types.  In my opinion this song is offensive to women because it does not appreciate every body and how everyone's body if beautiful. 

My Thoughts on Body Image

Body image is a hot topic among all youth and fills the pages on the most popular fashion magazines.  For a while I wanted to share my thoughts on body image and what I believe needs to change for young adults to have a healthy view of themselves.  

One of the aspects of our society that has hurt people’s ideas of their body image is magazines.  Even though Photoshop seems like a harmless computer program, it creates a fantasy about what a person is suppose to look like.  I remember I was watching an episode of the Kardashians and not even after the photo shoot was completed one of the sisters said, “They better Photoshop them.”

Everyone strives to be perfect, even the people that say they don’t care or don’t try want to be perfect.  The thing is, we can’t be perfect because what is perfect?  

There’s another thing about body image I really wanted to bring up.  I watch The Mindy Project and just recently watched Trainwreck.  In both of these the main actresses, Mindy Kaling and Amy Schumer, are making jokes about their own weight or one of the supporting characters is making the joke.  This may not be the opinion of the masses, but I don’t think it is alright to make a joke about a woman's weight especially when I think those are two gorgeous actresses.  

Image from glammer.com

There are many articles about how to end the stigma of body image, but to tell you the truth I think the solution is impossible.  Magazines and companies are always going to use Photoshop, which is horrible because we are never going to be able to see a real image of someone on the cover of a magazine.  Fashion is a world that strives for perfection, which is something I really prefer not to stand for.  In my opinion, fashion should be like a messy experiment, it’s what makes me love fashion. 

5 Things You Should Never be Ashamed About

This article idea came to me tonight when I was listening to One Direction on Spotify. Spotify posts everything you are listening to on Facebook.  But, they have this option to have a private session where everything you listen to doesn't get posted. I was about to put it on private, but then I thought, Why should I care what people think about what I listen to?

1. How many Likes You get on Social Media

I feel like the Instagram likes-to-followers ratio is becoming more competitive between people my age than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning during a playoff game. I once was part of a conversation about scheduling out your Instagram posts to get the most likes. Honestly, whether you get 100 likes or one like, you are still going to be the same person at the end of the day.

2. What Kind of Music You Like

This was a big one for me going into college.  I like to listen to Taylor Swift and an occasional One direction song. But, I would constantly get sh*t from my old roommate about how horrible my music was. If you like listening to something, then you shouldn't worry about what other people are thinking about, though. It's your life.

3. Your Love Life

Everyone has a story that somehow defines them and everyone has a different opinion about relationships. I think it's a great thing to talk about, but sometimes I keep things back because I don't know how people are going to react. I’m not saying that you should be that person that tells everyone the intimate details of their sex life. What I’m saying is if something is bothering you (like the fact that you’re still thinking about the guy from last summer), it's good to talk about it with friends.

4. Your Body

Everyone has thoughts about their body that are not positive. I used to be very embarrassed about my nose and I got bullied all through grade school about it.  It's been a long time since someone has brought it up. That is, until this summer when one of my campers asked, "Why is your nose pointed up?" Admittedly, yes, it still hurts. But, the person that I have grown into isn’t bothered by that comment and that’s someone who I never would have guessed I’d become. You are beautiful. Own that.

5. Speaking Your Mind

When something bothers you, keeping it in is the worse thing you can possibly do. This is especially true for people who reading this and are entering into your first year of school.  Learning how to show and tell people how you feel is something that most people don't have.