Why It Isn't "All About That Bass".

I'm sure you've all heard that popular song "All About That Base" by Meghan Trainor by now, I won't link it as quite frankly it's the last thing I'd like to boost traffic to from my blog. It irritated and angered me after the first time I listened to it but after sitting in the back of my Stepmother's car hearing my two kid sisters singing it this morning - I felt like I needed to speak up. I wrote a post earlier on in the year regarding size-shaming and I'm sorry if both cross over each other but I feel it's important to raise this point again.
Body confidence is fantastic; whether you celebrate your DD's or love your slender legs, that's okay, as long as you don't feel the need to put down somebody of a different shape in order to boost yours.
Over the last few years, we've seen the likes of Kim Kardashian make big bums and boobs the new desired features; a sway from the "ideal" slim figures we saw during the 00's. Whilst celebrating curvier shapes is fantastic, it doesn't give much way to celebrate those who are also naturally slender and don't have those said curves. Different body parts become en vogue over the centuries unfortunately; whether it be the 1930's love of a woman's back or the 1990's love of décolletage. Body parts shouldn't be "in" nor "out" - they're there to help keep us alive and physically able to do things and not there so we can remain desirable or fashionable.
The influx of slim-shaming over the last 2-3 years has been absolutely horrific and some may argue that women with curves have been given stick for longer and "deserve to have their time" (an actual quote I received off of a Twitter follower before) but that's not how it works and it WON'T help the acceptance us women still seek and need from everyone - especially each other.
How can you call yourself a feminist but enjoy listening to and supporting songs such as Meghan's? Do women who lack that "bass" instantly fall into an unwell/ obviously dieting/ not attractive/ "wrong" category? Is the fact that some people are naturally born slender just fizzling out? It isn't a myth. Some people are natural 6's, some people are natural 16's.
Let's move on to the lyrics of "All About That Bass" for a minute, the second verse being the most offensive, I think - prepare yourself: "Yeah, it's pretty clear, I ain't no size two but I can shake it, shake it like I'm supposed to do. 'Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase and all the right junk in all the right places.."
Sigh.
There are so many things wrong with this verse, SO MANY. For a start, a US size 2 is a UK size 6 - I'm a 6-8 on top and I'm pretty sure I'm physically able to "shake it". Why are we "supposed to" shake it, anyway? Were women only put on this planet to "shake it"? Who cares about things such as a career, health and happiness, just as long as you can twerk..
Apparently boys only chase "that boom boom" by the way and prefer all of the "right junk in all the right places" - I could go on for a month over how twisted this line in particular is but let me try whittle it down: boys (and girls) tend to chase whatever they're personally attracted to. Mind-blowing.
Referring to body fat as "junk" contradicts her attempt at empowering a curvier body too, no? Associating body fat with a word such as "junk" instantly leads to negative connotations.
I'm laughing to myself typing this all out as I genuinely can't get over the sheer ridiculousness of this song and how the entire global population seems to just ignore it. If a song was released referring to "fat bitches" and how slim bodies are "right" and having "junk" at all is gross and so on, there'd be uproar and I highly doubt it would have been given as much air-time as "All About That Bass".
According to Meghan's mother in the fourth verse: "boys like a little more booty to hold at night". Sorry, what? Like I said, I'm pretty sure men have their own preferences as to what they want to hold at night. Women aren't pillows; we're not here to be held on to like a teddy. Thanks to the mindset of Meghan and her Mother, we now have women (mostly young girls) worldwide, looking at their bodies and bums and thinking they'll inevitably be unattractive to men for eternity and are on this planet to be used as bedtime accessories. Good going, Meghan!
I went through my ENTIRE teenage years feeling absolutely disgustingly unattractive and unconfident because of songs like these. I used to cry on a daily basis because of my lack of chest and being called a "boy" consistently. Even now at the age of 21, I still have hang ups which drive me insane, genuinely, as I know my body shape or features don't define who I am as a person.
People like Meghan and her songs are exactly what is sending feminism decades back. These songs are what cause pre-teens, teenagers and even adults to develop negative mindsets over their own body and subsequently, develop eating disorders and mental illnesses. On that note, here's a quote from Meghan herself on eating disorders:
"I wasn't strong enough to have an eating disorder. I tried to go anorexic for a good three hours. I ate ice and celery, but that's not even anorexic. And I quit. I was like, 'Ma, can you make me a sandwich? Like, immediately'."
There's no point in even elaborating on that quote because any human with an inch of intelligence can see how downright idiotic, ignorant and offensive it is. She has also been quoted on saying that she isn't a feminist but no surprise there, really.
Our bodies aren't here to be groped at or stared at by men or anyone for that matter, your bum isn't there to be grabbed or held on to. You aren't on this planet to be seen and thrown around like an object, you're a human being.
Meghan's attempt at empowering women who have beautiful curves goes so horribly wrong with this song as she thinks in order to celebrate these curves, those without need to be put down, pointed at and immediately disregarded as attractive.
Hearing my 9 and 6 year old sisters singing along to this song earlier broke my heart because as children, they've no idea how destructive the lyrics are and kids never really pay attention to that anyway. However, these lyrics are playing over and over in their growing brains and that scares me - it's a perfect example of how body and mental issues start developing.
Please remember that whether you have huge boobs or no boobs, a curvy bum or a petite bum, wide hips or slim hips, you are still FEMININE, SEXY and worthy of ANYONE'S attention. Your shape, size and features do not define you or anyone else as a person. Your morals, intelligence and personality are far more important than how much "booty" you have, believe me. Don't let any brain-dead pop star tell you otherwise.

Side-note: I'm aware some people may disagree with me on this and love the song and find it empowering BUT that doesn't mean it makes it okay! Remember, just because you're not offended by something - that doesn't mean others should feel the same way. That doesn't justify it. This song has offended so many people worldwide, including me, that's why I wrote this post.