Music should be inclusive of every body type, not just curvy women

In preparation for my Taylor Swift review last week – back in a wonderful time where the artist’s backlog of music was readily available at our fingertips on Spotify – I subscribed to the program’s Billboard Hot 100 playlist.

Admittedly, I’ve grown a little out of touch with the Billboard charts as of lately, so I knew in order to properly survey the landscape of what to compare Swift’s work to, I’d have to dig a little deeper.

Two songs I found myself putting on constant repeat were Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” and Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda.”

Aside from the pair of tracks being instantly catchy and remarkably confident, what caught my attention was how these songs were able to take the topic of curvaceous women owning their figures and turn them into two of the most talked-about singles of 2014.

Trainor’s “All About That Bass” is a more harmless track in theory, pitting a thick R&B bass line and drum beat against a light Doris Day-sounding hook.

Minaj’s “Anaconda” is definitely the more hard-hitting track. The artist samples other booty-praising artist Sir Mix a Lot’s massive ‘90s hit “Baby Got Back” throughout, and uses the song to highlight the sexual implications of having such a figure.

At first, I was on the praise train for both of these artists. I was initially impressed by how both of these artists were able to write songs that not only celebrated their own bodies, but the bodies of curvy women everywhere, in a world where being “thin is in,” so to speak.

Upon digging a little deeper, though, I found myself questioning what the artists’ true intentions for writing these songs were.

While the artists have my full support for helping women to feel more secure about their body image, I’m anything but in support of the artists shaming skinny women to help justify it.

Looking at the lyrics alone for these tracks should be enough set off some serious red flags.

Trainor makes skinny women seem less desirable all throughout “Bass,” stating that “boys like a little more booty to hold at night” and she “won’t be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll.”

Minaj, on the other hand, spends the last full minute of “Anaconda” screaming expletive-laden statements that are not able to be printed in a college newspaper.

Furthermore, in a pair of singles this big, it’s natural for the public to begin analyzing where these artists are truly coming from, and their expertise on the topic. Case in point: Go to Celebuzz.com to read some of Trainor’s “enlightened” opinions about eating disorders, and pop star Demi Lovato’s satisfying series of tweets responding to them.

To those that may be outraged at the points I’m making, I invite you to look at the opposite end of the spectrum: What if Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande or any other pop star wrote a song about how great it is to be skinny and shamed bigger women? You guessed it: they would be lambasted, and have their doors beaten down by an army of protesters.

In a more endearing, lesser-known song, “Not So Body Posi After All” by San Diego four-piece Sledding with Tigers, vocalist Dan Faughnder uses the time to share how being overweight has made him feel over the years, and hopes for a future where everyone can simply stop caring about what we all look like.

Seriously, go to YouTube and check it out. It simplifies many of the issues the public’s been discussing for years, plus it’s a fun music video.

The main point I’m trying to make is that, though it’s easy to blame an outside entity for one’s problems, be it in this case the modeling industry, stars in entertainment magazines or society in general, at the end of the day we all have problems that need addressing, no matter our body type.

The real focus of both of these songs should have been that we all should be seen as equal, whether we’re skinny or have just a little more to love.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2014 and is filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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