Maybe it’s just me, but lately every time I turn on the radio I feel like I have to go through a self-evaluation of whether or not my body type fits the ideal pop song body. If you care to listen, you know definitively that this moment’s trend is “bringing booty back.”
I got a little lucky on this trend, having some extra junk in the trunk, if you know what I mean. Although apparently because of this, his “anaconda” wants some because I’ve got buns, Hun. (Um, okay?) But the problem with having “buns” is having to “wiggle, wiggle, wiggle” all the time.
Now, I can laugh off a good butt joke, being a girl with a little extra behind, but the song that takes me to my limit is the ever so catchy, “All About that Bass.”
This very well may be the most conflicted song I have ever heard in my entire life. She starts out the song with the iconic “All about that bass, about that bass, no treble,” and continues with one liners like, “It’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two, but I can shake it, shake it,” and “my momma, she told me don’t worry about your size.” These in and of themselves are harmless. Even announcing that she is “bringing booty back” is harmless.
So what’s my problem then?
Yeah, my momma she told me don’t worry about your size
She says, “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.”
You know I won’t be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll
So if that’s what you’re into then go ahead and move along.
Okay, WHAT? This is a song with such powerful lyrics as, “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top,” and yet all of the sudden it’s not okay to be skinny and blonde? I don’t even fit that category and I can’t explain to you how peeved it makes me. Why is it not okay to call someone fat for being overweight, but it is okay to call someone a “skinny b*tch?”
Regardless of all the image shaming in all these pop songs, or the fact that they are trying to make people fat, I think it’s time to reevaluate the conversation. Beauty is about HEALTH. It’s about feeling and looking healthy whether you are a size 4 or a size 14.
The bottom line (is this a pun?) is that it doesn’t matter who thinks you’re skinny or fat, especially what guys think of you, as long as you feel comfortable in your own skin.
We need to take a good, hard look at these beautiful bodies we were blessed with and remember that a song can just be a song, but the way you feel about your body sticks with you. Take ownership of who you are and who you want to be and make sure that it satisfies you. Even though the song is flawed, every inch of you IS perfect from the bottom to the top.