In my humble opinion, pop is one of the worst genres anyone could bother listening to. This opinion is unpopular, but not unjustified. Most pop songs are made to be catchy, but the lyrics are either unsubstantial or ridiculously sexist- even songs performed by female artists. Take Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass,” as an example of a fake girl-power song that actually isn’t productive for the feminist movement. The song is ableist and misogynist.
“‘Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase”
This is Trainor’s first offense. At the very start of her song, she forces women’s images to be dependent on the male perspective. If this was a true girl-power song, there would be none of this misogyny. Rather than stating how awesome it is to love one’s body or how great it is to be comfortable with one’s image, Trainor completely polices the amount of empowering her song exudes by reminding the listener that it’s men who need to be satisfied with a woman’s body.
“Yeah, my mama told me don’t worry about your size/she says, ‘Boys like a little more booty to hold at night’”
Again, Trainor polices the listener into remembering that we live in a society where our comfort in our own body relies on male sexual arousal. This message is so flawed and negative, and contributes to the pop genre trope of sexism and misogyny.
“I’m bringing booty back/Go ahead and tell them skinny b*tches that/No I’m just playing. I know you think you’re fat,”
This isn’t much better. This song went from supposedly celebrating all body types to flat-out verbally abusing women who are skinny. This furthers the policing of feminine bodies, by a female, even though Trainor does state that she’s, “just playing.” This song is a poor attempt at a girl-power, love-your-body-no-matter-what pop song. Trainor does not acknowledge non-able bodied persons, non-binary gender persons, or people of color. While there are many people of color in the music video, the song cannot be salvaged. In a September 22 Billboard profile, Trainor stated, “I don’t consider myself a feminist, but I’m down for my first opportunity to say something to the world to be so meaningful,” which doesn’t help the fact that many people think she is a feminist. Unfortunately, the feminist revolution will not be rallied by a pop song.
The viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and official policies of Her Campus.