5. All About That Bass - Meghan Trainor
This was a huge breakthrough hit for Meghan Trainor, known as Megatron to her friends and fans. At first listen it's a song to challenge female body dysmorphia by celebrating – rather than being ashamed of – her 'bass', a euphemism for a large rear-end.
In the song, she challenges the Photoshopping used in magazine photos and the use of cosmetic surgery. The chorus centres on a mother's words of encouragement, addressed to a daughter who is struggling with her body shape. But perhaps this well-meaning mother is actually encouraging a skewed view of the female body?
Yeah, my mama she told me don't worry about your size
She says, "Boys like a little more booty to hold at night."
The problem is that a woman shouldn't need to decide whether her body is acceptable to the other sex in order to take herself seriously.
Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase
And all the right junk in all the right places
This song is a mixed blessing. Hugely catchy, its almost impossible not to want to sing along, and it's a celebration of a woman feeling better about how she looks despite peer pressure. But highlighting that a big butt is what men really like still makes a woman's confidence reliant on a man's opinion and could just be another way to put down other women with a different body shape.
