In the New York Times article “She’s About a Lot More Than That Bass,” Joe Coscarelli refers to singer/songwriter Meghan Trainor’s song, All About That Bass, as a “body-positivity smash.” That’s not the message I, along with many others, get. The song states: “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top,” but that can easily be drowned out by the negative aspects of the song, the most prominent being: “My mama she told me don’t worry about your size/ she said boys like a little more booty to hold at night.”

Be confident no matter your size. This is the message we should be sending. But to say the reason you shouldn’t worry is because men like girls with big butts? You hear “Love your body for what it is,” where I hear “Don’t worry about your weight; all you need is a man to validate your beauty.” This may boost confidence, but not in the right way. A woman should be confident in her weight because she’s strong, smart, and powerful, not because it attracts men. It bothered me that the song the article referred to as a “love-yourself-as-you-are” message, was the same song that proudly blared “Go ahead and tell them skinny b****es that,” into the ears of teenagers everywhere. Fans of the singer quickly refer to the following line where she sings “I’m just playing, I know you think you’re fat.” As one of those “skinny b****es,” I don’t think I’m fat, nor do I think being "fat" is a bad thing. Mixed, uneducated messages flood the lyrics. The article addressed the criticism and said the song “wasn’t supposed to be a political statement.” You just went on about how she’s such an inspiration and how the song makes a great statement, but as soon as its flaws were pointed out, you say it wasn’t supposed to make a statement? Say her music is catchy, that she has a good voice. But to call her a “role model” or say she’s empowering is quite an overstatement.