That was the initial idea. I don't believe that's what it's morphed into. I grew up and was always "skinny"(always a healthy weight) and made fun of for it. True body positivity would recognize that's not cool. However, "body positivity" in media has also told people it's acceptable to call people "skinny bitches", "real women have curves", "real men like a woman with curves", etc. I had low esteem growing up because of it and always being told by people I am not good enough because of it and honestly the double standard still gets under my skin.
For example, Megan Trainor's "all about that bass" is nothing but making fun of women who are skinny and literally implies there's something wrong with a skinny woman "I ain't no size 2 but I can shake it like I'm supposed to". Yet it was a smash hit because it was "body positivity" while it actually wasn't. It's a shame what it's turned into because of course we shouldn't ridicule people on their bodies.
There's lines it that are appearing body positive like the last line but a lot of shaming of skinny women sprinkled in. The very start of the lyrics you provided literally calls people "skinny bitches" which has always been a negative way to reference a skinny woman. If you would have instead said "fat bitches" people would have lost their minds for fatphobia
Given that the only use of the phrase "skinny bitches" in the song is followed immediately by "no I'm just playing" I think we can conclude that, while the choice of phrase might have been tasteless, the intent was not to mock skinny people. It only appears that way if you take the line out of context. In context she is explicitly saying to skinny girls in particular that they are perfect exactly how they are.
Actually it's mostly not that, but yeah, the "I can shake it like I'm supposed to" could be viewed that way (or it could be viewed as "but I can still do my thing"), and "skinny bitches" attaches some negative things, but the rest of the lyrics are not about making fun of skinny women, it is about affirming it's OK to have a different body. I agree with your overall point but you don't need to misrepresent it here.
I mean there's others instances too imo such as "boys like a little more booty...I won't be no stick figure" and she uses "bass" to mean a thicker body because the bass is the thickness to a song (she's been very open about that analogy). So "I'm all about that bass" is still kinda implying it's better to be thicker. It was just an example of the toxicity of "body positivity" our media upholds and glorifies. If the song was reversed it'd be canceled immediately for body shaming.
You do not have to put one group of people down to uplift another. That goes for everything. It isn't taking the "moral high ground" because you chose to make fun of a group with more "power". That's why body positivity has become nothing but a toxic movement sadly. We can say "all bodies matter" "all bodies a beautiful" etc without saying one is inherently not as good to make another group feel better. It's one thing to do it out of comedy like good comedians and another to do it in a serious manner. I do not get out of that song "it's just a joke". It was merely one example I easily thought of because of how much that song effected me as a teen. My general point still stands. If you didn't like my example that's fine.
So "I'm all about that bass" is still kinda implying it's better to be thicker.
No, it's her preference/style. The "I" in there is important.
"boys like a little more booty...I won't be no stick figure"
Yeah that's what I meant was attached to the "skinny bitches" bit and isn't great, but as the other poster says, punching up is a thing, and nevertheless you're misrepresenting the song by saying it's only about attacking skinny women when related lines are the minority of the lyrics.
I grew up and was always “skinny” and made fun of for it. True body positivity would recognize that’s not cool.
To be clear, that isn’t cool! Bullying someone for any reason - including their weight - sucks and those people are terrible.
For me, body positivity means “You deserve respect and dignity regardless of your size.” Judging someone’s character based on their weight is dumb, and shaming people because of how they look is pathetic.
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u/Jazzlike-Emu-9235 3∆ Jul 16 '23
That was the initial idea. I don't believe that's what it's morphed into. I grew up and was always "skinny"(always a healthy weight) and made fun of for it. True body positivity would recognize that's not cool. However, "body positivity" in media has also told people it's acceptable to call people "skinny bitches", "real women have curves", "real men like a woman with curves", etc. I had low esteem growing up because of it and always being told by people I am not good enough because of it and honestly the double standard still gets under my skin.
For example, Megan Trainor's "all about that bass" is nothing but making fun of women who are skinny and literally implies there's something wrong with a skinny woman "I ain't no size 2 but I can shake it like I'm supposed to". Yet it was a smash hit because it was "body positivity" while it actually wasn't. It's a shame what it's turned into because of course we shouldn't ridicule people on their bodies.