The Arrival of Women as Real People in Movies

In the movie “Arrival” gender is not the obvious main focus but there are some gender roles that are not typical for a 21st century movie. In "Arrival", the world tries to figure out why aliens dropped twelve spaceships on earth. One landed in the U.S. and a team was put together to communicate with them and try to figure out why they were there. The main character, Louise (Amy Adams), is portrayed as a strong, intelligent and independent woman. In a lot of movies, the main character is not a woman and if there is a women in the movie her role is usually related to sex and how she portrays herself to a man. However, in this movie the focus is on Louise’s talent and skills. Even though at the end of the movie Louise and the other main character, Ian (Jeremy Renner), fall in love, Louise is not objectified.

Louise is a quiet woman who lives alone and focuses on her work as a professor in language after losing her daughter. When the aliens land, Louise is called by the U.S. government to try to communicate with them. “You’re at the top of everyone’s list when it comes to translations,” says the Colonel from Army intelligence. Louise is looked at as a smart women instead of an object that is only good for sex. A way in which Louise shows her strength and confidence is when she is on the spaceship and is trying to communicate with them, she takes of her suit that protects her from any unearthly substances and says “they need to see me.” Adams is dedicated, fearless, and professional and is trying to get her job done. She is in control of herself and her job and shows her strength instead of being the “damsel in distress.” This is contrasting to most action films like the James Bond and the Mission Impossible movies which portray women as sex objects.

Towards the end of the movie after the aliens are all figured out, Louise and Ian fall in love and the attention is off of her work and onto them as a couple for a brief time. Ian asks Louise “Do you want to make a baby?” this obviously implies that he wants to have sex with her, but I still do not think she is objectified at all in this movie. Also, most of the clothes she wore in the movie are not objectifying; she wore professional clothes, however, she was also not portraying the “ugly woman” stereotype. Louise is not shown as a sex object but is also not shown as “unfeminine” either.

This movie breaks the typical female character stereotype and focuses on a real person with real characteristics, instead of just her appearance. This is not the only work in culture that portrays a truly powerful female character. The Movie “Courage Under Fire” and T.V. shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” are all examples of works of culture that show strong, independent women.

The Indian Woman in Movies

Miss India America begins with what seems like what would be a show about an ambitious Indian girl, Lily, who has her whole life planned out, and never lost until she loses her boyfriend, a supposed petroleum engineer. She does puts herself in the only situation that makes logical sense. She enters a beauty pageant so she can win Miss India California and then go on to win Miss India National, which just so happens to be the title that Reshma, her ex- boyfriend's current girlfriend, holds. 

Lily is presented as not only the stereotypical smart Indian but also as the stereotypical female that is presented in rom-coms, high achieving, wants to be a brain surgeon (like her father) and incredibly needing her boyfriend. Almost every single parent has a strong accent and high scholarly jobs: doctors, engineers, physicists. Most of the parents also play the typical indian parents that culture makes them out to be, pushes ideas forward, family is everything and so is tradition

In the pageant; however, Lily meets a variety of people who challenge the traditional Indian stereotypes. Sonia, who appears will be the antagonist, is actually friendly and kind to Lily, Lily actually becomes the one who sabotages Sonia and despite sabotaging her Lily still wins the pageant. One of the competitors is really perky and also really into tennis One of the judges is a famous Indian actor who is a drunk who distraught over an ex girlfriend. The dancer who teaches Lily who is presented as the “perfect Indian daughter” has a secret white boyfriend, and does not get along with most of the female characters. And one of the judges is a famous Indian actor who is a drunk who distraught over an ex girlfriend.

After the pageant Lily acknowledges her mom as a writer, she writes poems and while she is successful, her job is more free and artistic than the other parents. And. while competing nationally instead of trying to appeal to “Traditional Indian Beauty” she presents herself as who she actually is instead of that Idea. Lily never gets back with her boyfriend or finds a new guy.

Creating a Fake Identity in a Post Modern World

You can find anyone through social media these days, and how could that be a bad thing? Social media has given us ways to connect with so many people in a variety of different ways. People can spew out their opinions on anything through Twitter, share a picture for a short time on Snapchat, put basically anything on Facebook, upload picture to Instagram and videos to YouTube. 

And yeah, staying connected is great. But social media only shows the highlights of people's lives. We see images of friends, friends of friends, the people that you never talk to but you always pass in the hallways, celebrities promoting brands and their own images, and companies promoting themselves. Which is okay, but eventually people think that the highlights is that person's everyday life. 

But, as a social species we need validation, so we try to compete with every single image that comes our way. Some people don't feel this need, they're perfectly fine with who they are. Others post anything wanting to get the most comments, the most likes, the most views, or even the most shares. They only share their best to their own friends and followers and the cycle just continues on.

People  begin to make themselves up to be greater than they actually are. Can we truthfully even know someone through social media? Because while people are not exactly lying, we are not showing our daily life either. 

The Reality in Commercials

Postmodernism battles with the image of truth, reality and how to perceive different things in society. This MAC cosmetic commercial represents postmodernism in two ways. The first way it represents postmodernism is because of the fact that it is portraying how we should look. This commercial is selling a product that will enhance our visual appearance and make us look more appealing. In society today, looks are very important. You need to look a certain way or you are not “normal” and do not fit in. By telling us to buy this lipstick to enhance our lips and face, this is feeding into the idea that the image we see in media is reality. So many opinions and views are put into the media in the postmodern era, and they should not define our reality. This artificial image from the media of what we should look like has become so important in our lives and tells us the new reality of what is normal and fake.

The second way this commercial represents postmodernism is the visual aspect of it. This commercial is full of abstract and different visuals that are not common or normal to see in a commercial or art. This commercial’s use of color, movement and shapes expresses an idea that is a contradiction to the “normal’ art we have seen. This abstract form of art breaks the classic art mold that was formed many years ago.

Postmodernism is portrayed in many types of media and influences our everyday lives. It ultimately has a great impact on who we are. Because there are so many "truths" or opinions are being thrown at us, we need to filter them out and make up the definition of who we actually are. Being aware of all of the images that are thrown at us is important in finding ourselves today.

Stupid Girls Aren't Stupid

In 2006, P!nk released a new song, Stupid Girls, on her I'm Not Dead album. This song was awarded the MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video and nominated for many other awards, such as a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. An example of the lyrics include:

"What happened to the dreams of a girl president
She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent
They travel in packs of two or three
With their itsy bitsy doggies and their teeny-weeny tees
Where, oh where, have the smart people gone?
Oh where, oh where could they be?"

P!nk uses satire to mock society's sexualization and objectification of women. She explicitly points out the women in music videos. She targets the all-too-familiar image that the women in many music videos, especially rap, hardly wear any clothing while dancing provocatively. These said women are seen as the rapper's trophies and accomplishments which he then praises in his song. Their value consists only of their beauty and their ability to satisfy a man's wishes. While male rap videos are an extreme example referenced by P!nk, she also targets societal pressures on a woman as a whole. She sings, "Maybe if I act like that, that guy will call me back/ Baby if I act like that, flipping my blond hair back/ Push up my bra like that, I don't wanna be a stupid girl" depicting that women do these things to be accepted in our society. While she's criticizing the women who act like this, P!nk still describes having to face the pressure to conform and act the same way.

P!nk's larger motive isn't to criticize these women, but to criticize our society that shoves these "ideals" onto women to be accepted. Our society's image of a woman is a docile, sexual object whose interests and skills have no influence on her value, just her physical appearance. P!nk's bigger picture is how our media depicts a limited view of women which in turn influences young girls to believe that this is how they need to shape themselves to be. The media places a huge pressure on females to abide by the images that represent the gender. By P!nk creating this song and getting it out there, she is taking action on changing and questioning society's image of women.

The Postmodernism of Barbie

Postmodernism shows how the artificial image that we see in society has become more important to us than reality. We focus so much on the artificial image that we put less importance on what is happening in reality. The popular toy Barbie is an example of how we live in a postmodern society.

Barbie went on the shelves in 1959 and has been a popular toy ever since. The image of Barbie has transformed from a toy to an ideal body type that was strived for in society. Young girls were using Barbie as an image of the ideal body type and thought that her dimensions were the ones to strive for. Society was caught up in the image of a "perfect" female body with the same dimensions that reality was not a factor.

In reality if a human had the same dimension as Barbie, she would have to walk on all fours and would not be able to support her head. Barbie has an 9 inch neck, a 16 inch waist, and 16 inch thighs, all resting on 6 inch ankles. These are the dimensions of an image that is unattainable. These dimensions are not realistic for a woman to have and live a healthy life. The U.S average dimensions in women 18-25 are a 15 inch neck, a 35 inch waist, 25 inch thighs and 9 inch ankles. These are the dimensions of reality.

The unattainable goal of Barbie's "perfect" dimensions has invade the thoughts of young girls in society. The image of the perfect body that they are learning is not attainable or healthy. This image has become prevalent in society in defining the "perfect body" for women. Striving for the same body type as Barbie would result in a very unhealthy life style. Post-modernism shows us that an artificial image has more emphasis in society than reality. Barbie has the artificial image of the "perfect body" and that is focused on as oppose to the reality that if Barbie was a real person, her body would not be able to support her.

Contradicting Advertisement

This advertisement sponsored by Peta, seems like an encouraging advertisement at first encouraging people to save the whales and go vegetarian. But the underlying message is fat shaming females and their physical appearance by comparing the overweight lady to the whale that they're trying to get people to save. This is what makes it controversial because although they're promoting good things, they're also throwing some negative things into the mix for comedy. People's weight should never be made fun of for people's entertainment purposes.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine – Diversity at its Best

Brooklyn Nine-Nine provides a great example of diversity on mainstream television. Racial diversity is acknowledged and accepted, but not the focus of the show. The show follows the fictional 99th Precinct of the NYPD on their day to day crime investigations. Andre Braugher stars as the captain of the Precinct, Captain Holt, a gay black man who has fought for equal opportunities at every point in his life. He completely breaks stereotypes about men of color and of gay people, and is a wonderful captain of the precinct. Holt is an intelligent, brave, and stern leader, and provides a positive influence on his team.

The show also presents another positive image of a successful black man in Seargent Terry Jeffords, played by Terry Crews. He loves to exercise and is forceful, but his character completely dispels the stereotype of a violent black man. He is overly sensitive, married, and has twin daughters, is always worrying if he is being a good father. He creates a unique image, combing tough guy and loving father, and describes himself as the Ebony Falcon, "monogamous and too tired for sex so his only indulgence is fresh fruit yogurt parfaits." While these unique characters allow for hilarious jokes, they also provide positive images of black men, without focusing only on their race.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine also presents two Hispanic women, completely different, but both unique and compelling. The show does not address their race in the same way it does with Jeffords and Holt, but Amy Santiago played by Melissa Fumero, and Rosa Diaz, played by Stephanie Beatriz break out of traditional gender and race stereotypes. Santiago is Cuban-American, and the show presents her as an uptight rule following sycophant. Diaz, on the other hand, is curt and aggressive, and doesn't take nonsense from anyone. Although these portrayals of Hispanic women are extreme to provide comedy, they still present both women as successful and intelligent. The show acknowledges that jokes about race can still perpetrate stereotypes, and so there are rarely jokes about race.

Overall, Brooklyn Nine-Nine might appear to be overplaying it's minority card, as the main character, Jake Peralta, played by Andy Samberg, is half Jewish. All of the main characters expect for one are minority races, which is very rare for a prime time show. However, the characters are natural and relatable, and the show does not focus on the experience of a minority group, but rather a group of friends who work together.  Brooklyn Nine-Nine provides a positive step in racial diversity for television, as it is one of the first popular shows to incorporate race without focusing entirely on race.

 

Celebrity Presentation in Media: What's Real and What's Fake?

A Visit From the Goon Squad is a postmodern novel by Jennifer Egan in which she brings up many situations and ideas prevalent in society today. One of which is media perception and the impact of someone's 'image,' which is discussed when La Doll takes on The General as a client. A lot of the representations we see of celebrities are just that, re-presentations. Of course there is the timeworn discussion of a celebrity's supposed appearance versus how they really look, but there are other ways in which celebrity's images are shaped. 

PR stunts, or occurrences planned by a Public Relations team meant to draw attention to the subject/client, are used very often. This can be something as small as a charitable donation, or as long-term as a fake relationship. Publicity Stunts always have a goal. They are made to make the client seem kinder, more available to fans, more committed, they want to dispel rumors or hide something, it could be any number of things. 

A common use of Publicity Stunts is to cover up a celebrity's sexuality, which has been going on long before I was even born. Lance Bass, who came out in 2006, dated women in the height of his career, but has said that his management team didn't know he was gay. Since I have been enlightened about celebrity stunts and the nature of the music industry especially, either I question everything I hear, or I just ignore it. It's quite strange to think that the way someone acts could be a façade created to better their image, but I really liked that Egan brought this up, and I really enjoyed her take on it. 

Labels Based on Uniforms

In Jennifer Egan’s story, “Ask Me if I Care,” she often brings up uniforms and the messages they send. The kids in the story, Rhea, Scotty, Bennie, Alice, and Jocelyn all wear a teenage punk rock uniform. They wear angsty clothing like shredded t-shirts, and Rhea has green hair. The punk-rock uniform portrays the teens as angry, rebellious individuals. Meanwhile, Alice’s blonde hair seem to prove how she is not “punk-rock” or rebellious enough. Although they might aim to be angry and disobedient, most of the teens seem to be interesting, emotional people, each with their own aspirations.

While clothing is a huge part of self expression for teens, it is also a source of major misjudgement. In the story, Rhea was simply aiming to fit in with her punk-rock friends, but others around her definitely made assumptions based on her appearance. Most teens dress a certain way in order to fit society’s standards and expectations. Others try to display their rebelliousness or break away from the standards, aiming to be unique. Whether dressing to fit in or dressing to stand out, or just altogether not caring, there is too much categorization and labelling based on appearance among teenagers. It is entirely unlikely that one’s apparel will exemplify their personality. However, judgement among teens is inevitable, so these observations are useless.

Meta-Story

Reflecting on my life there are many moments that I wish I could do-over. From small faux pas to major social blunders like from raising my hand to divulge a foolish response during class to spewing the majority of my lunch during first grade story time, I’m sure most of us would opt for a redo in some of these situations. The most embarrassing of our social blunders are definitely those that we wish to redo the most, which is what I am about to share.

It was an ordinary day in our first grade classroom. Our teacher, Ms. C, had brought in a special treat that day: fresh from the store frosted sugar cookies. I always had a sweet tooth, most likely inherited from my father, and today was the day that its hunger would be satiated. In retrospect, I wasn’t the smartest little boy for eating seven cookies right after a filling lunch, but I was young and craving some delicious treats. Unfortunately, as soon as those indulgences went down they came back up and over a few of my peers. I was mortified, ashamed, and still a bit green at the gills. I went to the bathroom to clean myself up and was shortly dismissed from school by the nurse (who was quite familiar with me on account of my frequent ailments as a small child).

Looking back, I think that I should have learned a valuable lesson from that day years ago, but in reality no major breakthrough came from it. In fact, all I learned I was a rather foolish kid in first grade and that currently I tend to make more responsible choices.

Girls and Makeup

Postmodernism is all about images and how we perceive them, and image is also something many teenagers (and adults) struggle with. For girls especially, the importance of image and physical appearance is constantly being pushed in our faces, and the biggest profiter off teenage girls’ desire to keep up their image is the cosmetics industry.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love makeup - I think it’s so much fun to play and experiment with, provided you are doing so under your own volition, and not because you think you won’t be beautiful without it. But it’s a fact that a lot of girls feel obligated to wear makeup because so many sources, from media to our peers to especially the makeup companies themselves, are constantly telling us that makeup is absolutely necessary.

I recently read this great article, about one woman’s experience going without makeup for a week, and I thought the points and observations she made were really interesting. I encourage everyone, not just girls, to check it out.

Does this mean I’m going to give up makeup forever? No. Like I said, I really do enjoy using makeup, and I’m not going to stop doing something that makes me happy just because it’s not necessary. But I will try to keep in mind that it really is unnecessary, and that going without it won’t make me ugly - and more importantly, it won’t make me less smart, or less creative, or less of a capable person.

What is it like to live in a postmodern world?

Because I live in a postmodern world you would assume that I know what it’s like. But when you consider the fact that I’ve only ever lived in a postmodern world, it is hard to answer the question. To me the postmodern world that older people see is all I have ever known. The mass media that I experience every day has become a normal part of life. The fact that I do not know what it is like to live in a world that is not postmodern is in itself a postmodern concept because the skewed vision I posses of what “real life” is. 

Some elements of postmodernism and the effects that they have on people, especially young people, can be avoided. The constant editing of real life and the representations that occur in social media can be very obvious.  When you are able to look past this, seeing your true self for who you are in the moment becomes an easier task. To find ourselves in the postmodern world that now exists in every aspect of our lives requires introspection rather than seeing ourselves in terms of the rest of the world. Once this introspection has been done, the fake images of life that we are exposed to have less power over us due to the separation of our true selves from the falsehoods ever present in our world.

What is War?

War is hell
The sights of of dead bodies
The sight of Curt Lemon
The sounds of bullets and explosions
War is brutal
A constant pain forever puncturing your mind
A hole in your stomach because your stomach believes
War is a mental and physical scar

But that's not the half of it
Because war is discovery
It's about discovering who you are
Who you are as a man
But war makes that man dead in a blink of an eye
The terror and fear war brings

War is fun
The brotherhood created
The thrill and courage involved
The beautiful echoes and implacable beauty
Your mind will hate it
Your stomach will hate it
Your heart will hate it
But your eyes will take it in
The love built and the life lived
It's a one of a kind life
A life only experienced in the boundaries of war

But war is sad
If not joy it's nothing but tears
The emotions that are present sting
The dropping heart
The ringing lips
The loss of words and the struggle to be in a happy place
Missing loved ones at home
Killing the enemy
Seeing a brother stripped from their life
War is a real life horror movie

Your body feels weird
Your mind gone wild
The shape of life
The appearance of humans
War is unsettling
War is grotesque

But war is unique
Because it can be any emotion
Any moment
Anything or anyone
War is everything
Embrace it or kill it
Love it or hate it
Approach it or run from it
Accept the beautiful nature and grounds
But deny the blood and guns
War is raw
Crazy and sweet raw
Or brutally harsh

Good Cop, Bad Cop!

The Departed is a compelling movie about two men fighting for different sides of the law. Both are cops, but one is a mole for the police force, and the other is a mole for the mob. Each man is trying to uncover the true identity of the other, while one endeavors to protect himself, and the other endeavors to protect society at large. This movie depicts two fundamental stereotypes about law and crime and also contradicts these stereotypes. The Departed shows that some police officers are corrupt and some criminals serve the greater good.

As seen in places around our country like Ferguson, Missouri, the police sometimes do not act for the benefit of the people. The police represent the idea of the "Good Samaritan" type who watches out for others and protects the interests of the public. However, in The Departed a police officer, played by Matt Damon, is an informant for the infamous mob boss Frank Costello. Instead of using his position to protect the public he pursues his own self interest. Since he is actually protecting an enemy of the public he is using his position to gain things for himself. The movie demonstrates that even though he is a police officer, that doesn't exempt him from working for his own self interest, which breaks the stereotype that those there to protect us will actually do so.

The other police officer in the movie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, infiltrates the same Irish gang that the other cop works for. To do this he must serve time and be branded a criminal, to prove himself to the boss. In his life as a criminal, he is considered as someone who looks out for only himself. The same is true for the other men in the "gang." For most criminals this is exactly how they are, but just as some cops are bad, some criminals are good. Criminals are typically branded wrong doers for their entire life because of one bad act in the eyes of the law. The Departed breaks this stereotype by showing that the character played by Leonardo Dicaprio works to help others rather then himself. He may be a cop, but his ties to the force quickly slip away.  He may be a criminal, but he never loses sight of the reason he joined the mob in the first place as he continues to work for the greater good.

The Departed is a movie that challenges stereotypes that are rooted in our society. It reflects that because something seems to be a certain way does not make it so. These stereotypes are important to discuss because they implicate events in our country like Ferguson, Missouri. The Departed demonstrates that in life, people are not necessarily what they appear to be.

Is John Green Breaking Stereotypes Or Creating Them?

Paper Towns by John Green is the story of Quentin and Margo, old childhood friends who, when they were young, both discovered the dead body of a man in their town who had killed himself. This morbidly disturbing discovery ends up setting Margo up for an adolescent life of mystery, rebellion and a little bit of depression, and already this book sets the scene for another cliche high school story written by John Green. When John Green first started publishing his more original stories of a somewhat nerdy male protagonist secretly in love with a unique, mysterious, and emotionally unstable girl it was refreshing and non-stereotypical, however the current over repetition of this basic underlying plot has made the once refreshing idea into its own stereotype.

Initially the teen love stories were majorly compelling, they portrayed a stereotype breaking fantasy that maybe someday a really good guy will fall for the girl who isn’t the cheerleader or the nerd, but somebody completely different. While the generic girl in these John Green novels may be popular, they are a whole new genre. They are quirky, smart, beautiful, but also sometimes slightly suicidal. In the stories, particularly Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, the boy protagonists realize that they are more in love with the version of the girls they want them to be, not the girls they actually are. Nonetheless, these stories mixed with new social norms in a modern teenage society create a need for girls to be quirky and unique, but in the end they all end up doing the same things as one another in this need to be just like a girl who doesn't even exist.

In Paper Towns, just like every other John Green book, the main character is constantly consumed by the thought of a girl he is in love with and seemingly spends his days entranced with thoughts of her. In the book, Margo is adventurous. She always just randomly goes on random trips to do cool things. However this time after leaving, Margo has been gone for a while and people are worried. Behind her she has left a trail of clues. Quentin figures them out enough to guess where Margo has run off to. His extremely extravagant act of running off to a different state to find her paints an unclear picture of what high school is really like and what people in high school are actually like.

The overall grandeur of this act, and the stereotype of the girls in John Green’s book is beyond cliche and ideas that were once breaking accepted truths are now mainstream due to his own redundancy of his own themes.
                                    

All About That Bass; Breaking the Barrier Between Feminism and Facade

All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor is a so called "body positive song" that focuses on the singer not being overly skinny yet still being confident in herself and her body. This song has had a lot of controversy surrounding it, because some people think that it is skinny shaming, and/or gives in to bad stereotypes about women and men, while still others think it is just a good body positive song with a strong message. This song could have arguable points either way, and it breaks many stereotypes about “fat” people and how they’re ugly or undesirable because they aren't stick thin. It also brings relatable points to young girls about positive body image ideas. By the same token, it puts down skinny girls, and Trainor justifies her body image beauty by bringing men into the picture, which makes the song feel less and less positive the more you think about it.

This song centers around the singer, Meghan Trainor, talking about how she “ain’t no size two” but that she is still beautiful, despite not being skinny. She also leaves a message not only about herself being beautiful, but anyone who doesn't consider themselves “pretty” with the line “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top” This breaks down many American stereotypes surrounding women, the biggest of course being that if you aren't "skinny" you aren't beautiful. This is a great message to send, especially when a huge portion of the media is dedicated to putting down women. 

 Women aren't supposed to feel good in their own body. When you hear a woman say that she likes the way she looks, people tend to think of her as vain or self centered. Makeup is a social norm, and all over America there are commercials, billboards, etc, portraying skinny, photo-shopped, unrealistic looking women selling products of all shapes and sizes, though the woman is always the same. Overly skinny, creepily symmetrical face, tall, silky hair, essentially a barbie in human form (this is of course not talking about women who are naturally skinny, but the overly photo-shopped carbon copy images of women displayed commercially, and practically everywhere). Meghan Trainor mentions this, saying “we know that sh*t ain’t real, c'mon now make it stop.” She is breaking down stereotypes about women and giving them a nicer view of their own bodies, which is good right? Sadly, the rest of the song isn't so kind.

Despite these positive factors, she also is skinny shaming, with the line “I'm bringin' booty back. Go ‘head and tell them skinny b*tches that”, which has caused an uproar in the YouTube comments, saying that it isn't body positive if you are putting one body type down to bring another up. I completely agree, and I have seen countless people in comments with the mindset that skinny shaming doesn't exist or isn't important. This is hugely untrue, and some of the harsh things "skinny" girls hear can be hugely damaging to self esteem and confidence. It can even lead to serious eating disorders. You may say that a song alone couldn't do that, and you'd be right. But add that to hateful comments during the school day, snide remarks about food from your peers, and you get a very sad skinny girl feeling guilty, or uncomfortable in her own skin. 

Trainor also mentions in her chorus “now my mamma she told me don’t worry about your size, she said boys need a little more booty to hold at night”. By bringing the want to have men desire you into the song, makes it appear less body positive, and brings back stereotypes that women are only there to please men. They are beautiful no matter what, as long as a man wants them. This means for a woman to be confident in her body, she first must have a man's approval, which is another extremely harmful idea. 

This same stereotype can be harmful not only for women and men, but also for the LGBTQA community. This ideology leaves out gay/trans/bisexual/etc women and men entirely. It is hetero normality, which, in my opinion, can be just as harmful as the skinny shaming. LGBTQA youth are hugely underrepresented in television, movies, books, music, and other forms of pop culture. It is a rare thing to see an accurate portrayal of them in today's media, and when it does happen, the backlash the show or movie or song receives is overwhelming. It can be extremely difficult for a young LGBTQA teen to come out, or even to just accept who they are, and the media does a horrible job of making it easier. This song is no different. By pushing straight couples on screen, they are inadvertently repressing these other sexualities/genders/etc. This is of course, not saying there shouldn't be straight couples and people in the media. What it is saying, is that this shouldn't be forced onto people, or assumed, as it often is. 

Even though the song may only be certain lines or phrases portraying these kind of views and ideas, it takes away from the whole picture of body positive images. Overall, though Meghan Trainor’s song may have many strong points about body image, it should really be taken with a grain of salt, if taken in at all. Body image should be about loving yourself, that's it that's all. It shouldn't be about other people's bodies being above or below your own, it especially shouldn't be about pleasing other people, it should be about YOU. 

 After all:

Meghan Trainor's All About That Bass-Body Positivity Gone Wrong

The song is part of a large wave of media trying to be body positive, notably the company Dove. However, “All About That Bass” perpetuates the ideology that in order for a woman to feel good about herself, she not only has to put down other women, but she has to be sexually appealing to a straight man.

While Trainor is embracing her love for her body, she does so on the basis that the she is attractive to a man, the line, “Yeah, my mama she told me don’t worry about your size, she says ‘boys like a little more booty to hold at night,’” best illustrates this, as well as the way she sexualizes herself. She is presenting herself as a sexual object, providing no other way in which her body is of value.

Although she says “Every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top” she also makes disparaging remarks about skinny women, singing “I’m bringing booty back, go ‘head tell them skinny bitches that.” Not only is this shaming women who are naturally skinny, but it puts women in a terrible position where not only are they facing criticism no matter how they look, but now they’re receiving criticism from a fellow woman who is trying to be body positive.

Not only this, she also jokes about how skinny women believe they have to lose weight, writing, “No I’m just playing, I know you think you’re fat.” This completely undermines the struggle of women who have eating disorders and body dysmorphia, joking about the fact that they believe they aren't good enough, and have to be something else. I find this the worst part of the song, as it trivializes a disorder that has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

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