All About That Booty

This is a quick little ranting post that I decided to whip up because I need to get it off of my chest. Several months go, Meghan Trainor came out with a song called "All About That Bass". That song got so popular that it dominated the Billboard Hot 100. I never heard that song until a few weeks ago when my music professor played it in class to demonstrate the differences between classical music from Beethoven's time to popular music in our time. I would love to point out all the things that are wrong with today's music, but I want to talk about the message that today's media is sending out to kids and young people.

Image via nydailynews.com

As I was listening to the song, as she got to the second verse when she sang, "I see the magazine, working that photoshop. We know that shit ain't real. Come on now, make it stop. If you got beauty, beauty, just raise 'em up. 'Cause every inch of you is perfect, from the bottom to the top." I thought, all right, a song about loving your body just the way you are! You go, girl! I spoke too soon, though, because my jaw dropped when she sang, "You know I won't be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll, so if that's what you're into then go ahead and move along," and, "I'm bringing booty back. Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that."

Hold up here for a minute. I'm all in for promoting positive body image, but since when does that mean we have to become extremists and hate on thin people in order to strike a balance? Why can't we just promote positive body image without dissing anyone? For someone who's been dissed for being skinny, and yes, that happens a lot more than you think, it hurts to know that the world is against you for not gaining weight. I know we've come a long way since we name-called people who weigh more than the "average", but why are we going the other way now? 

As if this is not enough, we have songs like "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj and "Booty" by Jennifer Lopez that are objectifying women and sending very harmful messages. Even men are objectified in the media these days. Society is reducing our worth to nothing but our appearances. Why are we still buying this? Women are not walking boobs and booty, and men are not walking six-packs.

"Real women have curves"? I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as "real women" and "fake women". I just don't get how people think they have to weigh a certain pound, look a certain way to be loved. If someone loves you for the number reflected on the scale or your "curves", then why bother? What about when you don't look like that anymore? Are they just going to stop loving you?

There's another issue with this. Several days ago, it was time for another Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Yes, it was all fancy and "sexy", but there are so many things wrong with it that it would take me a week just to write them all out. Almost every woman who watched the show had their self-esteem hit rock-bottom. I watched clips of it to write this blog, and even I was affected. Have you seen those models? But did you know that it came with a price? Although Victoria's Secret claimed that they let their models eat and hardly work out, we all know that this isn't true. The fashion industry is feeding on young women's insecurities and glorifying eating disorder. 

Image via dailymail.co.uk

I am disappointed every time I hear my friends or someone sighs and says those models or celebrities or magazine covers look so perfect. Do people actually realize that no one looks flawless like that in real life? Not even those celebrities? Some celebrities are even standing up to the industry for manipulating their bodies. Sometimes I feel like the media is dangling bait in our face, yet it's always out of our reach. We can't try to obtain unobtainable ideas of beauty! This just makes me so mad.

I've always been petite. I'm 5'3. At one point, when I was using birth control pills, I gained 10 lb or 5 kg. I went from 99 lbs (45 kg) to 110 (50 kg). I can't even begin to tell you how many times a day I heard people told me to stop eating and lose the weight. People called me fat. I'm serious. My producers pulled me aside and asked me if I'd realized I was gaining weight. I was told I looked big. I was told I should stop eating. My friend was told by someone I previously worked with to watch out for me and not let me eat. Yes, I'm serious.

After I stopped taking the pills, I've gone back to 99 lbs. Guess what people tell me? I shouldn't be a vegan because I'm too skinny. But I was a vegan when you said I was fat, too! I should eat more because I look anorexic. Some people joke that I will be blown away by the wind. Some people say I need to eat meat. Am I the only one confused here? Do people actually think I can step in some sort of machine, enter any perfect I want, and keep that weight for the rest of my life? It doesn't work that way. I'm a human; my weight fluctuates just like any other humans. And no, it's not a compliment when you tell me, "Wow, you look so skinny." Stop compliment me on my weight.

Image via saltedscarletry.com

Even the BMI doesn't really work. If you're eating healthy, get enough exercise, then you're doing great. It doesn't matter how much you weigh. I'm at my healthy weight at 99 or 100, but everyone's healthy range of weight varies. Don't set yourself up to one ideal number of how much you should weigh or how you should look. People need to learn to keep comments about other people's appearance (and weight) to themselves.

I know that we all can't be politically correct all the time. Otherwise, songs with lyrics like, "I can't live without you" would be viewed as harmful because it is telling people to build their lives around their loved ones. The reason that I think this is crossing the link is because this issues real problems to people all around the world, especially in first-world countries like America. Every week, we see thousands of digital-altered images of women and men. After a while, those images take a toll on you. I live in Fayetteville, which is a small town in Arkansas, but I see a lot of insecure young women who view their bodies as being all that they're worth. If I were to have a kid, I wouldn't want my kid to be surrounded by these kinds of messages.

The Facebook page "Beauty Redefined" says it best, "My body is an instrument, not an ornament." You are worth so much more than your reflection in the mirror. I linked some more sources about this down below.

Good luck to those who are having finals this week and next week! I'll be back soon enough! 

Love, Catherine

XOXO

Sources: 
http://www.beautyredefined.net/victorias-secret-war-on-women/
http://spoonuniversity.com/2014/10/bass-delivering-harmful-messages/
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2014/sep/01/pops-weighty-issue-all-about-that-bass-body-positive-anthems
http://www.healthytippingpoint.com/2014/04/positive-body-image-facebook-pages-you-should-follow.html
http://bodyimagemovement.com.au/