Jackson Free Press

The first time I heard Meghan Trainor's song "All About That Bass," I let it play on the radio merely because I was driving and didn't want to mess with the dials. On first impression (and I wasn't really listening), I thought it was just another annoying pop song about sex.

A couple weeks later, I stumbled upon the music video for the song—filled with pastel colors, '50s-style clothes and plus-size women (and a man) dancing—and began to understand the song's meaning.

Its beat is catchy, but its message is the most incredible part. In a world obsessed with "stick-figure, silicone Barbie dolls," as Trainor sings, it's OK to be OK with your size. The song's most-repeated line, "I'm all about that bass, no treble," celebrates plus-size women.

Personally, I find it refreshing. I've heard thin women criticize Trainor for advocating bigger women instead of all shapes and sizes, but the only line in the song that slightly resembles criticism is, "I'm bringing booty back. Go ahead and tell them skinny btches that." She received so much flack from the line that now she's saying "silly btches," but I don't think her goal was putting down naturally thin women. She reconciles with the critical listener in the next, point-affirming line, "No, I'm just playing. I know you think you're fat, but I'm here to tell you, every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top." It doesn't matter who she's speaking to. All that matters is the underlying message—size shouldn't define who you are. Sometimes I let it define me, and I know that happens to a lot of other plus-size women too, but the song makes it clear that we don't have to.

In the song, Trainor brings up the topic of Photoshopping women for magazines, a practice that exists for men as well. I think society vilifies every gender for being bigger. Magazines full of ridiculously thin women and muscular men tell to us that we're not worthy because we can't fit in those size 4 jeans or because our six-pack is more of a single. Size 12 models are considered plus size, when actually, that's the size of an average woman. Women shouldn't have to feel inadequate when they walk into places such as H&M and Forever 21.

I like "All About That Bass" because she doesn't judge anyone. The video doesn't show plus-size women glaring at skinny women or making fun of them. Each woman (and the man) in that video celebrate who they are and what they look like.

If a woman like Trainor who "ain't no size 2," as she sings, can have a hit single, glorifying all body types, then I think the world is changing. When Joan Rivers and Karl Lagerfield called Adele fat in 2013, the singer responded with a resounding, "So?" Confident female performers like Trainor and Adele remind us that it's OK to be who you are, no matter the size.