I’m totally conflicted. The song “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor has sent me for a loop. I have to admit, when it came on the radio I would sing along. It’s catchy. It’s fun to sing. But when I was avoiding doing my homework I decided to look up the music video, just to see what it was like.

I did not understand what this song was about. The video is filled with girls who aren’t stick-thin and tiny like you usually see in these sorts of things. I finally actually listened to the lyrics I had been singing along to for weeks. “Yeah, it’s pretty clear, I ain’t no size two,” “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night,” and “I’m bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny b****** that,” were some that stood out to me. At first, I thought it was a really great video. The colors are super appealing and I instantly liked Trainor for her sassy attitude and obvious confidence in her own body. I think it’s really awesome to have a song praising body security.

What I don’t think is so awesome is the constant references to how boys like thicker girls, and they want more “booty” and whatever else that are woven in throughout the song. If you’re going to write a song about body positivity why do we have to bring the sexualization and attempts to please men into it? If you’re going to be confident, be confident without a guy’s approval. The other thing I think isn’t great is the fact that while those girls are bigger than most models, pretty much everyone is bigger than most models. They look like normal people, they don’t look fat or overweight or anything. Why does she have to be a bigger-than-traditional pop star who sings about being bigger-than-traditional? Why can’t she just sing? That would break more boundaries.

And honestly, I am a size two. I’m one of the girls she’s talking about being better than in the entire song. And I’m not saying that being a size two is ideal. Honestly, when I hear these sorts of songs (like Trainor’s and Nicki Minaj’s Anaconda) I get really insecure about not having more… assets. So I think that that message is also wrong. I shouldn’t have to feel bad about the way I look just because it was the previous desired norm. Girls who look like the girls in the videos shouldn’t have to feel bad because they don’t. I realize that “fat shaming” is a WAY bigger deal in this country right now than “skinny shaming”, but I don’t think that either one is right. And it’s true she says “I’m just playing” after telling skinny girls they suck, but for some reason it didn’t really make it any better.

“Every inch of you is perfect, from the bottom to the top.” That’s a good line. That’s what is important. But she’s not really saying that. She’s saying that if you’re not a “skinny b****” and you’re bigger that you’re perfect. Not the other way around.

So while I really like the song for a lot of reasons, it makes me uncomfortable for a lot of them too. Body positivity still has a long way to go for America.