The Effects of Media on Children--"All About that Bass"

When I was a freshman in college, Megan Trainor quickly ascended to fame with her pop hit "All About that Bass." While I'm not a huge fan of the song in particular--or of pop music in general--it was certainly not difficult to see the impact that her music made.

 The song describes Trainor's childhood concerns about being a "plus-sized" woman and how she thought that men would think of her when she was older because of it. In the song, she tells about her mother's reassurances, saying that heavier girls are just as beautiful as girls who are thin, and that learning to accept her body will make her beautiful to everyone.

My sister Emily was eleven when this song hit the radio waves. She, like me, is heavier, and at a young age was very distraught about it, to the point where she resorted to crash dieting (at the age of 7) to try to lose weight. However, Megan Trainor's music changed her outlook. I remember sitting in the car with her, listening to "All About that Bass," and afterward discussing with my sister what we thought of the song. I told her that I didn't really like it all that much, to which she seemed offended. 

"Why are you mad that I don't like that song?" I asked her. Her response shocked me. 

"It makes me feel like I have a chance. "