By Siera Schubach, Staff Writer

Published in print Oct. 1, 2014

This article is the first in a three-part installment by Schubach on women’s role in media and pop culture.

For decades the media industry has created a warped view of female beauty. From stick-thin models to constant plus size body shaming, the media industry has become a one-dimensional drawing, with a very limited pallet.

Recently a slew of songs have been released, accompanied by their music videos, by artists celebrating their bodies. Or, more accurately, their curves. Hip-hop artists Iggy Azalea and Jennifer Lopez’s “Booty”, Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” and Meghan Trainor’s sassy ballad “All About the Bass” exemplify this theme.

From the outside this recent release of body positive songs seems like a positive move, yet it’s in what context these women have placed their positivity that is worrying.

In her song “Booty”, JLo sings about big-butted women getting on the dance floor and shaking what their mama’s gave them, not for their own satisfaction but for the man they’re with. JLo continues to repeat the phrase “You wanna meet her, you wanna touch her,” obviously speaking to a male audience about the women on the dance floor. Not only do her lyrics objectify women in context, the video objectifies them in person.

The video to “Booty” is perhaps what makes the message of the song so unsettling. Directed by Hype Williams, this video is four minutes of JLo and Iggy grinding and bumping their butts together, their skin glistening with perspiration, their hair slicked back and their bodies barely clothed. It is in this way that JLo and Iggy Azalea have succeeded in objectifying themselves, by limiting their self worth to being sexy for a man.

Minaj’s “Anaconda” falls victim to the same shame. She spends most of the video twerking against men and women, most notably rapper Drake. The song itself is an ode to big butts and, you guessed it, how much men love them; “He love my sex appeal because he don’t like ‘em boney, he want something he can grab”.

Meghan Trainor’s doo-wop era “All About the Bass” also continues this trend. “Yeah, my mama she told me don’t worry about your size,” she says. “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.” Again a woman’s confidence about her form comes from the knowledge that men like her better with curves.

This self-objectification and sexual reinforcement also brings up another question; what about the girls who don’t have big booties?

In all three of these songs, lyrics about body empowerment are paired with others that body-shame those who aren’t curvy. Nicki Minaj sings, “Fuck the skinny bitches in the club,” and repeats the phrase several times. In “All About the Bass” Meghan Trainor seems to mimic this trend when she sings, “Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that”, but recants quickly with, “No, I’m just playing. I know you think you’re fat.” 

Despite this backpedal on the abuse, she still calls out the skinny women in her song as comparison to the curves. Although “Booty” is exempt from any direct quotes shaming other women, the song’s theme still reinforces the idea that women without large backsides aren’t as sexually attractive.

Songs about body empowerment are rare, especially for those who have been marginalized by mainstream media for decades. Yet songs like “Booty”, “Anaconda” and “All About the Bass”, while bringing a new perspective to the fold, also present their own problems. Continually associating self-confidence with sex appeal creates a one-dimensional view of beauty.

A woman’s strength and love for her body should not be determined by how she appears to a man, nor should it hinge on being “better” than other women. Self-objectification and body shaming, in any form, are not empowering.

Tune in next week for Women in Media, Part 2.