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Dear Meghan Trainor haters: “Back off"

By Gloria Diaz

Check out Gloria's Blog — Edge of Gloria!

Fort Wayne Reader

2015-06-05

I like Meghan Trainor’s music. She’s the only artist who made me whip out my smartphone while shopping and get online to the radio station playing “All About that Bass” to see what song it was. I liked the retro sound. I liked the video. I liked the fact that here was a female recording artist who wasn’t half naked discussing what she likes doing with her boyfriend’s anaconda.

But, despite all this, Trainor gets shat upon. Feminists hate her because they think she’s pandering to male lust, and setting back women’s lib 30 years. Madonna survived that. You will too, Meghan.

In “All About That Bass” she’s talking about her not size 2 body and how her mom told her not to worry about it. I know being heterosexual is not popular these days, but if you are a young, heterosexual woman, when your body starts to change, of course you’re going to freak. And being a young, heterosexual girl, you’re going to wonder how your body is going to appear to the opposite sex. That’s just how it is. The last thing you want your mom to say is, “oh honey, with those flat breasts of yours, men aren’t going to want to talk to you at all. Even though we’re Methodist, I really think you should consider joining a convent.” I think the important thing, which Trainor does communicate, is to have confidence in yourself and your body—if the guys like you, fine, if not, that’s okay too.

The latest anti-Trainor firestorm seem to revolve around “Dear Future Husband.” Again, can we remember that she’s 20 years old and appears to be heterosexual? I think it’s okay to assume most, if not all twenty-something heterosexual women have a good idea of what they would like their future partner to be like. But again, certain women are freaking out because Trainor is assuming she’s going to get married someday. How dare she?! How dare she assume she’s going to get married or thinks she HAS to get married? According to 2009 stats, 52 percent of the U.S. population is married. That’s more than half, so there’s probably a pretty good chance that Trainor will get married someday. Not only is she pretty, but she’s talented. There are plenty of people who are married who aren’t either of those.

Speaking of looks, a part of me wonders how society got so obsessed with looks that Trainor thought she wasn’t attractive enough to become a pop star in her own right. Never mind she’s written songs for well-known acts. She says when she got signed as a songwriter, she immediately thought, “no one sees me as an artist because I don’t look good enough.” Guess Trainor never heard of Cass Elliot. Or Susan Boyle. These two aren’t anybody’s idea of pretty pop singers, but Elliot and Boyle did okay for themselves, except for Elliot’s unfortunate heart attack at the tender age of 32.

And to give Trainor credit on this, in “Dear Future Husband” she isn’t requesting some perfectly-built guy who just happens to be drop-dead gorgeous and a billionaire. Listen, she’s spelling it out for you. Be kind. Be considerate. If she’s losing her shit, tell her it’s going to be okay. Don’t be an asshole and then expect to get laid. You work hard, sure, but she works hard too. Make time for each other. Men, you can DO this. And she didn’t mention money. Yes, she mentioned buying a ring. Just one.

So Trainor haters, back off. It’s sort of refreshing to hear upbeat pop on the radio that won’t burn your ears off. As much as I enjoy Lorde’s music, she sounds extra world-weary and jaded and cynical. Trainor is a successful musician, with a career of her own, no worries about paying off student loans, and even if she gets hooked up with a terrible guy, she’ll have more than enough money to put an end to the relationship without worrying about finances. If more women had that going for them, men would be shaking in their shoes, because instead of a financial necessity, men would becoming an optional accessory. Now THAT is some feminist thinking—empowering women economically, instead of trying to change the biology of human beings.

And last time I checked, Trainor was a recording artist. As someone who has expressed herself in a number of ways, anytime you put words on paper, or paint on canvas, or make something, you’re going to piss people off. How dare you create? How dare you have an opinion? How dare you say something not P.C.? How dare you say something that isn’t feminist? How dare you make fun of men?

Say whatever you want about Meghan Trainor. Unlike you, she’s laughing her ass to the bank, singing about whatever she wants. She seems to be well-adjusted, confident and happy.

Good for her. Good for her.