F*ck them skinny bitches,
F*ck them skinny bitches in the club
— Nicki Minaj, “Anaconda”
Yeah, my mama she told me "don't worry about your size"
(Shoo wop wop, sha-ooh wop wop)
She says, "Boys like a little more booty to hold at night"
(That booty, uh, that booty booty)
You know I won't be no stick figure silicone Barbie doll
So if that what you're into, then go 'head and move along
I'm bringing booty back
Go 'head and tell them skinny bitches that
—Meghan Trainor, “All About That Bass”
Imagine if Taylor Swift wrote a song that included a lyric with the phrase “fat bitch"?What would happen? Most likely, there would be a huge public uproar about how such a lyric is an example of “fat shaming.” Swift would be criticized for promoting thin, unrealistic body ideals and for being insensitive to females who are more full-figured.
So why is it okay to shame some girls for having slimmer figures?
I have a problem with how certain figures in the media are trying to promote “body peace” and “body confidence” by celebrating curves, while simultaneously putting down women who are thinner. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with loving your curves and wanting to celebrate them, there is something wrong with presenting a curvy body as somehow “superior” to a thin body. By labeling slim-figured women as “skinny bitches,” you set up a power struggle between two different body types — curvy women being better than thin women because they are “nicer” (not categorized as being bitches), and they receive more attention from men because of their curves (like the Meghan Trainor lyric “Boys like a little more booty to hold at night”). Thus, calling thinner women skinny bitches does not promote body confidence for all. In fact, it very much perpetuates the culture of body-shaming and female objectification that women have for so long worked to stop, such as the unrealistic and untrue belief that “thin is beautiful.” Calling a thin women a skinny bitch is just as bad, and equally as hurtful, as calling a fuller-figured woman fat.
There are two instances in my life where someone commented on my body type that still stand out in my memory today:
“You got fat.”
“You would look better if you gained weight."
Despite the fact that the two comments highlighted the flaws of two different body types — one being “fat” and the other being “too thin” or “underweight” — I found both comments hurtful because they implied the same thing — I didn’t look good the way I was, and I would look better, and be more desirable, if I changed my body. By designating one body type, whether that is a thinner body type or a curvier body type, as better than the other, we will continue to promote body-shaming by making all other body types inferior and even ugly in comparison.
I am certainly not a fan of how Hollywood and the current media tends to equate a female’s attractiveness with her physique and looks. The intense need for women to maintain an unhealthy thinness is, without a doubt, detrimental. However, I argue that pinning two separate body types (curvy vs. skinny) against each other is equally as detrimental to women. The problem, in my opinion, is that a woman’s worth, her desirability and her attractiveness should not be based solely on her body type. Instead of attempting to end society’s obsession with thinness and its tendency to fat-shame women by degrading thin women, I propose a different solution: stop comparing. As women, we need to move away from our focus on the “ideal” and “most desired” body type. The reality is, every woman is built differently and saying that one body type is better or more desired by men than the other will only continue to harm women’s confidence and perpetuate the objectification of women.
