'I ain't no size two:' feminist conversations and controversial messages in Meghan Trainor's empowerment songs

Abstract

Meghan Trainor's brand -- while thoroughly debated among critics and consumers -- provides a gateway to conversations on body acceptance, gender equality, and female empowerment through the use of provocative lyrics, catchy tunes, and memorable music videos. This study considers Meghan Trainor's most popular songs from her first two albums, Title (2015) and Thank You (2016). The work aims to decide, not whether Trainor and is feminist per se, but how her work contributes to feminist conversations. Popular music scholar James Lull argues that the consumption of music "implies that music has some kind of impact, since listeners pick up information, feelings, even values from their contact with music." In effect, that is what this thesis attempts to uncover, using Trainor by way of example. Trainor may not be as popular as Lady Gaga, Beyonc, and Taylor Swift, but her music has the power to signify across generations -- deepening the conversations needed across genders, social classes, races and political perspectives.