FEATURE:
The Lockdown Playlist
IN THIS PHOTO: Lizzo/PHOTO CREDIT: Bethany Mollenkof for The New York Times
Body Positive Anthems
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FOR this playlist…
IN THIS PHOTO: Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor)/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Powell
I wanted to put together a selection of body positive anthems. Not something I have done before, I still think there is a lot of body-shaming in music. Still a perception that women should look a certain way or conform to an ideal. There have been a wave of body positive songs from artists putting out these empowering messages. No doubt these songs have helped many women in terms of their confidence and the way some perceive them. Not only that, these songs are also anthemic and have a timeless potency and importance. I am going to get to a playlist with some terrific body positive songs. Before that, I found an article from 2020 that asks whether listening to a single song can make you feel better about your body. Of course, this is not confined to women – but they do seem to receive a lot of the worst judgement and shaming:
“The body positivity movement appears to be growing in strength and is a direct response to the stereotypical ways that media represents women. Messages in popular music and videos, for example, often focus on the importance of appearance and present a very specific, unobtainable view of beauty. Not surprisingly, research has demonstrated a direct link between the way that media objectifies and sexualizes women’s bodies and the development of poor body image in women.
Fortunately, body positivity is becoming more common on social media (with the hashtag #bopo), and women tend to feel better about their bodies after viewing positive posts regarding healthy body image. This body positivity is more than acceptance of one’s current physical state; it involves appreciation for the body, including a focus on how the body feels and functions and what it can do. This trend led Sarah M. Coyne, Emilie J. Davis, Wayne Warburton, Laura Stockdale, Imogen Abba, and Dean M. Busby to ask the question: Does listening to body-positive music influence body positivity?
The authors published results of three studies that examined this question in the journal Psychology of Popular Media. First, one group of women watched Colbie Caillat’s music video, Try, which has a body-positive message; others viewed Selena Gomez’s video, Good for You, which is about looking good for a man. Not surprisingly, women felt better about their own bodies after listening to Colbie Caillat”.
With modern artists releasing albums like Prioritise Pleasure that celebrate the body and body positivity, there are these incredible women coming through that are providing this voice to so many other women. Of course, many female artists get attacked and vilified on social media because of their lyrics and the fact they are promoting a healthier image. Whether it is an expectation that women need to conform to an ideal regarding their image and weight or need to look a certain way in general, the songs below are about embracing who you are and being proud in your skin. It is such a shame that there is still this misogyny and shaming that is harming so many women. Let us hope that, soon enough, things change…
FOR the better.