Meghan Trainor Has Had A Feminist Awakening

Back when Meghan Trainor was 20 years old and just starting out, she told Billboard in an interview that she did not consider herself a feminist. But now, two years older and a tad bit wiser, Meghan Trainor is a feminist, as she admitted in a new interview. In the past, she didn't identify as one of us, but she seemingly did some research and now understands that feminism isn't all militantly burning bras and man-hating, it's just about seeking equality (though, who wouldn't love to burn a bra at least once?).

Trainor was recently interviewed by Fabulous, a branch of the UK newspaper The Sun and she talked about her role as a girl who was trying to inspire women, but who, at one time, did not believe she was a feminist. Though Trainor has faced a lot of flak (and probably rightfully so) for some of her songs — "All About That Bass" does a really great job of body-shaming girls who are more on the Treble side, for example — she still is in a position in which girls and women look up to her. In the interview, she said:

"I’d been told: ‘Don’t say you’re something if you don’t know what it is.’ So I was like: ‘Well, I’m not a feminist,’ because I didn’t really understand it and then I was like ‘Oh, s**t! Obviously I am a feminist. My songs are women’s anthems across the board."

When Trainor stated in her original Billboard interview that, "I don't consider myself a feminist, but I'm down for my first opportunity to say something to the world to be so meaningful," I'm sure I wasn't the only fan who was disappointed to hear her preface her words by denying that label. It was understandable, of course, because many celebrities, even female celebrities, have denied that they consider themselves feminists for all sorts of reasons — many of which come down to not knowing much about the true definition of feminism. However, very few of those celebrities change their tune after doing the proper research on the subject, and for that Trainor must be commended. Like Taylor Swift before her, she's more than willing to own up to being ignorant on the subject of feminism in the past, and more than willing to embrace the label in her present and future. And that's a huge relief not just in general, but also for her fans.

I think what it really comes down to is that, pop stars, whether we like it or not, are in positions where they hold great sway over attitudes and minds. As Uncle Ben from Spider-Man once said, "with great power comes great responsibility," and that power and responsibility includes understanding the movements that greatly affect artists and their fans. I'm proud that Trainor has had a feminist awakening and is able to admit that she has made mistakes in the past. But Trainor changing her tune is a great reminder of the power that celebrities hold, whether that is power they are prepared for or not. I'm not saying that their massive fan bases will believe anything they say without doing research of their own, but many fans are very impressionable and give their idols' opinions the kind of weight that should make celebrities think twice about speaking out about a movement before they truly know what it is. Here's hoping that Trainor continues to take steps forward, admit when she was wrong, and become the role model we always knew she could be.

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