Anti-feminism claims[edit]
The song's lyrics became a subject of controversy among music critics who felt that the song did not promote a positive body image as Trainor intended.[32][73] Trainor was accused of anti-feminism, cultural appropriation and shaming thin women in the song, namely in the lyrics "bringing booty back / Go ahead and tell them skinny bitches that," and "Yeah my mama she told me don't worry about your size / She says, 'Boys like a little more booty to hold at night.'"[73][74] In a publication by The Daily Telegraph, Olivia O'Niell analyzed, "If the song's 908,000 likes on YouTube and Meghan's 90,000 followers on Twitter are anything to go by, it would seem that the message most people are taking away from the hit is a positive one".[75] However, O'Niell went on to highlight that the lyrics "have outraged some listeners, with YouTube comments criticizing Trainor for her 'thinly veiled hypocrisy'".[75] Kris Ex of Complex said that the track "jacked both the stereotyped body priorities of black beauty and the codes of black slang".[76] Naomi Schaefer Riley of the New York Post dubbed the song as "faux empowerment" and wrote, "Meghan Trainor is trying to pull a fast one on impressionable adolescent girls, and feminists want her to know she's not going to get away with it."[77]

Kelsey McKinney of Vox felt that some verses in "All About That Bass" uplifted ideas of body positivity and self-worth while destroying those ideals in others by putting down other women.[73] Jezebel writer Hillary Crosley explained, "When you say that you're not a size two, but you're still desirable to men in a way that sounds like you're making up for the fact that you're not a size two, you're still adhering to the beauty standards your lyrics purport to be against".[78] Feministing's Chloe Angyal felt that what made "All About That Bass" problematic was its limited definition of loving one's body, and dismissed its body image promotional ideal of "You can love it as long as men love it, and you can love it by putting down other women's bodies".[79] L.V. Anderson of Slate felt "All About That Bass" sent a "sexist, faux-feminist message".[22] He dismissed the track's lyrics for reinforcing the idea that women existed for the pleasure of men, and being desired by a man is crucial to a woman's self-worth, writing "It says it's all about that bass, but it seems it's really all about the boys."[22] Chris Molanphy of the same publication shared Anderson's view and wrote that the song elevated men's love of women's bottoms above women's own appreciation of them.[24] HitFix's Katie Hasty felt that the track's lyrical message was flawed in its execution, writing: "'My mama told me...' is a cliché that works well with this style of pop song. But, to paraphrase, 'body acceptance comes from the sexual desires of men and not from within' means your mom needs to take a different tack."[80] A writer for ChicagoNow questioned Trainor's "dangerous" tactic of shaming thin women to uplift full figured women with song, and opined, "Insulting any body type—even if it is the 'standard'—is wrong".[81] The Independent writer Yomi Adegoke said that the song's replacement of one ideal with another was a poor representation of body positivity, and felt that its enforcement that "real men love curves" was insulting.[82]

In response to the anti-feminism claims, Trainor stated in an interview with Billboard: "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. If you asked me, 'What do you want to say?' it would be, 'Love yourself more.'"[4] During a televised interview with NBC's Today, Trainor stated, "I didn't work this hard to hate on skinny people, I wrote the song to help my body confidence —and to help others."[6] PopMatters writer Evan Sawdey defended the song, writing, "This song is so positive, so energetic, and so universal—it's something people of all shapes and sizes can get behind".[26] Beejoli Shah of The Guardian felt that the "skinny shaming" were unneccessary and opined that Trainor's conversation about her body helped normalize teenage anxieties. Shah went on to say, "If 'All About That Bass' is a body-acceptance anthem for big girls, relax: pretty much everything else in the canon of pop for the last six decades has been a an ode to the skinny girls".[60] Caroline Sullivan of the same publication wrote that the fact critics took offense to the song's lyrical content, manifested the delicacy of the issue of body image.[10] Trainor further defended the concept of the song in an interview with Popjustice:

Oh God man, I don't criticise skinny people! I would never shame a skinny person! I don't know who would want to. I guess they stop listening immediately after I say 'skinny bitches' and just turn it off. But I say, '...just kidding, I know even you think you are fat'. For instance, I have skinny friends and some of them will stand in front of the mirror and go, 'eugh, I'm just like so big'. And I'm standing there going, 'Jesus! If you’re big then what am I!?' That’s not right. So I was just saying that. There was a huge Twitter account that made a blog about 'this is a body shaming song'. I was like, 'oh my goodness, okaaay...' I don't get it. No, I would never shame a skinny person. It makes no sense.[12]