Women artists have filled the top five spots of the Billboard Hot 100 songs for five weeks in a row for the first time ever. With this recent landmark in the popularity of female artists, people have been discussing how body positive messages impact young girls.

“Girl power songs should inspire girls to stand up for themselves and be independent,” sophomore Justine Miller said.

But the songs have not gone without controversy, mainly over whether or not they are actually empowering to women.

“All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor has been criticized for shaming thinner girls and emphasizing the importance of how women look. Fans of Trainor argued that she is singing about body acceptance, but people are misinterpreting the lyrics.

In an interview with The Guardian, Trainor said her point is self acceptance and that “any body type is beautiful.” Trainor said people are taking the song too seriously and “All About That Bass” is a fun, feel-good song.

Freshman Web Lemann thinks the overall message of the song is good, but thinks Trainor’s hit has some questionable lyrics. “It’s good to be comfortable in your own body,” he said.

Senior Em Prozinski agrees. She really likes the line “every inch of you is perfect from the bottom to the top,” but she dislikes the way the song portrays skinnier women. “If [“All About That Bass”] really wants to break down beauty standards, it’s being counterproductive because it shames skinny women,” she said.

Sophomore Maya Edstrom really liked “All About That Bass,” but the more she listened, the more problematic she found it. “It implies the main reason to love your body is because a man likes it,” she said. “I think it’s awesome that [Trainor] tried to write a song that combatted fat-shaming and was body-positive, but she ended up body-shaming girls who are not curvy…and encouraging of the male gaze, but with that being said, I don’t think its message of accepting one’s body should be ignored,” Edstrom said.

Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda” has also attracted debate. Critics have argued that her video objectifies the female body, while supporters have insisted that “Anaconda” is a different kind of empowerment and that Minaj, despite the suggestive dance moves and revealing clothing, is in control the entire time. They say her video is about embracing her sexuality and not letting men determine what she can and cannot do.

Minaj herself has been cryptic in her answers about the video, telling GQ that the video that it was about “the female taking back the power.”

Edstrom didn’t like Anaconda much at first, but her opinion has changed. “By sampling lyrics from an objectifying song (“Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot) and turning it into something empowering, she shows that women are not just objects,” Edstrom said. “For me personally, this song and music video is a step in the right direction,” she added.

Sophomore Moira McCarthy thinks there’s a fine line between accepting women’s bodies and objectifying them. “You don’t want to be slut shaming anyone, but you also don’t want to be reinforcing the idea that women are objects,” she said.

Whether or not they like the songs, many people seem to agree it’s good to have more successful women artists. “It’s really good for young girls to have more women of all shapes and sizes to look up to in the world of pop,” freshman Anna Commers said.

But can songs themselves really impact how girls thinks?

Sophomore Kathryn Schmechel thinks empowering songs really can motivate girls. “Songs can contribute to how girls view themselves and others,” she said.

Prozinski hopes these songs might have an impact. “These songs make it more acceptable for female musicians to release songs about girl power, and that will hopefully make a lasting impact on younger kids who listen to that music.”