September 9th, 2023 - by Valentina Nazzaro
"FAT IS NOT A DIRTY WORD!! This sentence was one of the most monumental steps in my eating disorder recovery. It feels so simple and obvious, but is such a radical idea for so many people. Viewing our bodies as morally neutral can take so much unlearning. To anyone currently doing that unlearning, you're not alone <3"- Brye
“An Angry Song About Diet Culture”- Brye
Back in early January of 2023, the twenty year old self-identifying fat and queer musician, Brye, released her unique self-produced indie-pop single “Diet Culture.” In this brutally honest single, Brye’s songwriting and production style forces a much needed conversation around society's unrealistic body standards, the serious effects of diet culture encouraging and normalizing eating disorders, body dysmorphia and fatphobia. The other day, I was listening to one of my playlist on apple music and this song came on shuffle. Although it has been on my playlist for around six months now, I haven't actually sat down to listen to it in a while. Thus, reminding me of how underrated this song and artist herself really is! On February 23rd, Brye posted content on her Instagram advertising this single singing along to the first verse in her car while captioning the post “An angry song about Diet Culture, verse 1 💕 #bodypositivity #dietculture #antidiet #edrecovery.”
There are a lot of words that could be used to describe this anthem, but Brye purposefully decides to use the word “angry" insinuating that she is officially fed up with diet culture normalizing the inferiority of bigger bodies. This "anger" is felt through her vocals that mirror a crisp and irritable tonality, making her storytelling even more captivating. The anxiousness that is portrayed through the way she vocalizes the first few verses combined with the anxiousness felt through the melodic characteristics, help one another amplify the narrative through the song with similar yet different approaches. For instance, the song melodically throws us right into the root of all these triggering experiences Brye has had with friends, family members and even strangers, as the repetitive sound that keeps us at bay behind her vocals are intense and further forcing the audience to be held accountable. Vocally, as she goes into singing and describing these small passive aggressive comments and moments
she's experienced in her life the sound we are given through her singing is a different type of confrontation than we are given melodically. The vocals during the first verse reflect a type of anxiousness that is felt through the repetitiveness of being patient in situations you are uncomfortable in. The lyrics are sung in a way that sounds familiar to the narrator. The beauty of the different yet similar intensities of the melodic vs the vocal tonality colliding together this way helps leave room for growth throughout the song. It confronts the listeners in two ways that strongly builds this apprehensive and distressed feeling ---allowing space for Brye's individual experiences to be heard, while also acknowledging systemic ones as well. Furthermore, the response of fans who feel similarly in her Youtube comments demonstrate how successful her musicianship is when writing and producing songs that ring true to a myriad of personal experiences and struggles that have to do with feeling less than, due to toxic societal body norms and narratives.
Diet Culture (Official Lyric Video), comment section,
Deconstructing the Lyrics & Melody
Specifically, the song starts out with a loud bang of a drum and continues this rhythmic melody that is confrontational yet still palatable. Additionally, when partnered with her vocal articulation, and seamless switches between her mix-belt to her head voice and over exaggeration when ending a phrase or syllable this specificity proves that Brye’s artistry is extremely advanced. In the song she recalls moments in her life where the rhetoric used in casual conversation around talking about weight, food and diet culture has been not only harmful but triggering. For example, she sings about her "smaller friend" announcing they were bloated in front of her for no reason, her mother-in law needing shape wear so her "bits fit right" and a stranger joking about forgetting to eat "until its the middle of the night." By the way she goes about singing these lyrics her passionate tone sounds similar to a venting session with a close friend or our diaries in times of anger. The emotion heard through these phrases makes it evident that these experiences are not the first time someone has made insensitive comments like these in passing. To explain her rage she later sings:
And I know their worst fear is to look like me
And that fact makes me want to kill somebody
What strikes me about these experiences is how common they are when growing up in a bigger body. Importantly, none of these memories are calling out individuals specifically pointing out Brye's body or weight to fat shame her in any way. Instead, they were demonstrating what society has perpetuated through diet culture for years, which is the fear of being fat. Diet culture has been so normalized in our society that joking about "forgetting to eat" or constantly mentioning your weight to literal strangers are never questioned as problematic or harmful. The toxicity of diet culture and the normalization of it has directly affected what is portrayed in the media, pop culture, music, clothing brands and one's mindsets on what bodies are accepted and which ones are not. To put in simpler terms, diet culture has taught us that thinness=happiness and being fat=unhappiness. Further, creating a hierarchy of certain body shapes and "perfections" that continue to create unrealistic expectations for, not just women, but for everyone in society today. The demonization of certain foods, diets and labeling ones as "good" and others as "bad"--- ultimately has resulted in the struggle of having a complicated relationship with food. Even more, diet culture is proven to be an instigator for eating disorders as the constant fear of existing in a bigger body is, again, normalized. Brye underlines these issues first-hand and continues to sing about her anger as she states:
I usually don't hate you, but today I'm enraged
Brye's storytelling vocally attracts the listeners as the way she delivers the phrase "I'm eating at the counter" goes from a louder belt to a transition into her head voice clearly exhibiting signs of vulnerability through vocal technique. She finishes off the sentence with a medium-loud sound singing “and you’re talking about your weight" as she pulls on each word and note emphasizing even more how ridiculous this interaction is. It almost even highlights her confusion as as to why the other person cant recognize/ see the problem with what they are saying is harmful and perpetrating fatphobia. Moreover, articulating the “t” in “weight” you can feel the anger bubbling to the surface one letter at a time.
The Mesmerizing Sound
of Indie-Pop
After mapping out the ripple effect diet culture has had on her life through the first and second verse, we are soon given an anthem of self-love towards the end. The indie-pop single turns an angry vocal sesh into an iconic pop anthem of radical self-love when she starts stating validating affirmations that go against the guilt and insecurity that diet culture feeds off of. Importantly, the musicality of the song itself has a consistent up-tempo beat, leaving no room for sadness to linger its way in between the lines. Although Brye is a younger musician, she continues to prove her advanced artistry to be far beyond her years. Brye remembers her love for music dating back to when she was fourteen years old as she fearlessly tackled music production and took influence from her favorite artists DODIE, Tessa Violet, and Oh Wonder. Similarly, in “Diet Culture” the indie-pop hook is addictive and anticipatory like the one heard in DODIE’s 2017 “In The Middle.” This popular indie-pop subculture in music is growing in popularity as it takes aspects of DIY aesthetics and relies on repetition to create a catchy and dramatic dance-like tune. Brye does exactly this as she starts the song out strong with a catchy rhythm and beat that has added unique sounds and textures amplifying the narrative. With 536,277 monthly listeners on Spotify, her fans seem to be enjoying the production and message of her music as it continues to deliver an authentic and rebellious vibe.
We live in a world that is fueled by Diet Culture and thrives off of the normalization of fat people hating themselves. Its expected. And whether one believes it or not, the issue is systemic and is embedded in the fabric of our society. Regardless, Brye refuses to make music that doesn't acknowledge these issues upfront. The song beautifully harps on this idea of radical self-love while also pointing out body neutrality, further advocating for all the wonderful things our body does for us and striving for a rhetoric that liberates these so-called "imperfections." Radical self-love is specifically heard as Brye sings about body liberation, deconstructing systemic sociopolitical issues to further help eliminate self-hatred. Self-hatred within diet culture is rooted in various different aspects, but one of the main reasons we feel hatred towards ourselves is due to the guilt that is felt when eating certain types of foods. As she sings "If my body is a vessel I will give it what it needs," she is deconstructing this idea of feeling guilty when craving or wanting a certain "bad" food and reminding us that our bodies NEED food to survive so giving it what it needs shouldn't make us feel guilty in any way.
After singing "I'm taking up the space that is rightfully mine" these powerful lyrics push for a change. Looking at this statement through an intersectional lens, Brye is a a fat and queer musician stating firmly that she will AND is going to continue to take up space whether we like it or not. This is not only challenging societal standards of beauty, but is also taking the intersectionality of fatness and queerness and refusing to be silent.
Brye's honesty excels far beyond her music. On her instagram she has made it apparent that, in the past, she struggled greatly with an eating disorder and recovering from this is life-long journey. She writes about aspects of her recovery on instagram. Specifically, intuitive eating in relation to one of her lines in "Diet Culture," and states in her instagram post on January 10th, 2023: "IF MY BODY TELLS ME SOMETHING, I WILL MAKE SURE IT IS HEARD. Intuitive eating was another major piece of my recovery. Re-learning my body's hunger cues took a long time and lots of unlearning. When you deny yourself what you need for so long, it's so freeing to finally give yourself with you want/need <3." Moreover, this re-learning bleeds into her art that is portrayed in her photoshoot she used to advertise this song. Her stretch marks are highlighted with glitter; re-writing this narrative of how we should view stretch marks on our bodies. Thus, relearning that certain parts of our bodies, like stretch marks, cellulite and fat do not define how beautiful we are/ our worth. It's funny because stretch marks are proven to be natural parts of our bodies growing and changing yet society continues to demonize them---ESPECIALLY when pointing towards fatter bodies. Brye challenges these ideas and decorates them with bright, beautiful glitter embracing the beauty of her body regardless of what society or other people try to make her feel. She is so inspirational!!!
She sings in the last two verses:
There's nothing wrong with my body "Fat" is not a dirty word If my body tells me something I will make sure it is heard If my body is a vessel I will give it what it needs I will not betray my body No matter what they think of me
There's nothing wrong with my body "Fat" is not a dirty word If my body tells me something I will make sure it is heard If my body is a vessel I will give it what it needs I will not betray my body No matter what they think of me
Within the year of "Diet Culture"'s release there still continues to be hate that circulates the internet and continues to put Brye down for her message of fat acceptance and liberation. Regardless, she continues to confront the trolls and send them on their way. #bye
The singer/songwriter is now going on tour with headliner Addison Grace, another queer indie-pop musician whose songs tell truthful narratives that are raw and authentic towards their identity, just like Brye.
Recently, Brye has come out with her new songs "NOTHING!" "It's About You," "Jenna," and "Too Sensitive," all gaining popularity within the last few months of their release. I highly suggest you go check out Brye on all streaming platforms and appreciate the boundary-pushing art she has given us through her music.
I cannot wait to see what she does next with her career and I am excited to see live videos of them on tour with Addison Grace and singer/songwriter Madilyn!!!
We here at Barely Everything will for sure be following along closely with her journey...will you?!
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