Lizzo celebrates women who wear size 18 and up: 'We are sex symbols'
Lizzo is bringing attention to women who get overlooked far too often.
For plus size appreciation day, the singer took to Instagram to send an important and empowering message: “Ima say it like this... s/o to my size 18+ beauties out there. We getting our visibility and FINALLY brands are beginning to catch up to how fly we’ve always been. We are fashion, we are sex symbols, we are IT. There’s a long road to inclusivity and we won’t stop until we there.”
A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Oct 6, 2020 at 8:33pm PDT
The 32-year-old, who shared a video of herself in a gold dress alongside the caption, concluded with a call to action: “shake yo belly, love handles, and jiggly thighs, love ur double chin and wear them bikinis cus u a bad bitch.”
While the average size of the American woman has been reported to be a size 14 for years, a recent study published in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology, and Education found that “the average size of an American woman is now between 16 to 18, which is an increase from 10-year-old data.”
Lizzo’s message sparked a slew of positive responses from fans.
“The amount of change and difference you make for us is so big!!! We are so grateful for you queen,” one user commented. Another user even wrote that Lizzo has helped her daughter grow her confidence in school, saying: “thanks to you my daughter no longer wears her jacket all day at school now and she's loving her body.”
The post, which has been viewed more than 1 million times, is just one of the many times that Lizzo has spoken out about loving your body, no matter the size. In June, the grammy-winning singer faced “criticism” from trolls after a TikTok video of her working out went viral. But she didn’t let it bring her down.
“I DONT POST THINGS LIKE THIS FOR ME. IDGAF ABOUT TROLLS THAT BODY SHAME ME. I DO THIS FOR THE PEOPLE WHO GET BODY SHAMED EVERY SINGLE DAY WHO DONT HAVE MY PLATFORM OR HAVE THE SAME PATH TO CONFIDENCE I HAD. I KNOW THAT I AM HERE TO DEFEND AND REPRESENT YALL. BECAUSE I LOVE YALL AND I DONT WANT YALL TO GO THROUGH THE SELF HATRED I WENT THROUGH,” she wrote in a lengthy caption to accompany the video.
A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Jun 11, 2020 at 7:09pm PDT
She continued, “AND IF POSTING MY JOURNEY AND CUSSING IGNORANT INSECURE WANNABE “COMMENT SECTION DOCTORS” OUT IS WHAT I GOTTA DO TO MAKE SURE FAT SHAMING IS SHAMED THEN THATS WHAT IM GONNA DO.”
Since then, she has continued to fight the good fight against haters. Just a few weeks ago, the star took to Instagram to reveal that she’s Vogue’s October cover star, saying: “I am the first big black woman on the cover of @voguemagazine. The first black anything feels overdue. But our time has come. To all my black girls, if someone like you hasn’t done it yet — BE THE FIRST.”
A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Sep 24, 2020 at 9:36am PDT
And it’s not just body positivity she’s talking about. Instead, she wants to change the entire dialogue surrounding the movement. In the Vogue article, the flutist said, “I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body positive at this point, it’s easy. I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body.”
And it doesn’t stop there. “Being fat is normal. I think now, I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here. We have to make people uncomfortable again so that we can continue to change. Change is always uncomfortable, right?”
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