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Lizzo Vogue

Source: Hype Williams / Vogue

Body-positivity has been publicized as a movement that raises awareness on how women with larger frames are viewed as less sexy, less desirable, and less marketable. Slowly but surely, things are starting to shift, with the emphasis on brands that fully embrace the everyday women that support them encouraging other companies to take a closer look at what size inclusivity means for them. Some brands have used the hype as an opportunity to join the conversation and make real change; others continue to market their narrow version of size inclusion.

Lizzo Vogue

Source: Hype Williams / Vogue

Lizzo has always been vocal about body-positivity. Her sheer existence as an entertainer in the mainstream is a sign of progress. Yet the world did not expect someone of her size to carry themselves with such a high level of confidence. Despite repeated incidences of fat-shaming, Lizzo has managed to challenge society’s opinion of what sexy can look and feel like, but in the October issue of Vogue Magazine, the singer gets real about the type of women that are left out of the equation as society inches toward more inclusion.

“It’s commercialized,” the 32-year-old said of the body-positivity movement. “Now, you look at the hashtag ‘body positive,’ and you see smaller-framed girls, curvier girls. Lotta white girls. And I feel no ways about that, because inclusivity is what my message is always about. I’m glad that this conversation is being included in the mainstream narrative.”

For many, the fact that Black women birthed the body-positivity movement yet are consistently less represented in media is concerning. For Lizzo, there’s another segment of the community she believes we need to see more.

“What I don’t like is how the people that this term was created for are not benefiting from it,” she added. “Girls with back fat, girls with bellies that hang, girls with thighs that aren’t separated, that overlap. Girls with stretch marks. You know, girls who are in the 18-plus club. They need to be benefiting from…the mainstream effect of body positivity now. But with everything that goes mainstream, it gets changed. It gets—you know, it gets made acceptable.”

Lizzo Vogue

Source: Hype Williams / Vogue

Lizzo is using her platform to promote more than a healthy self-image. The musician has joined a long list of celebrities who are encouraging citizens to vote, particularly those in the Black community whose sheer survival rests on the next election.

“I just want to encourage people to register to vote. That is the most important thing to me. Because there’s a lot of upset people, and there’s a lot of people who have power. There’s a lot of voter suppression in Black communities,” the Detroit native said. “But there’s a lot of angry white kids now. And I’m like, ‘Yo, register to vote. Go out. You won’t get suppressed if you try to go to your ballot box.’ You know? I think it’s important to remind people of what they can do. My job isn’t to tell you how to vote. But my job is hopefully to inspire you to vote…to activate you, so that you can take your protest to the ballot box.”

Lizzo Vogue

Source: Hype Williams / Vogue

Check out Lizzo’s full interview here

The grand return of the Melanin Awards amplifies and honors the finest Black-owned beauty brands with honest reviews, and discusses the evolution of beauty in Hip-Hop culture.