Lizzo’s Body is not Your Political Playground

Lizzo, another Black woman who can’t seem to catch a break from the media. The “Juice,” singer has shared on social media via Tik Tok that she was on a 10-day smoothie cleanse. The chaotic reaction caused many people, especially white women, to feel as if she fell into diet culture.

Body Positivity

Lizzo has always been a spokesperson for body positivity, whether she wanted to be or not. She accepts this role to speak on her platform to spread positively of self-acceptance of one’s body. 

On the flip side, she hasn’t really done much compared to an actual activist. Subsequently, she has to take on this role. Lizzo wears whatever she wants, like any other modern pop star, yet with her body, it’s a playground for political war. She’s been victimized for wearing things that show too much skin. Next to an Arianna Grande, it’s perceived as edgy. Her outfits are reminiscent of Madonna or Janet Jackson, but the way that Lizzo’s body captures these visuals makes her a target for political discourse on social media. 

Diet Culture

Lizzo’s body exists in a way that a theatre does, showcasing our culture’s appetite for Black women disguised in fat phobia. Lizzo meets the basic requirements of a pop star. Sadly, her body with the addition of being a Black woman is fuel for criticism, especially from white Eurocentric standards. So, it’s weird to see so many white women critique Lizzo’s diet. 

Diet culture in some instances can be toxic for one’s health, but Lizzo mentions that she did the diet to cleanse her body from the toxins. Body positivity from the very beginning projects onto Lizzo. Many Black women share Lizzo’s physique, so the idea of her having to be a spokesperson for it, or can’t even cleanse her body is anti-Black. We did not do the same for the “Hello,” singer, Adele, for her weight loss. Why do we grant white women passes? 

Fat Phobia is “Body Positivity” in Disguise

Black women’s bodies come in an array of forms. So, white women have no right to come and try to take ownership of Lizzo’s body. Body positivity is a phrase that harms Black women and places their body as “other.” It’s a way to digest vast amounts of Black women we see, like Lizzo, but also disguised in fat phobia.

In the age where everything is a brand, body positivity is a branded way of fatphobia harming Black women. Their bodies do not fit white Eurocentric ones. Lizzo is a Black woman and her body is not your political playground.