Lizzo makes me proud to be a plus-size black woman

‘Driving the boat’ mid-performance by chugging down a bottle of Tequila, Lizzo paused to deliver a powerful message about loving yourself and owning the right to feel good as hell.

‘I’m tired of the bullsh*t…’ she said. ‘It’s so hard trying to love yourself in a world that doesn’t love you back. So I want to take the opportunity right now to just feel good as hell because you deserve to feel good as hell!’

Not only does she want to change how women view themselves, but she also wants to change how we are seen and represented in the media.

She was seizing the opportunity to carry her voice further and continue her execution of confidence and self-love to the media in a truly unforgettable way, ultimately owning every inch of the VMA’s last night. Lizzo came and did what she had to do.

Despite all the criticisms and controversies surrounding ‘glorifying obesity’, Lizzo is living proof that the world can exist with a plus-size women leading it to a better place. Her performance last night for me was a statement of solidarity.

I, for one, can relate to Lizzo. My journey to owning my body hasn’t been the easiest. The one thing I’ve always championed for was the proper imagery of representation in the media, and well, Lizzo is finally that! She makes me proud to be a plus-size black woman because she has shown me countless times that we deserve to be loved.

You can’t help but embrace the fact that every time she gets up on stage in a bold and bright figure loving leotard, she owns it. She’ll happily bend over and smack her ass while telling you to kiss it because that’s how she feels. Her dancers will wear what the world sees and calls ‘imperfections’ on their sleeves and shows everyone that they got moves, too.

Her songs are more than just power anthems. She’s continuously reaffirming what she knows about herself and what she wants you to know about yourself, and that’s some real role model sh*t.

The opening line in Truth Hurts – ‘I just took a DNA test, turns out I’m 100 per cent that bitch, even when I’m crying crazy, yeah, I got boy problems, that’s the human in me, bling-bling, then I solve ’em, that’s the goddess in me’ – captures how many of us secretly feel about ourselves without having the courage to say it out loud.

Whether through the art of music or in an Instagram video, the behaviour Lizzo exhibits is iconic. She embodies what it means to be in love with yourself and not be ashamed of that.

It takes pretty big balls to be able to make such a bold statement at the beginning of a song, not just a woman but as a plus-size black woman. The power she holds and shares with the world has awarded her with appraisals from legendary women in music like Queen Latifah and Rihanna.

2019 has been the Era of Lizzo, and whether you want to or not, you have no choice but to stan.

Lizzo’s ‘Cuz I Love You Too’ tour kicks off Wednesday 6th November at the O2 Academy Brixton, London.