[Rapping] “Turns out I’m 100% that bitch.”
No one celebrates Lizzo like Lizzo.
“And also I be twerking so why would I stop now?”
The singer has become synonymous
with self-love and being your own hype-man.
[Singing] “Bad bitch in the mirror like yeah I’m in love.”
But what is it that makes Lizzo’s message of self-love seem so new
—even revolutionary?
“She’s so confident.”
“And she embraces her raw sexual power.”
“We can do that?”
Lizzo’s rejection of traditional feminine humility
arrived at a moment when women have increasingly begun to own their power—
to speak up for themselves
and stop apologizing or downplaying their accomplishments.
[Singing] “I don’t need a crown to know that I’m a queen.”
And while her breakthrough has been linked to movements
championing body positivity, self-care, and overall wellness,
she also challenges those movements
to be more than opportunistic, fleeting trends.
Here’s our take on why Lizzo’s authentic form of empowerment
has resonated with so many,
and how she dares us to be our own hype-man.
“I’m in love with myself.”
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Even when she’s singing about men,
“Hey boy.”
it’s clear that Lizzo’s greatest love is herself.
[Singing] “I’m my own Soulmate, I know how to love me.”
In the video for “Truth Hurts,” Lizzo goes beyond self-acceptance
to full-blown self-infatuation and marries herself.
Lizzo has described her music as “medicine”—
for others, but also for herself—
introducing the concept of self-love
as a cure for a world plagued by negativity and doubt.
“It was therapy for me and I realized that
I have to use my music therapeutically
and I have to use my music to bring positivity into the world.”
The concept of self-love certainly isn’t new to pop music.
[Singing] “Learning to love yourself.”
But Lizzo’s variety feels especially radical
for just how assured and joyous it is.
In songs like Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful”
or Selena Gomez’s “Who Says,”
self-love is presented as a rejection of other people’s critiques.
[Singing] “Words can’t bring me down.”
When Kendrick Lamar sings “I Love Myself,”
it’s a reminder to himself
to keep going in a world that doesn’t love him back.
[Rapping] “The world is a ghetto with big guns
[Rapping] and picket signs.
(I love myself)”
And even when Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé sing about “Feelin’ Myself,”
it’s more about what they have than what’s inside.
[Rapping] “Got a black card that'll let Saks have it.
[Rapping] These Chanel bags is a bad habit.”
Much of the so-called “empowering” pop music of Lizzo’s contemporaries
tends to fall back on boasting about wealth or attractiveness to men.
[Singing] “I look so good tonight.”
Lizzo, on the other hand, loves herself just for who she is—
not a persona based on others’ expectations.
[Rapping] “I was born like this, don’t even gotta try.”
It’s telling that one of Lizzo’s biggest viral moments
found her twerking while also playing the flute.
A classically trained flautist and self-described “band geek,”
Lizzo initially hid those musical talents.
“I didn’t start playing the flute onstage until Coconut Oil.”
But her decision to celebrate all facets of herself,
even the so-called geeky ones,
“This is Sasha flute, she’s very famous.”
actually brought her even more attention,
attracting fans who see her as an aspirational example
for being totally themselves.
“But as soon as I showed the world all of me,
that’s when they started to fall in love with me.”
And Lizzo’s willingness to be vulnerable on social media
and open up about mental health struggles
sets her apart from other celebrities
who present only the picture-perfect versions of their lives.
“Because of this sadness I’m gonna be able to feel joy.”
Lizzo proselytizes self-love through music that draws heavily
on the sounds of gospel,
to evoke the communal, celebratory feeling of church.
“And they always say it’s a religious experience or a spiritual experience”
Her live performances have featured a call-and-response mantra,
recited with her audience as a sort of sermon or benediction.
“I love you.”
“You are beautiful.”
“It’s so hard trying to love yourself
in a world that doesn’t love you back, am I right?”
Lizzo had been making music for nearly a decade
before her single “Truth Hurts”
brought her crashing into the mainstream.
“I’ve played in so many cities, I’ve done so many tours
but nobody knows who I am until this year.”
In fact, the song was released a full two years before it finally connected,
which tells us that Lizzo’s sudden success
had as much to do with the moment as it did with the music.
Lizzo’s message of supreme confidence and brash outspokenness
“That’s my good side That’s my good side”
was well-suited to a climate in which women were becoming increasingly candid
about the everyday ways they’d been silenced or suppressed.
“Our movements require us
to do more than just show up and say the right words.
It requires us to break out of our comfort zones
and be confrontational.”
Our culture also became increasingly conscious
of how this subjugation manifested in more subtle, psychological forms.
“Uh, Miss Jessica, congrats on your big promotion, beyotch.”
“I'm gonna get fired in, like, two seconds.”
Studies have shown that women, even very successful ones,
are much more likely to apologize for their actions than men.
“Sorry, that was a real soap box.
Why did I say sorry?
Ugh!”
Researchers have also found that, unlike men, women often avoid
promoting themselves out of a fear of backlash.
“Women do not brag enough.”
And they’re not imagining this.
Accusations of “arrogance” have plagued female politicians
simply campaigning or doing their jobs,
or female athletes calling for equal pay.
“I wanna just do my job well and enjoy what I do,
and also try to make the world a better place for all of us.”
The expectation that women should remain humble at all times
effectively serves to disempower women.
“Sometimes, I feel like, as women,
we tend to downplay ourselves, we tend to dim our light.
We’re kind of conditioned, socially, to be humble”
forcing them to stay deferential and accept inequalities.
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.
We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much.”
Against this backdrop, Lizzo’s outspoken confidence is rare in women—
and even more so for plus-sized women of color.
“You are the award.
We are so special.
We are such a beautiful people.”
She models how to not make ourselves smaller,
“Who told you you could be so cute?”
in everything from her lyrics
[Rapping] “Heard you say I’m not the baddest bitch, you lie.”
to the way she boldly goes after what she wants.
“Come on you poor unfortunate soul.
Go ahead.
Make your choice.”
An abundance of confidence isn’t necessarily unique
in the world of pop stars and rappers.
“The numbers don’t lie!”
But Lizzo’s confidence differs from that of many other artists
because it doesn’t depend on asserting that she’s better.
[Rapping] “If I’m shining, everybody gonna shine.”
At a time when so much of pop music is dominated
by supposed feuds between our female stars,
Lizzo is genuinely uplifting to other women.
“Where’d you get your glasses from?
They make you look so tight.
I’m jealous, except I’m not because I’m so happy for you.”
In the fall of 2018,
months before “Truth Hurts” gave Lizzo viral stardom,
a historic number of women were elected to the U.S. congress,
and it’s notable how quickly Lizzo’s music has become
a favorite among politicians since.
Lizzo not only offers them a voice
for inclusivity, empowerment, and positivity,
she also pulls off a vibe
that makes people feel like they can actually achieve it.
“Lizzo does it because she knows she’s 100% that bitch.”
“Yeah.
Why can’t I be 100% that bitch?”
“Aidy, you are.”
[Singing] “I woke up in this.”
Lizzo has become one of our most visible spokespersons for body positivity,
but she’s reluctant to label herself the movement’s “face.”
“What do you think about being this kind of role model for body positivity?”
“I get nervous sometimes because I don’t want things to become trendy.”
As she’s said repeatedly, loving herself isn’t about marketing herself.
“This isn’t my brand.
This is who I am.”
And while it continues to draw unwanted commentary from others,
she, for one, has grown tired of talking about her body.
“My mere existence is a form of activism,
especially in the body positivity community.”
Supporting body-positive sentiments
while maintaining some distance from the trend
has established Lizzo as an authentic, individual voice in a social movement
that’s become increasingly consumerist.
Since Dove introduced its influential Real Beauty campaign in 2004,
body positivity has been adopted as an advertising tool,
with brands like Target and Aerie co-opting its message.
“Body positivity?”
“Always and forever.”
As Vox pointed out, a decades-old form of activism
based on protesting harmful cultural messaging
has become “an advocacy that’s entirely aesthetic,
and a problem that can be wholly solved by those looking to sell you something.”
Accusations of exploiting body positivity
have also been leveled at stars like Meghan Trainor,
whose 2014 hit “All About that Bass” was hailed as a body-positive anthem,
but also faced critique for continuing to center the male gaze,
[Rapping] “Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase.”
or Amy Schumer, whose body positivity film, I Feel Pretty,
garnered backlash for a trailer that some read as suggesting
a plus-sized woman could only feel good about herself
after an actual blow to the head.
“They say, oh, that’s saying
a woman needs a brain injury to feel confident?
And you know what, that’s a huge exaggeration and a metaphor,
but basically.”
In a movement that’s understandably sensitive to misrepresentation,
Lizzo stands out for her belief
that body positivity shouldn’t be about radical change
or a reaction to other people’s standards, but simply the norm.
“People should naturally be body positive,
and body positivity should be something that is built in our culture.”
Meanwhile, in recent years,
we’ve seen self-care become a multibillion-dollar industry,
attracting widespread criticism
for conflating wellness with “self-improvement”
and selling products.
“And women are made to feel so insecure,
and then each insecurity is like a new opportunity to make more money.”
Celebrities like Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow
have been accused of using the veneer of self-care
to peddle expensive things everyday people can’t afford,
essentially turning self-care into an extension of high-end shopping.
“Obviously at Goop we're very into health and wellness and fitness.
And so, we believe you should look chic while you work out.”
But Lizzo embodies a return to caring for oneself
as the simple act of fostering a healthy relationship with your body
“Dear ass, I love you so much.
You make me so poppin’.”
and especially your mind.
It doesn’t require self-betterment,
just learning how to rejoice in who you already are.
“It’s not just about waking up pretty.
What do we really mean underneath that?”
Significantly, the main way Lizzo expresses these messages
is through her example.
“I’m putting myself out there in the world
as this undeniable thing that is autonomous to me.”
She’s also backed up her statements in a meaningful way
within her business model,
which includes recruiting her now-famous “big grrrls” as backup dancers.
“There are not enough big girls with agents…
So I’m bout to supercede all the bullshit,
and I want you to cut in f***ing line.”
and by staffing her own team with other powerful women.
“I surround myself with good energy and good people,
and people who support me,
and I just think women are better at the job.”
In all aspects of her career,
Lizzo models confidence and self-care
in a way that empowers others to find the Lizzo within themselves.
“I’m blessed, and I want you to know that you’re blessed.”
So despite her undeniable commercial success,
perhaps her greatest achievement
is offering us a viable blueprint for how we can celebrate ourselves.
This artist’s prosperity after years of struggle
offers a testament to the power of believing in yourself when others don’t,
and concrete proof that you are always your own best hype-man.
[Singing] “Don’t worry about the small things.
[Singing] I know I can do all things.”
We can look to Lizzo
to learn how to stop hiding all the parts of ourselves
that don’t conform to others’ standards,
or that we think are too much,
to unlearn the shame or self-hate
that we’ve internalized from external sources.
“We all came out of the womb woke and knowing and understanding
and being perfect and loving ourselves.
You know, it’s the world that kind of takes that away from us.”
And if it’s not immediately
clicking for you,
Lizzo reassures us that self-love, much like stardom,
isn’t something that happens overnight.
It’s a continuous process that requires work and vigilance,
and it’s often a team effort,
one that rewards looking to our own communities,
and lifting them up as they lift us.
“As proud as you are of me, I’m proud of you.”
Loving yourself is a crucial part of everyone learning to love each other.
“Do you ever feel like you’re only 90% that bitch?”
“No.”
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