Photograph by Erik Tanner for Rolling Stone. Hair by Shelby Swain. Makeup by Alexx Mayo at TheOnly.Agency. Styling by Marko Monroe
It is perfectly acceptable for Lizzo to be considered a once-in-a-lifetime talent. It’s totally allowed to admire her strength, and her wisdom, but don’t you dare defend her behavior, because God damnit, we need something to bitch about.
Women have been the world’s number 1 target, especially wealthy women who don’t behave the way that they are told to behave. Eccentricity is fine, but don’t you dare behave in a way that draws attention to your weight, because that’s “uncouth.”
The ONLY reason you are OFFENDED by Lizzo’s BEHAVIOR is because of the considerable SIZE of her ASS…We SEE you.
Lizzo is a Fat, Black Woman, that’s her crime. That’s why people are trying to dissect everything she does. When was the last time you read an article about her music? Or her dreams? Or her work outside of music? When was the last time you saw an article – including this one – that didn’t reference the size of her ass?
Back in the day, and by “back in the day” I mean in the 13th-17th centuries, the most desirable women on the planet were fat women because it was genuinely accepted that if a woman was “overweight” she was also “well-fed” which meant “wealthy.” Why was this thought stream widely accepted? because men are fucking idiots.
Women were often treated as fourth-class citizens. Their happiness mattered little to the people in their lives, and so they began to reclaim control over their lives by controlling how much they ate. The beginnings of anorexia were entirely about “I have no control over my life, but if I control how much I eat, I’ll get some of my power back.“
The Patriarchy back then was so overwhelming and had so much power over women, that in order to show their displeasure with their lives, the only way women could fight back was to starve themselves.
My great, great, great, GRANDMOTHERS didn’t STARVE themselves so that YOU could comment on MY body and NOT get PUNCHED in the FACE.
The great, powerful, ancestorial women of my mother’s bloodline, and my father’s for that matter, fought so that I could have the kind of life that I want. A life that includes comfort, love, and all the good things that the world has to offer.
When I look at women like Lizzo I think “I want to be that kind of famous, but only for writing,” and when I look at the world and how men across the world treat her, I am learning exactly what I’m in for.
The men of this world are never going to let it be easy for women because back in the day men were allowed to do and say whatever they wanted and get away with it, but that’s not the case anymore.
” Yes, it’s totally fine for Lizzo to be fat, but it’s not okay for her to write songs about and celebrate her weight, because we don’t want to encourage others to follow in her footsteps. “
This is what you’re really saying when you criticize women like Lizzo for their “behavior,” and how dare you, I say this with all the anger in my heart, compare her behavior to that of other Black women who were not raised in the same way that Lizzo was.
Lizzo spent her entire life being told she wouldn’t make it, being bullied for her weight and being told that she wasn’t good enough, as a Black girl growing up in America she saw more violence, more hunger, and more pain than her white counterparts and against all odds, she made it. She is killing it in the music game right now, and that’s still not good enough for y’all?
GET OVER IT.
Lizzo gets paid incredibly well to get on stage and sing like a bird, but unlike a bird she is not caged, when she gets off that stage her time is hers, and you don’t get to tell her who she is supposed to be so that you will be more comfortable that she exists.
I imagine that in the time since Lizzo first signed her contract, she’s discovered she doesn’t have to be anything that anyone else tells her to be, and I imagine she feels quite free to do whatever the fuck she pleases, and probably very much enjoys it when people criticize her because it is her destiny to make people uncomfortable. She like many others before her was sent here to destroy that which makes you feel safe.
Lizzo is one of those RARE souls who like MADONNA before here, was DELIBERATELY sent here by ANGELS, with a mission DESIGNED to DESTROY the comfort of the PATRIARCHY and I’m here for IT.
Today I read an article – written by a Black man – that said it wasn’t and continues not to be her weight that is the problem, it’s all about how she behaves.
I am so tired of women conforming themselves and locking themselves into these situations and experiences that are so limiting and heartbreaking. I want to see you fly, soar to the farthest stars, examine the universe in minute detail and come back and show me all the things you’ve learned.
Teach me to speak the new languages you’ve learned to speak, so that I may converse with you and show you what I’ve learned.
Lizzo was seen getting on a plane recently and the outfit she had on, had large cutouts where her asscheeks are, and of course, she’s showing off her body proudly. Do you know how much courage that takes? In a world that tells you that you should be ashamed 100% of the time? Do you know how many girls every day are looking at Lizzo thinking “Wow, she’s so brave and unafraid of what people say,” that’s a majickal gift.
And that’s the problem. Lizzo is unafraid of what people think of her. She goes to sleep at night on $2000 dollar sheets in her million-dollar mansion, and she gets up every day and provides employment for others, while surrounding herself with people who love and encourage her behavior because they know it isn’t just about being proud of her body, it’s about making sure that OTHER girls, know it’s okay to be proud of THEIR bodies.
A religious man’s GREATEST fear is a WOMAN he CAN’T control! Once A WOMAN frees herself from a man’s CONTROL she becomes DANGEROUS.
Lizzo’s life expectancy gets used a lot in articles about her weight because since men know they can’t control her, they will do everything they can to terrify her into conforming to who they think she should be.
And Lizzo’s response? Is a resounding “Go fuck yourself, I’m do me and you can sit back watch and shut the fuck up.”
Science will keep Lizzo alive a lot longer than you expect her to because if there’s one thing that is 100% true about Lizzo is that she’s not going anywhere until she’s ready.
You are perfectly allowed to have your own opinions on your body and your experience, but you have absolutely no right to criticize Lizzo or her behavior because you didn’t slay her demons. You didn’t fight her battles. You didn’t put the entertainment world on notice about the power of Black, fat women, everywhere. You didn’t stand on stage in a one-piece leotard and dance for three hours while carrying more than 200 pounds of extra weight. SHE Did that, and she continues to do that on a weekly basis.
You can criticize Lizzo all you want, but it’s not her you’re attacking, what you’re really doing is trying to prevent a powerful Black woman from living her best life on her terms, and we see you for it.
Sending all my love,
Devon J Hall
Loud Mouth Brown Girl 