Lizzo Wants to Go Beyond the Body-Positive Movement: ‘Being Fat Is Normal’

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It is the norm.

But, it is not normal.

And we're surprised Covid has most affected the overweight black population? Being overweight is unhealthy. Period.

Sshhh, r3. You’re not supposed to say that out loud.

I think being a little chubby or overweight can be okay. However there are levels and for most people being as big as Lizzo comes with lots of health issues, especially as you age.

Canadian here. No, being fat is not normal. How would you find parkas that fit?

[quote] being fat is normal

No. No, it is not. I'm not for fat shaming people but this whole attempt to be "body positive" needs to stop.

Wouldn’t hurt her to skip a meal....

I do believe some people are naturally bigger, like people like Lizzo. I mean, she can dance WHILE singing for hours when performing IN HEELS. And then play the flute while dancing, which obviously requires good lung function. You act like she's in the same condition as Gabie Siderray or that "This is Us" chick.

.....

She should do a song called CPAP in the vein of Cardi B's WAP.

Within 10 years, she'll be found dead from heart failure, face down in a pile of doughnuts.

[quote] “I think it’s lazy for me to just say I’m body positive at this point. It’s easy. I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalize my body. And not just be like, ‘Ooh, look at this cool movement. Being fat is body positive.’ No, being fat is normal. I think now, I owe it to the people who started this to not just stop here."

WTF does this mean?

and next will be anyone who isnt fat is displaying HATE for fat people.

I'm so over the "let's normalize x" Twitter trend.

Also, for real "I think it’s important that I take full responsibility for the way the world perceives me because that is the way they’re gonna perceive someone who looks like me in the future."?

I guess that's good that she's not being a victim, but she's doing it in the most victim-y way possible.

Being fat is not normal. Its unhealthy and Lizzo may be fine now but it will catch up with her. Yes, I am a fat whore.

It must make brittle, dusty-cunted Anna Wintour die inside to be forced to put a fat black woman on the cover. 😂

Straight men are never going to find obese women attractive.

R16 - speaking of responsibility, how about taking responsibility for the amount of shit food she puts in her mouth?

I saw her body in that JLo stripper movie - ugh.

Listen, there's a BIG difference between being curvy and fat. She's not curvy - she's fat. Entertainers are supposed to be different from us - look better, sound better, etc.

Otherwise, what's the point? A legion of large Marges from Walmart burning up the charts in Walmart fashions and average voices?

She doesn't neglect her hair or makeup or clothes or jewelry, yet somehow, neglecting your body is A-OK!! Stop trying to justify your laziness and poor eating habits.

Mark my words - she will be thin(ner) within the next 5 years. Every 'body positive' woman has - Gabbourey, Adele, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Holliday - eventually they all know that they're bullshitting themselves.

R19, the big exception to that is straight black men. They love a girl with meat on her bones.

R20 that's something else I've noticed--people are now referring to either themselves or others as "thick" or "curvy" when they are fucking obese--that's not the same thing! Curvy/thick would be someone like Beyonce, not a stick figure but someone with boobs and an ass. Not someone who can't fit through the door.

[Quote]Straight men are never going to find obese women attractive.

Actually, some straight men love a big ol' gal.

R22 - right, some plus-size models are what I consider curvy. They have meat on their bones, but they're not huge. However, some of that is changing - the plus size models are getting bigger and bigger.

When I hear thicc, I think of a specific body part - ass and legs, but not obese all over.

R24, exactly. Thick/curvy to me is actually a compliment, it's not meant to be derogatory. I'm not understanding the need to feature obese women in lingerie commericals either.

Used to see that in D.C. and Northern Virginia all the time... hottest, muscular Marine , Navy or Army soldier, followed behind by dumpy, chunky wife. Never could understand what's going on with that unless they're the type that married young right out of high school, or come from a part of the country with slim pickings.

R7, unfortunately, being fat is normal these days, at least in the US.

Taking a dump is normal, too. That doesn’t mean you should pull down your pants and poop in front of people. It’s insanitary and unhealthy. Same with being as fat as she is. It may be “normal”, but it’s not healthy and their hygiene is not great. When you are that big your rolls stink like cheese.

R27, it's "normal" throughout the west honestly--Brtiain has the fastest rising obesity rate. But just because something is prevalent doesn't means it should be accepted.

R26 - I watched a documentary on enlisted - and almost all of them say that your standards for women go down when you get into the service. You can only have relationships we people of your same rank - which is limited.

Then I believe there's a housing bonus if you're married. Plus the unknowns of where you going to get stationed - a lot of women don't want to put up with that. And enlisted salaries are not great.

So, what women are going to go with a guy usually from small towns, making little money, who could get stationed in some awful place every 18 months, and who doesn't really have much formal education - they are not going to get the cream of the crop.

The problem is that she is not fat, she is morbidly obese.

I could accept her claim if we were talking about 5-10 kilos over ideal weight (and ideal weight is generally too skinny) but she is very obese and that has a lot of consecuences for your health.

If only she had the money to hire a personal trainer, chef and life coach to help her on a daily basis....the cost of which would be less than 1/4 of her clothing, hair and makeup costs.

It's not like she doesn't have options. She does - but being fat is part of her brand now. That's why she'll hold on to that for a few years and then slim down - it will get her back in the press for slimming down.

We've seen and heard this shit thousands of times before. She's not special, brave, or doing anything that hasn't already been promoted for decades. When you're poor, it may be more difficult to eat better and afford a gym. However, this isn't the case.

69% of the American population are obese/overweight. If you just go by the percentages than being fat is normal.

I did not say it should be accepted, r29. But as countries get fatter, it should no surprise to see features like Lizzo’s become more common.

Is she still bullshitting about eating a raw diet?

I have my issues with body positivity when that positivity amounts to normalizing extreme obesity, but what I absolutely can't stand is celebrities lying about what they eat. Lizzo does not eat a raw diet; that kind of fat is earned. And underweight celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow do not eat junk food.

It's completely unethical to tell the proles that you can eat an orthorexic diet and still be fat or that you can eat tons of junk food and be thin.

R34, I know you weren't , I was more responding to Lizzo's comment itself which suggests that being "normal" means it should be accepted. When that's BS. I've spoken to a few friends of mine who are either nurses or doctors about how they feel about the body positivity movement. They agreed that fat shaming is innefective and wrong but "normalizing" obesity like we see in commericals/entertainment now is very bad too. Think of the billions of dollars worth of stress obese people put on the medical system.

There is a lot of people that are overweight that are in the medical profession R36.

R37, I have rarely seen obese people as doctors. Overeweight, sure, but not obese. To me, that's like those really obese people who are personal trainers--why!? Do you not see your hypocrisy?

I don't see hardly any overweight doctors. I do see fat nurses - male and female.

Well if you don't see them they don't exist R38. Do you not see your inability to use hypocrisy correctly and your narrow world?

R21 “Some meat” = curves as in busty and a big butt, still with a feminine figure. Curves does equal ROLLS of fat!

Normalizing obesity also means that conversely you label anyone who is average weight or thin as being abnormal. Fat women do this to thin women with small builds all the time. My biracial niece takes after her Japanese mother and has a naturally slim frame, she’s also a dancer so has a typical dancer’s physique, lithe and toned. During high school and college she got a lot of hate from fat women who go on about body positivity yet tell her she’s not curvy hence not a “real woman”. A bunch of jealous heifers.

R40 - look crazy, you're the one saying there are a lot of overweight people in the medical field. If that were true, that would be something that someone would see regularly.

I don't see overweight doctors. Where are you seeing all of these overweight and obese doctors?

R35 Paltrow lies about eating junk food because she desperately wants to be liked - and because it’s good for her business. She’s just like you! She got a lot of flack from claiming that working on a movie set is harder than the average non-celebrity woman’s 9-5 job. It was a stupid thing to say because obviously, that job could be receptionist or surgeon, but she’s not the brightest and she is tone-deaf. Her PR must’ve advised that she make herself appear more down to earth, so that’s why she now claims to eat French fries.

As for obesity, it’s not attractive and it’s not healthy. This trend for ignoring biological facts is troubling. Are we turning into a nation of fragile egos?

That should be curves do NOT equal fat rolls!

Just fuck off R43. Go to a hospital or doctors office sometime. I went to a heart institute and was amazed at the overweight employees there.

Where did I say obese R38?

According to the 2007 Physicians Health Study, 40% of the 19,000 doctors were overweight and 23% were obese.

[quote] “Some meat” = curves as in busty and a big butt, still with a feminine figure. Curves does equal ROLLS of fat!

I have seen loads of straight black men with women who are definitely obese and not just "thick".

R47, my bad. I thought you were including obesity when you said overweight.

R44

I understand why Paltrow does it, but it's still unethical. It's essentially the opposite side of the same coin as fat activists who claim they eat so little and still "can't" lose weight. Implying that very thin celebrities eat like normal people reinforces the idea that people have no control over their weight.

It's also not just Paltrow. Back when Christina Ricci was flirting with being underweight, she went on Conan O'Brien and talked about how much she loves corndogs. The more forcefully a thin celebrity claims she eats junk food, the more likely she's starving herself. It's also worth noting that anorexics tend to obsess over food. They'll plan out and sometimes cook an elaborate meal and then won't touch it.

I appreciate those celebrities who admit how much work their physiques take. I find that way more relatable.

People with anorexia nervosa, the serious cases at least, they’re not so much concerned with weight as with need for control. There’s an OCD component with underlying depression in most cases. It’s wrong the way the media makes it out to be about weight. Weight is the physical manifestation of it, it’s not the main factor.

We shouldn’t be heeding the words of dumb ass celebs like Paltrow and Lizzo in anything let alone how to be healthy.

I believe Paltrow eats some junk food now and again - particularly with two teenagers in the house. It's unavoidable. But the majority of her meals are good and balanced.

People used to eat occasional desserts and junk food and stayed thin years ago. It can be done. Portion control.

I'm just tired of the 'fat is healthy' and all of the press around 'brave, body positive' celebs like Lizzo and Christy Metz. It's akin to the trans movement - we're being forced to believe something we know is not true. Men do not menstruate. Fat is not healthy. Trans women do NOT have periods. You are not 50-100 lbs overweight and eat small amounts of only healthy food.

She just did a big disservice to millions of Black young women!

Of course Lizzo is on a raw diet. There's no need to cook ice cream and candy.

Do any of you know the meaning of the word ‘normal’?

‘Usual, typical, or expected’.

You’re just conflating commercial driven concepts of ‘healthy’, ‘accepted’ or ‘attractive / aspirational’ body types with normal body types. And as with all of these threads - there’s a whole lot of projection going on.

If you’re all dissatisfied with your own bodies, taking it out on an overweight black woman and making fat jokes isn’t going to help matters in the slightest. Develop healthier relationships to your own bodies (and how you view women’s bodies) and then you’ll understand what she’s talking about a bit better.

Being fat is not normal, attractive or healthy. She's lucky she has a pretty face and is a celebrity. I will never be ok with obese people flaunting their bodies just like I don't care for size 00s flaunting their skin and bones.

r56 I looked up 'normal' in the Merriam-Webster website. Among the definitions:

3. d. within a range considered safe, healthy, or optimal

[quote]Develop healthier relationships to your own bodies (and how you view women’s bodies) and then you’ll understand what she’s talking about a bit better.

That's not what this is R56. She's just using lazy confirmation bias arguments to normalize something that is major health crisis in America, esp among Black people. This has nothing to do with self love or lack thereof.

No matter how much she tries to convince herself that obesity is OK. It is not OK and never will be. Just because 50% of Americans are obese it is still not normal and esp is still not healthy.

I hate that she tries to make herself a trail blazer for self love. It's just WRONG!

I wonder if her butt stinks.

How do women of her proportions keep their undercarriage fresh?

R59 - Every fat celebrity woman has the 'self-love' and 'learning to love my body' speech. It sells and nullifies the fat commentary.

Here's a different take - why not say, yes, weight has always been an issue for me and something I struggle with today. There were a lot of reasons for my weight - some of which is just poor eating habits and not exercising enough.

Instead it's always wrapped up in this disease-like silence. It does no one any favors.

And look - the food industry wages a war against Americans in portion sizes, salt and sugar additives, and other unhealthy things. It's really a constant war to avoid getting sucked into it.

And food ghettoes are real - it's another problem that black neighborhoods have. But a celebrity can afford everything it takes to be healthy and look their best.

R58 by your own link - only one outlying subgroup of those definitions goes to affirm your way of thinking and all the rest go to acknowledge that normal equates to usual or typical. Stop cherry-picking.

My corner: 1.a - conforming to a type 1.b - not deviating from a norm 2 - occurring naturally 3.a - approximating statistical average 3.c - not exhibiting irregularity (eg malignancy)

Your corner: 3.d - not considered optimal

Somewhere in the middle 3.b - generally free from dysfunction

I think what everyone’s failing to acknowledge here in their rush to make the argumentative equivalent of fat jokes is that people know that being overweight isn’t ideal, and that it generally correlated with a whole host of health issues. And the body positivity movement’s functionality isn’t to encourage people to be overweight - it’s to get people to a point where self loathing isn’t yet another of the obstacles to them losing the weight in a healthy way for their bodies and minds. I’m sure everyone here knows how it’s not easy to be at the exact form they desire their body to be at, and outside people telling you you’re gross or unhealthy or disgusting or unworthy of sexual attraction isn’t going to put anyone in a good position to make positive changes in their lives. She’s just advocating for a bit of respect for people that share her body type, not to be made to feel disgusting or unwanted, because of their physical form. As I said earlier I can sense a lot of projection in this thread so step back for a second and think about the type of message you put out into the world with the kinds of comments above and the reasons you’re doing so.

R63 - That's extremely well said and would be refreshing to hear in those plain words when body positivity is talked about.

However, it isn't just what they're advocating - a lot of times you hear the "I'm sexy" and these false bravado statements. These over-the-top, overpcompensating statements do more harm than good and undercut the body positivity movement.

[quote]She’s just advocating for a bit of respect for people that share her body type

No, she's just looking for any kind of argument that lulls her into believing obesity is normal and OK. If she's OK with being unhealthy, that's fine, but she should not use her fame to normalize an unhealthy life style. What she's doing is irresponsible, egoistic and dangerous.

If there's something positive coming out of the covid19 crisis. It should be the Black community getting their health problems under control.

Most obese Americans are white though. Hispanics and blacks are not unique in obesity rates at all. Go the Midwest and Deep South and you will see some morbidly obese white people struggling by.

I wish people would hold corporations accountable. They really have increased the obesity levels in the past 50 years. It's perfectly legal to push advertisements for unhealthy foods toward children and teenagers in schools and on children's TV, websites and magazines. People also ignore the growing numbers of food deserts. Due to many local farms going down under and local food markets shutting down, many people are not in close distance to fresh produce, meats and vegetables. So people in the middle of nowhere have to buy food from convenience or corner stores or buy fast food like McDonalds or Burger King. Their local big grocery chain may be miles and miles away. Obesity is less prevalent in dense urban areas with good public transport like NYC or in wealthier suburban areas where health food markets like Trader Joes and Wholefoods are abundant.

Obesity is very much a class issue. More cities and towns are trying to ban big chains and encourage smaller stores and markets that source from local producers and farmers.

No it’s not. And it’s a shame, because she’s actually talented and a great performer. She shouldn’t be mainly known for “being the pop star who made fat mainstream.”

I've been varying degrees of fat all my life. Yes, it's wrong to torment and shame people about it. There are many factors that can contribute to someone ending up this way, physical and psychological. Fat people need real, sustainable choices, not the endless exploitation of fad diets, surgeries, and so forth. Billions are dollars are made by exploiting this problem in one way or another.

We need to be realistic and honest about it:

1. Being significantly overweight is unhealthy. Don't criminalize it, don't punish it, but also don't deny it.

2. Being significantly overweight is unpleasant. Putting aside how others treat you, there is always fatigue, movement is difficult and awkward. Clothing doesn't fit well. Using facilities such as transportation is uncomfortable.

3. A lot of people find fat people visually unattractive, including themselves.

4. Being fat is expensive. You pay more for food, clothing - you may have to buy a second airplane seat or a more expensive class.

5. Fat people are here to stay.

Acceptance of fat people is fine, but also accept that a lot of people don't want to be fat. Either way, it's the business of the individual and no one else.

In the words of Roseanne Barr: "If you're fat, be fat and shut up. If you're thin, fuck you."

America is so separated from the rest of the world it normalizes it own low standards as acceptable.

I think obesity is just profitable for companies and they are so morally bankrupt that they will try to normalize it to keep people obese. The food industry, the dieting and pharmaceutical industry, liposuction industry and self-help industry all profit off of obesity, losing weight and self-image. It's really just a marketing scheme and people fall for it to be exploited.

The majority of Americans are overweight, fat people are already normalized. They’re the majority, to the detriment of our healthcare system.

The fast food and junk food industry wanted to profit so bad it allowed obesity to rise. And the decline of farms and fresh local food markets made it just easier for unhealthy food chains to take over. Unhealthy school lunches, soda machines in schools and junk food advertised to kids didn't help. Soda, Lunchables and Kool-Aid alone add so many calories.

Now the consequences of obesity on the greater society is being felt. More health problems, so more expensive. Increases poverty and takes a toll of productivity.

R71 Stand by for the argument that being fat should be criminalized or penalized because it costs everyone. Or, preferably, just STFU about that.

R72 - agreed. Remember when Reagan said that ketchup counted as a vegetable for school lunch programs?

Here's the other thing - the high fat, high sugar and chemicals create a dopamine effect and addiction. It can change the way you perceive, taste and crave food.

Unchecked capitalism in the US once again leads to disastrous results.

However - you CAN break from this. Just like with exercise, it will take a few weeks for your taste buds and mind to stop craving bad foods and to start liking and craving good foods. But it is an addiction.

[quote]the big exception to that is straight black men. They love a girl with meat on her bones

I’d say a large majority of straight black men prefer their women “thicc” and are not turned on by skinny women.

Obesity rates are much higher among black women than any other group--black and white men have similar obesity rates but black women have an obesity rate of something like 50%.

Women are fatter than men in general because of the fact the female body retains more fat.

R77 - thank you for adding that scientific insight. In other breaking news, scientists have found that water is wet.

Back to you Joanne -

Usually when a guy calls a woman "thicc" he means like J. Lo, Monica Belluci, Beyonce, Hilary Duff, Tyra Banks and Naturi Naughton.

Thicc white girl HIlary

It's so funny that by mid-2000s standards Raven was considered "fat" and "big". Times have changed...

Just a year ago she was on death’s door. Frail, alone, and having financial troubles. The world was on pins and needles, hoping our beloved entertainer would put herself back together and she HAS!!!!

So what if she’s gain some weight and been spending too much time on the beach in LA. You gays tear the legends down just to build them back and do it again. No matter, because LIZZA is BACK!!!!!

Raven must be so annoyed now. She tried to do the body positivity thing in the 2000s everyone clowned her and told her to lose weight. Despite the fact, she still had a cute figure and while big was still curvy and healthy and even promoted health living and eating. Now morbidly obese entertainers who justify unhealthy lifestyles are getting praised now. Tons of black guys love Raven but her demographic was white teens and they saw her as "fat". Hilary was a bit thick for a white girl but still fit the slim standard then (now she is thick thick).