For Lizzo, wearing leotards on-stage is ‘kind of political and femin’

Lizzo has always been outspoken about her struggles as a black woman in the American entertainment industry and has also never shied away from celebrating her body. In a new interview, the 34-year-old revealed that her skimpy ensembles on stage are a reflection of feminism and empowerment.
On being asked if such outfits add to the sexualisation of women, she told Vanity Fair, “When it’s sexual, it’s mine”. “When it’s sexualised, someone is doing it to me or taking it from me. Black women are hypersexualised all the time and masculinised simultaneously. Because of the structure of racism, if you’re thinner and lighter, or your features are narrow, you’re closer to being a woman,” she added.

The About Damn Time singer said that she was inspired Beyoncé who famously wore a black leotard in the 2008 Single Ladies music video. She admittedly started wearing similar costumes in 2014. “After [Beyoncé’s Single Ladies] it seemed like it became the industry standard for everyone,” she said.
Explaining her clothing choices, Lizzo said, “I wanted to be like a dancer and also, it was kind of political and femin in my eyes to have me, a full-figured dancer, wearing leotards, showing and celebrating curves and being Olympian in strength, endurance, and flexibility.”

Talking about Josephine Baker and the famous banana skirts that she wore in the 1920s, the singer said, “Movements have to evolve generationally. The culture changes. You can’t have a movement in 1920 be the same thing as it is in the 2020s. We have to match the rebellion. The rebellion isn’t even the same.”

Lizzo once again talked about the contribution of Beyoncé and called her “the beginning of Black women celebrating their curves”. “Although she was on the smaller end of the spectrum — but she was our only representation. It’s wild to see the popularisation of big butts, and I don’t even think this generation understands it. There are kids stuffing pillowcases in their butt, mimicking Black women, and don’t even realise the implications of that,” she told in the interview.
Prior to this, Lizzo, while accepting the Emmy honour for ‘Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls’, had spoken about her childhood wish to see someone like her in the media. “Someone fat like me. Black like me. Beautiful like me. If I could go back and tell little Lizzo something, I would be like, ‘You’re going to see that person, but bitch, it’s going to have to be you.”
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