We don't have a lot of rules about pop culture in my house. As long as it is mostly age appropriate, my kids (9 and 13) are allowed to try to figure out what kinds of music, TV, and books they like best. I've got one kid who is obsessed with all things Taylor Swift, Hamilton, and Harry Potter. The other kid is loving Drake, Saturday Night Live, and all things Marvel. The one thing we all have in common is the shared belief that loving the forever queen Lizzo is not optional.
We've been grooving to Lizzo's music ever since the Good as Hell days. After watching her twerk her way through countless awards shows, play her flute in a bikini on Instagram, wear whatever the hell makes her feel sexy, and stand up to critics who want to tear her down for having the confidence to be happy in her bigger body, we might have thought that Lizzo was done breaking barriers.
But then we watched Lizzo's new Amazon show Watch Out for the Big Grrrls and were reminded again that, yes, Lizzo is 100% THAT BTCH. This show, which documents the Grammy Award winner's search for new plus-sized backup dancers to join her Big Girl dance crew, shows that Lizzo is SO not done breaking barriers.
I'm a fat woman who can't dance. But I still feel seen when I watch Lizzo's show.
According to some researchers, fewer than 15% of the female characters and performers shown on television are plus-size. Lizzo's show features more fat women in one episode than many popular reality shows will feature in an entire season.
Given that way more than 15% of us have bodies that look more like one of Lizzo's Big Girl dancers than, say, the average ballerina, it matters that we get to see ourselves reflected in pop culture, especially in a show that is basically that anti-Biggest Loser.
Not only is this show not about weight loss, but it is also basically a giant middle finger pointed in the direction of toxic diet culture.
Quick — think of a television show that features more than one plus-size woman and that doesn't feature them talking about diets or intentional weight loss. Most folks probably can't think of an example, unless they are watching Lizzo's show. Having a show filled with fat bodies that isn't focused on trying to change those bodies is actually pretty freaking revolutionary (even though it shouldn't be in 2022).
Lizzo making an entire show about wanting to find talented dancers who are in bigger bodies because (and not in spite of) the fact that they are in bigger bodies is such a rejection of toxic diet culture, and we are HERE FOR IT.
A show that also showcases fat bodies as sexy? SO HERE for that too.
When larger bodies are seen on television, we're all too often shown as either the non-sexy best friend character, someone who is frumpy and awkward, or someone who experiences social and romantic rejection. We're so rarely shown as unapologetically sexy, desirable, and moving our bodies in ways that are designed to flaunt our curves.
Watch Out for the Big Grrrls shows the dancers learning how to embrace their sexuality and shows that there is nothing hotter than confidence (though some nice thick thighs don't hurt!). I'm not saying I felt inspired to send my husband some sexy selfies after watching this show … but I'm not NOT saying that either. Know what I'm saying?
The power of joy is real.
In the third episode of the show, Lizzo displays her emotional side when she talks about the negative feedback she sometimes gets for just living in her own body and having the nerve to not hate herself for her size. The truth is that a lot of folks are comfortable with large bodies on the screen as long as those bodies are being shamed. (Hello, all 18 seasons of The Biggest Loser.) One of the best parts of her program is that Lizzo and her dancers show that thinness isn't a prerequisite for joy — and that is such a needed message.
Watch Out for the Big Grrrls has gotten amazing reviews and it totally should, not only because Lizzo is the queen of everything but also because she is literally making pop culture safer for people with all kinds of bodies to love themselves. This show is a barrier breaker, and anyone who hasn't seen it yet needs to get their life right!
