Lizzo has shared an unedited picture of herself on Instagram as a way to start conversations around the unrealistic beauty standards that social media perpetuates. The image shows Lizzo nude and beautiful, filter-free and unedited. “Normally I would fix my belly and smooth my skin but baby I wanted show u (sic) how I do it au natural,” she captioned the post.
As well as championing body positivity, the image announced her new partnership with Dove. The singer has been named an ambassador for the brand’s “The Selfie Talk” campaign, which falls under Dove’s larger Self-Esteem Project launched in 2004, and aims to make social media a more positive place, and bring awareness to the negative impact that retouched or distorted images can have.
“People are struggling with their self-image and self-confidence more than ever. This is amplified by the increasing pressure to show a digitally distorted version of ourselves, reinforcing the idea that our beauty in real life is not good enough or worthy of likes,” Lizzo said in a statement. “That’s why the Dove Self-Esteem Project and I want you to have ‘The Selfie Talk’ with a young person in your life. It’s happening to young people everywhere, so let’s talk about it.” In her new role, she will also help the CROWN Coalition in their mission to end race-based hair discrimination.
Lizzo’s choice to challenge impossible beauty ideals rather than uphold and perpetuate them is a welcome change from the ways many influencers and celebrities currently use social media, and will be sure to have a positive effect on her 10 million followers and beyond. The image comes just a few weeks after Khloe Kardashian defended her right to photoshop images of herself. “My body, my image and how I choose to look and what I want to share is my choice. It’s not for anyone to decide or judge what is acceptable or not anymore,” she wrote in a long statement.
While Kardashian’s decision comes after years of her appearance being judged and shamed by the media and public, some argue that by posting consistently edited images, she passes this pressure to look ‘perfect’ onto her fans, whose own self-esteem may suffer when they can’t live up to the standards. In a recent study, Dove found that 80 per cent of girls had used a filter or photo-editing app to change their appearance by the time they turned 13. Two thirds said if images on social media were more representative of how women look in everyday life, they would be less worried about the way they themselves look.
