In a post on her Instagram page this week, singer-flutist-rapper Lizzo announced the beginning of “Big Girl Summer,” taking the time to encourage her body-positive supporters to put on their bikinis.
Donning a kente cloth print bikini, some shades and a few accenting chains, Lizzo approaches the camera to make a “public service announcement.”
“Big Girl Summer has officially begun,” she says, modeling her bikini. “And big girls: We have abs. Look at that. Look at that. I know you see it. FABS, honey.”
She wonders aloud with pride, “Where my big girls at?”
In her caption, she gave the spelling a little spice calling it “Big grrrrl summer.” The Grammy Award winner shared the video and two still-image photo sets of herself modeling the swimwear. The clip, which has been viewed more than 2 million times, garnered thousands of supportive comments.
This year, Lizzo has shared that she’s been on a journey to embrace her physical image. “I am learning to radically love every part of myself. Even if it means talking to myself every morning,” she wrote on Instagram in February. “This is your sign to love on yourself today!”
As a plus-size celebrity who frequently shows off her body, Lizzo is frequently asked about her body positivity. In an interview for Dove’s “Self-Esteem Project” earlier this year, the 32-year-old said she has “no shame anymore. I just post myself. It’s like, you take me as I am.”
She called her choice to love herself as one of “literal survival.” She said, “I’m going to continue to live in this body and survive in this body and be happy and actually enjoy life, I need to find a way to like myself. I was body negative for a long time.”
“It’s not a political statement. It’s just my body. When you see it, keep it pushing. Keep that same energy that you keep with all the other bodies you see. That’s what body normative really means to me,” said Lizzo. “I’m here, don’t say anything. It’s not a statement. It’s my body.”
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