Everything Lizzo Has Ever Said On TikTok About Body Positivity
Lizzo had an educated and eloquent answer when a TikTok user posed this question on the app: "Would you wake up and trade places with someone who was on the heavier side?"
Even though the question wasn't aimed directly at her, the "Truth Hurts" singer took it upon herself to offer a response: "I'm glad she asked because this is giving me very much when that sociologist, Dr. Jane [Elliott], asked that room full of white people, 'raise your hand if you want to be treated like how Black people are treated in this country.' Or 'raise your hand if you would wake up and be Black tomorrow,' and nobody raised their hand. And that's because they know there's some systemic bullsh-t that happens to Black people that does not happen to them and would never happen to white people."
"Yes, if I asked you right now, have you been shamed, yes you've been through a lot, yes it sucks being a person in this society because we have to go through so much to love ourselves, but would you switch places with a fat person's body tomorrow? You would not because you know there's a whole system that oppresses fat people that you do not experience and that you will never experience."
@lizzo #stitch with @cocainecuban I remember fantasizing about waking up in a slim persons body.. it was exhausting.
"So let's remember, body positivity, yes. We want to end harassment and shame, but we are also working to dismantle a system that oppresses fat people."
Boom. Leave it to the 32-year-old to school folks on how the body positivity movement has been co-opted from "fat" people and no longer serves them. Of course, this isn't the first time she exercised her advocacy for the big girl community on the video-sharing app. Whether it's with a dance routine or a clapback in the form of a monologue, Lizzo sprinkles self-love all up and down TikTok.
Below see Lizzo's best body positive moments on TikToks that will make you feel good as hell just watching.
She’s Mastered Being Her Own Hype Man
@lizzo POV ur hyping up a beautiful fat girl
She Asked Folks to Keep that Same Energy
@lizzo Please use the body positive movement to empower yourself. But we need to protect and uplift the bodies it was created for and by.
She Couldn’t Make Everyone Happy, So She Made a TikTok Instead
@lizzo 🥴 moral of the story is: you can’t make everyone happy so just make yourself happy 🤷🏾♀️
She Released an Unofficial Sing Called “My Body Is My Body”
@lizzo New single alert 🥴
She Clapped Back at the Fake Doctors Out There
@lizzo From one fat girl to y’all. With love 😘
She Showed Appreciation For Her Body at All Stages
@lizzo It’s ok to change. I love every stage my body fluctuates to. The feats your body pulls off everyday to function is iconic honestly 💁🏾♀️ love u
She Showed Off a Lifestyle Change She Was Proud of
@lizzo i used to look at old pics of myself when I hated my body & say “I was so fine back then!”.. now I appreciate ALL OF ME in the moment no matter what!
She Showed Her Belly Some Extra Love
@lizzo I started talking to my belly this year. I hated my belly I wanted to cut it off. But it’s literally part of ME. So I’m loving her the way I deserve!
Featured image by lev radin / Shutterstock.com
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Jazmine A. Ortiz is a creative born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn and currently living in Staten Island, NY. She started in the entertainment industry in 2012 and now works as a Lifestyle Editor where she explores everything from mental health to vegan foodie trends. For more on what she's doing in the digital space follow her on Instagram at @liddle_bitt.
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TW: some depictions of intrusive thoughts may be disturbing for readers.
Have you ever caught your mind drifting off to entertain the most disturbing scenarios imaginable? Maybe you can’t stop thinking of all the ways a loved one could pass away or worrying that you left every candle lit in your apartment to which you’d return to a home in ruins. If distressing ruminations like these have crossed your mind, you may be experiencing an intrusive thought.
What Are Intrusive Thoughts?
Intrusive thoughts are unwanted or distressing thoughts, images, or impulses that pop into your mind without your control or consent. These thoughts can be repetitive, unsettling, or even violent in nature, and can cause anxiety and frustration for those who experience them.
“Generally they're unwanted thoughts that come up in our head that interrupt what we're doing or thinking, and can feel very foreign,” says Adia Gooden, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and host of the Unconditionally Worthy podcast. “It’s any thought that intrudes or interrupts what you are doing. They can be distressing and upsetting for us because it feels like we are not in control of them, and they're coming up out of nowhere and aren’t in line with how you normally think.”
What Causes Intrusive Thoughts?
Certain trauma or stress can contribute to the development of intrusive thoughts, so having a challenging experience from the past or current life situations may trigger them to form. “An intrusive thought could come in the form of a flashback, image, or a thought about something that's happened to you,” Dr. Gooden tells xoNecole. “When it gets to the point where you feel like you can't function or make clear decisions, that's when intrusive thoughts become really challenging.”
While some of the 1 billion videos found under the #intrusivethoughts hashtag on TikTok would lead you to believe that these thoughts are nothing more than casual displays of our imagination going untamed. Intrusive thoughts are more than sticking your hand in a soap dispenser, wanting to cut all your hair off at 3 a.m., or having a random impulse to eat fake bread in public.
The Anxiety & Depression Association of America reports that approximately six million individuals, equating to roughly two percent of the American population, encounter intrusive thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are often linked with obsessive-compulsive disorders, but they can also manifest in individuals with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or anxiety.
Examples of Common Intrusive Thoughts
Because of the explicit nature of intrusive thoughts, they tend to cause shame and internal conflict in those who experience them. Although these thoughts can differ from person to person, these ideation can consist of:
- Violent or aggressive thoughts towards oneself or others, such as harming or killing someone;
- Sexual thoughts that are unwanted or inappropriate;
- Repetitive thoughts, such as a song or a phrase that keeps repeating in your mind;
- Contamination or germ-related thoughts or the fear of contamination and getting sick;
- Religious or blasphemous thoughts, such as questioning one's faith or having thoughts that go against religious beliefs;
- Doubts or uncertainty about one's own actions or decisions, such as fear of making a mistake or fear of not doing something right.
Intrusive Thoughts and OCD
That’s why Dr. Gooden encourages everyone to understand the difference between our fleeting thoughts and impulses and true, intrusive thoughts. “What level of distress does it cause and is it something you would never consider,” she says. “If you're finding that these thoughts are getting in the way of you living your life and that you're controlled by the thoughts, those are some signs that it would be good to get some support in navigating it.”
She also emphasizes the importance of understanding that while we may not always have control over our thoughts, we can control our behavior. “On TikTok, people are sort of blaming intrusive thoughts on their behavior, and our behavior is always a choice,” she says. “If we are in our right mind and we're not having a psychotic episode, our behavior is our choice — we are not obligated to follow any given thought that we have.”
Are Intrusive Thoughts Normal?
With intrusive thoughts, it’s natural to question whether these thoughts are “normal” to have. However, these thoughts are not meant to define who you are as a person but simply indicate that you have a functioning human mind with automated thoughts that you, or any of us, can’t control. These thoughts may come, but they don’t have to be acted upon, nor do they define who you are.
“I've worked with clients in the past who say, ‘Why am I thinking these things? What's wrong with me?’ But if you're not acting on the thought, then it's probably not a huge issue,” Dr. Gooden says. “If you are thinking a harmful thought towards yourself or someone else and you are making plans to act on that thought, then yes, we need to do something about it.”
How To Manage Intrusive Thoughts
If you are struggling with managing unwanted thoughts, Dr. Aida suggests taking these tips to help manage your mindset when they occur:
- "Recognize that it's a thought and thoughts are just thoughts. We often put a little bit too much weight on our thoughts, and that can create a lot of distress. But remember that thoughts are not facts."
- "Having a thought that's disturbing or upsetting doesn't make you a bad person, and it doesn't mean that you are suffering from a mental illness."
- "Sometimes the best thing you can do is say, 'Huh, that was an interesting thought. I'm going to let that go. That thought is not helpful for me right now."
- "Ask yourself: is this helpful? Is it helpful for me to buy into this thought and believe this thought? Asking that question can be really helpful because we are not at the mercy of our thoughts. If it's not helpful, you can let it go."
Intrusive thoughts can feel bizarre and foreign when they come up, but they aren't inherently "bad." Our minds can sometimes be filled with random and inappropriate thoughts, but that's what our stream of consciousness does: it thinks. Fortunately, we can release those thoughts at any moment; you don't have to follow through with them.
And ultimately, not every TikTok diagnosis is one that we should label ourselves with.
"It's important for people to acknowledge what they're experiencing but not run too quickly to diagnose themselves with some mental illness or disorder," Dr. Gooden advises. "It ends with confusion, and we miss the opportunity to understand the people who really do have that mental health challenge."
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