According to Lizzo, Plus-Size Bodies are Being Erased

A few years ago, a truly body-inclusive world seemed within reach. We finally saw body diversity among models, size inclusion in stores, and progressive rhetoric to replace the body hierarchy many of us grew up under.

But more recently, things have shifted. The Ozempic boom came. SkinnyTok became a thing. And a recent essay from Lizzo puts it all into perspective. Because it's not just about ideas about which bodies are "good" bodies; it's also about availability and access and...well, erasure, according to an essay from Lizzo.

"Here we are halfway through the decade, where extended sizes are being magically erased from websites. Plus sized models are no longer getting booked for modeling gigs. And all of our big girls are not-so big anymore," Lizzo writes.

What is interesting here is that Lizzo herself has — as she writes in the essay —  lost weight, and in a very public way, with the world commenting on her changing body and what it means in a larger context at every turn. That’s what makes this essay so interesting: It contains all the necessary nuance.

Lizzo acknowledges that certain health metrics have improved for her as she lost weight. She writes about how depression played a role in her own body’s transformation. She seems to understand that an individual can’t carry the full weight of cultural representation, and that plus-size people’s bodies should be allowed to change without drawing criticism from the public for letting down the body positive movement and community.

At the same time, we should be talking about what Lizzo calls erasure, and better understanding how it limits options for people in larger bodies.