Why Isn’t Lizzo The Hero We Thought She Was?
Being Everyone Else’s Hero Ain’t All It’s Cracked Up To Be
Someone recently asked me how it’s possible that Lizzo, famous for her heroism in fighting for body positivity and women’s rights, could have done the things she has been accused of. Here is my answer.
When you find the strength inside yourself to fight some major social ill that everyone else is too terrified to even name, you become a hero. Suddenly you are no longer a human being. You are something else.
People treat you differently. They talk in hushed tones when you’re around. They move out of your way. Sometimes they approach you “just to talk” and end up spilling out their whole life story. Sometimes they look to you to validate their entire life. Sometimes they send their friend/cousin/sister your way to get support for their deepest, darkest secret.
You are expected to carry all of this without stumbling. You are expected to bear the burden not just of your own life, but the lives of all survivors, everywhere, for the rest of your days. It’s heavy. It hurts. You cannot show how much it hurts, not to anyone.
If you do, they will call you ungrateful. They will say you are “playing the victim.” You will lose all your power. You will lose all your protection from…
