Lizzo has dedicated herself to helping women accept and love their bodies in the same way that she does — through body positivity and motivational anthems.

“It definitely comes with time,” Lizzo exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2019. “I wasn’t really given the opportunities or the privileges to feel like a sex symbol when I was growing up. I was a fat black girl in Houston and I didn’t see myself in magazines.”

Once Lizzo (real name Melissa Jefferson) entered her twenties, things changed. “I was like, ‘You know what, bitch? I want to be a sex symbol!’” she recalled. “I said that to myself when I was like 22, 23. And I really started to embrace the sexiness about me, not just the cuteness or the beauty. I started to work on it more and more, and I realized the vulnerability that I show when I’m naked is my greatest strength.”

Lizzo quickly became a source for inspiration as her career skyrocketed. “It’s hard because self-love and self-confidence is a personal journey. You’re never gonna believe it until you believe in yourself,” she told Us.

Scroll down to revisit the times Lizzo has used her platform to promote body positivity: