Lizzo Partners With The Dove Self-Esteem Project to Combat ‘Digital Distortion’ on Social Media

Body positive activist Lizzo has teamed up with Dove’s Self-Esteem Project to help combat a growing wave of “digital distortion” on social media that often pressures young girls into portraying flawless appearances.

The use of filters, photoshop, and video altering features allow many celebrities and influencers to fabricate their looks on social media. “Truth Hurts” singer Lizzo has worked to advocate against this growing phenomenon by frequently sharing an unedited image of herself online. Now the Grammy Award-winning singer has partnered with Dove’s Self-Esteem Project to help young girls instill more self-confidence in their natural appearance, Madame Noire reports.

“The scary thing about it is when I was their age — the girls now who are like 12, 13 — I felt the same way, Lizzo said during the Dove Global Summit on Wednesday. “I remember waking up and wanting to be someone else, change my body, changed my eye color, my hair texture, the shape of my body, the color of my skin. But I didn’t have photo retouching, I didn’t have filters or anything like that. So that feeling was already there, and it scares me to think that now there is a tool that actually cashes in on that insecurity.”

Research for Dove’s 2020 Self-Esteem Project found that “80% of girls have already applied a filter or used an app to change the way they look in their photos by the time they are 13.” Additionally, “77% of girls try to change or hide at least one body part/feature before posting a photo of themselves on social media.” As a result, a growing number of girls have developed low self-esteem at earlier ages.

Lizzo shared her decision to develop more pride and confidence in her physical appearance. “It was no choice for me. It was literal survival,” she recalled. “I was like, ‘If 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.’”

As part of the Self-Esteem Project, Dove created a Confidence Tool Kit that includes a collection of articles and activities to help young people combat societal pressures.