Lizzo shares unedited naked photo on Instagram to 'change the conversation about beauty standards'

Singer Lizzo has been on a quest to normalise different body shapes and sizes and smash beauty standards - and her latest Instagram post is a major step in that direction.

The Good as Hell singer shared an unedited naked photo of herself, curves and all, with the goal of "changing the conversation about beauty standards".

As part of her partnership with skincare company Dove, the singer wants to revolutionise the way bodies are shown on social media.

Her unedited naked selfie has been hailed as a major step forward in normalising different body sizes and a big milestone for the body positivity movement.

In her caption, the singer described how she'd normally edit a photo like the one she posted - and why she decided she'll no longer do that.

"Welcome to Taurus season. To celebrate I wanna give y'all this unedited selfie," she begins her post. "Now normally I would fix my belly and smooth my skin but baby I wanted show u how I do it au natural — I am excited to be partnering with @dove and the #DoveSelfEsteemProject which is helping to reverse the negative effects of social media and changing the conversation about beauty standards. Let's get real y'all," she adds.

The photo has received more than 2 million likes on Instagram, with thousands of comments applauding Lizzo for speaking up against the beauty standards on social media and the unrealistic expectations edited images put on women in particular.

"Thank you for helping to normalise every body type," one person commented.

"Now every time I see my tummy stretch marks I'm going to smile and think, I'm matching with Lizzo," another Instagram user said.

Instagram users described the singer as "an absolute goddess" and an inspiration for people everywhere.

"I love you. I love your confidence and love the standard you're setting by allowing people to see that women are not artificially made in a surgery room," one person wrote.

"We are all different and beautiful is just not one type of shape or size. Thank you for being unapologetically you ... thank you for embarrassing yourself and never changing. It is so important that women see other women loving all of their imperfections that make them perfect. I'm glad my daughter can not only look up to me but can get on social media seeing a woman accepting who she is. For a celebrity that's very important to me cause no matter what we teach and instil in our children they can get influenced by people," the Instagram user added.

This is far from the first time Lizzo has shared body positivity messages on her social media.

Speaking to Glamour magazine last year, the singer shared her thoughts on what needs to change when it comes to how bodies are seen and thought about.

"When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not,'" Lizzo said. "I'm just fine. I'm just me. I'm just sexy," she said, adding that people don't consider it "brave" when a skinny woman shows off her body.

"If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave. I just think there's a double standard when it comes to women," she said.

"I don't like it when people think it's hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don't like it when people are shocked that I'm doing it."

She has also previously said that body positivity has been taken over by brands and become commercialised and it is "lazy" for her to say she is body positive.

"I think it's lazy for me to just say I'm body positive at this point," she told Vogue. "It's easy. I would like to be body-normative. I want to normalise my body."

This article was first published on the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.