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YOU ARE THE REASON
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@bumpwatchproject
Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are expecting a baby (or, as she put it, “we are pregnant,” even though that is not how science works). I’m happy for them, as they’ve obviously wanted this for a long time, but you just know they’re going to be insufferable.
As always, Suri just gets it
ICYMI, Chrissy Teigen is pregnant, so naturally she is already “showing off” her “tiniest hint of a baby bump”:
“The 29-year-old looked stunning in her full-length white dress, complete with a zip which ran down the front, and was grinning widely as she posed for photographers, giving them a side shot to show off her tiny pregnancy curves.”
She also pulls the classic “hand over stomach” pose, which I’ve been really curious about lately. What is the motivation behind that gesture, and when did it start? One of my high school friends is pregnant, and she makes this pose in every photo I’ve seen posted to her Facebook account – her hand smoothes her clothing over her pregnant belly, and rests underneath. The result seems to be to display the belly more prominently...? Bit odd to see here, though, seeing as there is only the “tiniest hint” of pregnancy.
Anyway. With all of the press that Teigen and husband John Legend have gotten for their fertility struggles (and Teigen’s openness on social media/the media in general about her body), this pregnancy should be a very public, very intriguing one to study. Let the bump watch begin!
Naya Rivera’s last “celebrity baby blog” on People featured details from her baby shower, but also shared her experience of nesting and other “exciting” last-trimester things.
It’s packed to the brim with links to her other posts and previous People articles about her, so I have my doubts about whether or not Rivera actually wrote it - after all, there’s a long history of promotional content written on behalf of the star (Anne Helen Petersen points this out again and again - there’s a great snippet about the practice in this piece about Marilyn Monroe).
Authorship aside, the post ends as follows:
Here are my favorite preggo products I’m loving right now:
Earth Mama Angel Baby Organic Third Trimester Tea Power Mama Spanx Pregnancy loungewear by Bellabumbum
Like, ok, tea and loungewear, whatever. But pregnancy Spanx? I should have known they existed - after all, Kim Kardashian was seen wearing them while pregnant in an episode of KUWTK, and recently discussed wearing two pairs (!) for certain outfits - but somehow I’m still a bit shocked. The “Power Mama” Spanx are marketed as “smoothing” on the website, so they’re not constricting (not that this is a problem anyway; research/common sense dictates that tight clothing does absolutely nothing to the health of a baby), but their existence signals again at the conception of the pregnant body as a fat body.
Of course, this is also not new: maternity corsets existed centuries ago, though they were slightly more constricting due to fabric and fit technology of the time. So why is it shocking that maternity Spanx, which are considerably safer and much more comfortable for wearers, exist today?
Short answer: Maybe I’m just too radicalized from my research. It’s certainly not wrong to desire a smoother looking body that matches up to the ideals of pregnant beauty, and many of the women reviewing the product also express a desire to feel “support” for their belly and back. But there’s something off about the idea that even in pregnancy, you must be controlled and smoothed.
I’ve been posting sooo muchhh Kim KW lately, so I thought I’d break up that monotony commentary with some classic “post-baby body” ranting.
The official headline for this photo gallery is “Blake Lively’s Best Post-Baby Styles: See Them Here!” The description on the first page talks about her great fashion sense, but emphasizes that it’s extra great because it’s “helping to showcase her already slim body!” Yes, she had a baby earlier this year, but yeah, she is “already slim.” She is rocking her post-baby body.
If you have followed this blog at all, you can sing the next line along with me: The post-baby body is a lie.
Oh, it may be a body, and it may indeed be post-baby, but the concept that arises from those things is much different. Post-baby bodies are built on the idea that while you were pregnant, your body was taken over by another body, and that once you have the baby, you must retrieve your old body.
But how do I get my body back?, you wonder. You should be asking, Why do I need that body to come back? Because honestly, pregnancy is a life and body-altering experience. Asking a body to return to a previous shape is easy for some bodies, but not for others, as anyone who has ever attempted dieting can probably attest to; asking a postpartum body, which has been stretched and exhausted beyond measure for months, is doubly difficult. Yes, it is possible to discipline your body into pre-baby fitness, but is it necessary?
It certainly is to sell tabloid copy, as any celebrity mother could tell you; they are scrutinized for weeks, months, hell, for YEARS for their ability to retain a particular level of fitness during or after birthing a child. This image of a pregnant and postpartum body has become so familiar to us that we no longer question its existence, or its impact upon our well being - or that of the celebrity mothers who are pushed to follow it.
So really, the headline above should be rewritten: “Blake Lively Wears Fashionable Clothing After Having a Baby: See Them Here!” You’re welcome, US Weekly.
Now I stick to what I know works: neutral colors and black. And yes, long coats to cover my fat arms and ass! It's such a trip how your body grows and changes, and at the end of the day, you have to wear what you are comfortable in and what you feel good in! I don't care what the weather is, I will always wear my coats! LOL I am always freezing, so it works out perfectly for me!
My tip to anyone who is trying to dress their growing bump is to be prepared for trial and error and just wear what you know works best, even if it's repetitive! If it works, it works! And remember...this is only temporary! :)
Welcome to the brave, post-Kardashian/Jenner app release world! While I have yet to decide whether or not to subscribe to Kim’s app (can you deduct the monthly subscription cost from your taxes if it’s for research purposes?), I of course have MANY FEELS about the content that’s been released thus far - notably, the excerpt above about maternity style, from the desk of Mrs. Kardashian West.
I haven’t seen nearly as much shade towards Kim’s pregnancy style this time around, which bears some consideration. She really is dressing very similarly to her first pregnancy: lots of form-fitting dresses, a bit of skin here and there, and heels #allday, natch. What changed, then?
In the quote above, Kim talks about how she has embraced neutral colors, but has also been more strategic about covering up her, ahem, “growing and changing” body parts. I find this interesting, because like any socially aware, kinda chubby young woman, I too have internalized the two strategies of dressing a difficult body: wear black, and cover up your less flattering features.
I love talking about this idea of “dressing for your body” with my students, because it’s so much fun to poke and prod at their idea of what “flattering” is. If you haven’t already guessed, in the world of fashion, “flattering” equals “slimming,” which besides being completely arbitrary (who’s to say that slim is flattering to or for all people?) is also just really, well, shame-y.
So Kim’s getting better pregnancy press than ever, but it’s just because she has internalized the beauty standards of said press, which call for a pregnant body that is smoother and slimmer than hers. She has a few months to go before delivery, so I’ll be watching to see if the winds change - will she get as much praise when her bump goes beyond the acceptable proportions?
Kim’s been busyyyyy on Insta these past few weeks, sharing all of the things that have.... ahem.... blossomed during her latest pregnancy.
This feels like one of those ‘two steps forward, one step back’ kind of moments: mostly because it’s a pregnant woman - who has received nothing but criticism and judgment about the shape, size, and purpose of her body - stepping in and asserting her body’s presence, its very vivid materiality. But the self-objectification thing... wish I could completely ignore it, but damn if grad school doesn’t amplify that voice in the back of my head saying, “KIM! GIRL! Why are you continually reinforcing the conception of women, and yourself, as mere sex objects!?!”
I am, however, very much into the fact that Kim seems to be more interested in sharing photos of her pregnant body this time around. I’m not sure if that’s a reaction to her last pregnancy, in which so much of the narrative was controlled by the tabloid speculation about her weight, or if it’s just a natural evolution for someone who’s always clearly loved sharing every last detail about her life (See: Selfish, this episode Keeping Up With the Kardashians). I’m also not sure if it’s doing much to contradict that narrative. Whatever it is, I’m clearly into it.
Mostly, though, the top photo just makes me think of this:
You’re welcome.
Hopefully you’ve already seen the fantastic story making its way around the web, in which a pregnant newscaster writes an open letter to fat-shaming trolls:
“The one that came in about the sausage in casing, that one upset me the most. I didn’t respond, I tried to move on, but it really hurt my feelings.
Then I got another one this week, about looking ‘disgusting,’ and a switch flipped for me. I had a moment of clarity — I didn’t get embarrassed or hurt. I got fed up.”
The whole story brings some insight into the mentality that exists surrounding pregnant bodies these days: is it now the norm to criticize any form of excess body weight - even if it is LITERALLY A CHILD? Feel like this is also a slight against her fashion choices.... if you recall similar shade thrown at Kim Kardashian, most of it is due to the notion that pregnant women should wear looser, more obviously “maternity” styled-clothing.
Though most of my work focused on celebrity bodies (though I suppose as a newscaster she is a celebrity in a way?), it’s apparent that this kind of shaming is prevalent even among non-celebrity women.
kimkardashian: “Good night baby”
We have officially reached the mirror bump selfie stage!
From Naya Rivera’s Instagram: “A serious tan and a serious bump #summeraccessories”
Naya, girl, that is a body part, not an accessory.
“Leighton Meester holds her large baby bump while heading into Casa Vega for lunch on Wednesday (July 15) in Los Angeles.”
“Holds her large baby bump,” like, what is it, a handbag? At this point my thesis is writing itself.
kimkardashian: “OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby. I’m so excited and happy with my results that I’m partnering with Duchesnay USA to raise awareness about treating morning sickness. If you have morning sickness, be safe and sure to ask your doctor about the pill with the pregnant woman on it and find out more www.diclegis.com; http://bit.ly/1Kf6txpwww.diclegis.com; http://bit.ly/1Kf6txp”
OF COURSE. With the Kardashians’ history of product endorsement deals, it was only a matter of time that something like this happened. Pretty great example of how celebrities use pregnancy and motherhood as a personal branding opportunity.
Kim Kardashian Hired a Personal Trainer for Two-Year-Old North
This is such a bizarre, intriguing rumor!
You tell the haters, Kim.
(So interesting that she gave exact weight gain.)
Kim Kardashian West out for lunch 7.16.2015
Bump watch = constant hunt for a good profile shot.
Awesome Fit Pregnancy magazine cover of Sarah Drew
Oh my dear sweet baby Jesus, this magazine cover.
RE: “Get your body back fast”: This is the language that has spawned the Bump Watch, folks. Yes, your body changes dramatically during pregnancy, but it is still your body; your body doesn’t actually GO anywhere.
The whole thing reminds me of that scene from Knocked Up, when Katherine Heigl’s character is told by an E! exec that she should “tighten up” after she gives birth - clearly a euphemism for “lose weight,” just a tiny bit less offensive - this kind of language demonstrates how much we conflate the pregnant body with a fat body, and shame women into even narrower standards of beauty.
Kind of late to the viral post party on this one, but it IS a pretty great fit for this site! Kimberly Henderson, above, posted a pretty great image and post a few weeks ago that really challenges the myth of the post-baby body. It is completely unrealistic to expect women to fit into the fit, toned ideal that is perpetuated in the media, so I’m always happy when there is a chance for images like this to change the conversation.
Cheers, Kimberly!
July 5, 2015 Prince George attends the Christening of his sister, HRH Princess Charlotte
THAT’S MY LOOK, STOP STEALING MY LOOK.
British royal child fashion: literally almost completely unchanged since the dawn of the 20th century.
