OK warning: This is going to be a bit of a rant…
Did you hear about Kristi Gordon, the television meteorologist in Vancouver, who received hate mail about her pregnant body? It’s been trending all over social media the last few days. Disgusted moms everywhere have been clicking “share” when they encounter the story on Facebook. Basically, to sum it up, the hate mail consisted of how “fat” she was looking and how she should treat her unborn child with more respect by wearing looser fitting clothing -- I kid you not. Now, if you take a second to google her, you’ll see that she’s anything but fat, and is actually a pretty classy-looking lady. And she rocks her bump well!
Unfortunately, she gave these letters a bit of air time, which probably gave these haters some of the satisfaction they were looking for. And there’s no doubt that these comments come from a few rogue individuals who are HIGHLY ignorant. But, it got me thinking about the bigger problem behind her story -- The fact that a woman’s pregnant body is up for discussion in the first place.
We’ve all heard it. And we’ve all made the comments too (at least I have, prior to having my own children).
- Wow, she’s getting really big.
- She’s hardly even showing!
- That belly has really popped.
- She’s in maternity clothes already.
- She’s gained quite a bit of weight.
And so on, and so forth.
And the comments don’t always have a negative connotation--I’m sure sometimes the comments are meant well, or as a way to make conversation. And if the comments were things like, “you look so gorgeous!” well, I certainly wouldn’t complain about that!
But it seems like just because a woman is growing a baby inside her, all of a sudden her body is up for universal discussion. I. just. don’t. get. it.
Yes, it’s cool. It’s actually pretty freakin’ miraculous what the female body can do. We like to talk about cool, miraculous things.
But why all of a sudden is it socially acceptable to comment on a woman’s body?
I don’t talk about people’s beer bellies, or hair colour, or skin tone, or how poorly they might dress. I try my darndest to keep my mouth shut when I don’t have something nice to say.
And for this pregnant lady who has found her clothes not fitting quite right (I’m starting to show about six weeks earlier than I did in my last pregnancy), I don’t need nobody’s comments about how I’m getting bigger -- I figured that out when I couldn’t do up my dress pants one morning last week!
The reality is: pregnant women gain weight. A lot of it.
I am 5’2 and I gained thirty pounds last time. THIRTY POUNDS. It is honestly a scary thought that I will do it all over again. Yes, some moms gain less, but some gain more. It’s biology baby. Our bodies all respond differently to GROWING A HUMAN INSIDE. Not to mention a placenta. And the bajillion more litres of blood pulsing through our veins. Oh and the boobs preparing to MAKE the MILK to FEED the BABY. Not to mention the fact that you are hungry ALL THE TIME because your body is doing this, while keeping you alive AND going to work, cleaning the house, taking care of children, and so on… Wow. The female body is a beautiful, astounding thing. Even more so with this extra thirty pounds on it.
To all the Kristi Gordon’s out there, whose body has been up for discussion, rock that bump, and the extra weight, knowing you are doing a service to humanity. And to everyone else, don’t mess with a pregnant lady! Or at least not this one!
To beautiful bellies,
♥ Dion
