6/16/10

Gisele and New-Mom Body Issues

It was Gisele who put me over the edge. There I was, flipping through Vogue as I walked on the treadmill, feeling pretty good about myself for getting to the gym. The baby was at the sitter’s, since he has no love for the gym daycare.

Then I saw it: a softly lit, black & white photo of the Brazilian supermodel cradling her naked newborn. In the pic, Gisele is sporting cashmere boy-shorts and a bare midriff.

Let’s set aside for a moment the utter impracticality of cashmere underwear and focus on the really disturbing part: her perfectly toned BARE MIDRIFF. On a NEW MOM. I flew into a Google frenzy trying to find out when the photos were taken. Maybe the baby was 10 mos. old? Nope. I believe they were taken when he was about 3 mos. old.

This means Gisele hadn’t spent half a year on a high-intensity diet and exercise program. She didn’t have time for a tummy tuck. The photo didn’t appear to be excessively airbrushed. I couldn’t even claim she was wearing a triple-layer of Spanx under her clothes. Because she was flaunting her flat, BARE MIDRIFF.

Now, you should know that I’m not one of those people who’s against thin models. I don’t want to look at people like me in magazines. I don’t need to see any more stretch marks and stomach flab, thankyouverymuch. HOWEVER.

Showing a new mom who, I’d venture to guess, looks completely unlike 99% of the new-mom population is a low blow. I mean, yay for Gisele, but imagine all those normal, exhausted postpartum women reading her interview in which she chalks up her superhuman post-baby physique to “muscle memory.”

Right. I guess my muscles have amnesia, then, because even 15 mos. post-birth I am not ready to bare my midriff. In fact, my belly button will never again see the light of day in this LIFETIME, mark my words.

It was shortly after the Gisele incident that heard about a book called “Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby,” by Claire Mysko (a new mom herself) and Magali Amadeï (an international model, BTW).

Drawing from interviews with more than 400 women and men, as well as their own experiences, the authors set out to forewarn expectant moms “what to expect from your changing body, as well as a reality check for each stage of your pregnancy, exposing the myths, challenges, and insecurities you'll face throughout pregnancy and beyond—and what to do about them.”

I can tell you unequivocally that based on the search-engine traffic to my “Pregnancy Butt” post, those of us with pregnancy-related body issues are not alone. In fact, I’m so interested in this topic that I plan to do a Q&A with author Claire Mysko, former director of the American Anorexia Bulimia Association, in the near future. If there are any questions you’d like me to ask her, jot ’em down in the comments.

READ O’ THE WEEK: Pregnancy magazine ran an excerpt of the book recently, called “The Big Lies of the Bump Watch” Sample quote: “Airbrushed images of slim celebrity moms also give us a very warped view of what a new mother’s body really looks like. Short of wearing blinders or moving to a remote village, there’s no way to block out the baby-weight coverage completely, but for new moms and moms-to-be, it’s important to keep a healthy perspective.”

8 comments:

Sharon said...

I find the daily celebrity post baby body bikini shots scary. It seems like the faster you lose the weight the better! And OF COURSE they all seem to snap back into shape because of breast feeding alone! When gisele appeared on vogue and said that giving birth was not painful at all, i wanted to hit her! Now women are supposed to not feel pain, and bounce back in bikini shape in seconds!!i'm 4 months pregnant with my first child and already feeling the pressure!

Ali said...

You'd be surprised what people can do with Photoshop. It may LOOK like minimal airbrushing, but it's a total revamping. It can also be done in movies. So even beyond layers and layers of makeup, touch-ups are a must!

It's sad that even knowing that, we (women) still wish to look like the airbrushed model.

K. Elizabeth @ YUMMommy said...

As a fashion lover and fashion student Vogue is stable and I was maybe a little envious of Gisele and her 'muscle memory' figure. Like seriously, it's taken me a year and some change to even get my body to start losing weight from my pregnancy. Ugghhhh.. Seeing stuff like that just makes me want to run out and grab a Monster Thick burger.

Elizabeth Flora Ross said...

I found it was only AFTER giving birth that my friends 'fessed up and let me in on the secret - your body is never the same. I have worked really, really hard to get back in shape, and have finally started to make some progress. (My daughter is now 18 months old.) I've lost a ton of weight and toned up, but the shape of my body has changed. I have accepted that this is how it's going to be. I will never look like Giselle, but I didn't before I got pregnant. Such is life. My husband loves me the way I am. And I'm happy with myself. That's all that matters.

tineroche said...

It's just mind boggling to me how a woman can look like her after having a baby. I know I will never look like that just because I have never looked like that before I had a baby. I have to tell you that being from Germany, this emphasis here in America on being thin and looking pretty 100% of your day is really scary! And unfortunately it's been having a major influence on me to the point for example where I do not want to go to the pool with my sons during the summer time.( even though I know how much they enjoy going) I have become so much more self conscious, that it makes me sick sometimes. So I wish the magazines would quit airbrushing and show real life Moms who don't have a Personal Trainer, a cook and 4 hours a day to workout.

Anonymous said...

I find it sad that you have already proclaimed not to show your belly button the light of day ever again - I can't help but think what kind of message that will send to your daughter about her own body...that if it doesn't resemble Gisele's that it should be hidden and despised? That mommy's belly, which accomplished the beautiful work of carrying her, doesn't deserve to be shown off, respected, appreciated, celebrated? As moms we are so powerful in helping our daughters to bypass the body image demons of our culture,but we mustlead by example. Claire Mysko and her book are amazing...Another great read is "You'd Be So Pretty If: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies Even When We Don't Love Our Own" by Dara Chadwick and The Nurture Blog Series: A Mind & Body Wellness Blog Series for Moms and Mothers-to-Be at http://eatingdisorder.org/blog/2010/04/pre-baby-body-love-nurturing-your-body-image-foundation/

Darcy said...

I just skimmed that interview now and honestly, it made me sick. She is NOT the norm (I know that and I'm only halfway through my first pregnancy) but makes it sound like she is better because she "watched what she ate and wasn't a garbage disposal" and exercised and did kung fu up til birth.

Please.

If I had a lot of money and people to do my chores AND a personal trainer, I'd be smokin' hot all the time too.

Not too long ago I saw some other model or actress in a magazine talking about how fast she had to work to drop the 40lbs she gained during pregnancy to return to work. At least that one sounded a little less judgemental of non-model moms and less glamorous.

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

Yea...some women are just freaks of nature. That's what I say.

Says the woman who gained double the suggested weight gain with each child, no matter how careful she was about eating and exercising.

FUH-REAKS I tell you!

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