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The Guardian‘s Viv Groskop reports a brand-new way for a pregnant woman to look 3-4 months thinner: Spanx’s new “Mama Spanx” line. Naturally, in the wake of the impossible, stick-thin pregnancies of celebrities like Nicole Kidman (pictured above at 9 months along but skinny as ever), the pressure …
… for the modern woman to maintain her figure — even during pregnancy — is higher, and more ridiculous, than ever.
Luckily, Groskop is just as bemused/annoyed about this new “miracle” as I am. After informing her reading audience that the “maternity shapewear industry is a growing phenomenon,” Groskop sasses back with:
Unlike the pregnant lady’s body itself, of course, which must remain within acceptable size limits.
The product itself promises that the waistband is not constricting, that it offers tummy and back-support and that it will grow with your stomach. Evidently squeezing in to these “Mommy and Me” cellulite-suckers will not be quite as much of an ordeal as squeezing into the “Original Recipe” Spanx. Hmm. As Groskop points out, it seems unlikely that a woman having back pain from an extra “couple of stone” (28 pounds) is going to feel terribly relieved by being in a pair of tight nylons that lift and tuck.
But regardless of the veracity of the medical claims, isn’t the whole concept still fairly absurd from a body-image point of view? The only thing that a slimmer you is going to indicate to your friends and acquaintances is that you’re in the midst of the world’s longest pregnancy, as you’ve stayed in your second trimester for half a year.
What bothers me more is the thought that staying slim is a concern for expecting mothers. At the end of the day, shouldn’t Priority Number One be making sure that both you and your baby are healthy, eating baby girl-making veggies and taking parenting advice from pageant moms?
What’s your take? Should women bother trying to look thinner while pregnant? Is there a greater pressure than ever to stay skinny while you’re expecting?
