Female bodies. They’re ridiculed and bullied on a daily basis by the media, trolls, men, and even other women. On one side of a magazine, pictures of celebrities who have gained weight are covered in fat shaming terms, while next to them pictures of celebrities who have lost weight are told they’ve “gone too far”.
In the eyes of the media, there is no ideal – we’re either too fat, or too thin.
Recently, men took a stand and the rise of #dadbod happened – men with average bodies proudly strutted their beer bellies (and probably some pizza thighs). This led to the hastag #mombod being cultivated, where proud mums showed off their bodies, whether they had post-baby abs or stretchmarks and a soft stomach. It was a kind of Fuck You to the media; to the magazines who worship celebrity mums who miraculously get into their size 6 clothes mere weeks after giving birth, and to those who ridicule mums for wanting to spend their time with their newborn baby or young family, not at the gym. Places like Buzzfeed and the Independent all picked up on #mombods and publicised these proud mums. Which is all great. Women should be able to rock whatever #mombod they want!
But as great a step forward as this all was, it made me feel like, not being a mum, I wasn’t allowed stretchmarks or a figure that shows I don’t live off salads. I’m not a mum, therefore I should have hard rock abs and thighs of steel. It felt like there was two camps; mums, who are allowed to have whatever body they want and be proud of it, or non-mums who can only be proud of their body if it’s modelesque.
I like what #mombod is getting at, but can't we call it #normalbod? Or do I have to be all abs and arse because I've not had a kid 😏
— India Benjamin (@IndiaBenjamin) May 13, 2015
So I’m putting in my word; stop celebrating the #mombod and let’s start celebrating #allbods. Whether you’ve had children or are planning on never having children. Whether you’re idea of a Friday night is spent at the gym, or with pizza. It doesn’t matter who you are; everyone has a right to love their body and have others respect it.
I have a #normalbod. Do you?
