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Saturday, October 29, 2005

Cover Your Eyes!

Body After Baby is the headline on People magazine this week and it shouted at me amid the thicket of skinny arms and legs that belong to Denise Richards (an odd-looking actress who was very good in Wild Things, a movie that is not what it appears to be).

I didn't buy the rag. I don't read People as a general matter and I couldn't bring myself to spend $4 on a magazine that would just leave me feeling like a slob in the season of candy corn. But here's the article teaser if you feel masochistic.

For my part, I have to say, I'm completely surprised by these celebrity secrets to body rebound. Who would have thought that daily exercise with a personal trainer, moderate eating and plenty of rest (ha!) would have such amazing results? I would have thought these actresses would be doing something at least a little insane... like growing weird mushrooms at home in the back of their refrigerators they way people did during the Kombucha craze.

Why isn't possible to simply admire the movie stars without getting pressure to emulate them? It is one thing to celebrate celebrity maternity, but another thing entirely to feel inferior and guilty when faced with the insanely super shapes these actresses sport mere weeks after having their children.

It's the weekend and surely the next People will be chock-a-block with heady gossip, not guilt. For the next day or two, turn your eyes away from the newsstand and consider how much lighter you will be if you don't take on the psychic burden that will surely plague you if you pick up this issue.

posted by Elise at 10:43 AM

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4 Comments:

chloe said...

Those pictures make me so angry! It's not healthy to focus on losing weight in the first couple of months following childbirth. That period is for recovery. Let's see the surge in severe postpartum depression cases now that the media is shoving this ideal down our throats. Breastfeeding mothers lose more weight three to six months postpartum, and I think I remember reading that the toxins released during weight loss show up in breastmilk, too. Ugh, most women probably aren't breastfeeding or worried about that though.

10/30/2005 3:41 AM

Elise said...

Well, it really is kicking a girl while she's down. One feels weird enough about oneself after having a baby without having to feel guilty about not looking perfect. I am not sure why the extra pressure is encouraged and newsworthy. But I would be interested to hear why this story is so popular. Is it pure masochism that makes women buy these issues hand over fist? People wouldn't keep running this story if the issues get snapped up. So here are some unrealistic expectations that undermine and frustrate, but who is generating them and why do we buy into them?

10/30/2005 8:32 AM

Anonymous said...

Preach on!! I have an eight month old and felt the same way when looking at the celebs who shed all of their baby weight in a few months.... must be nice to have a gaggle of people to watch your baby for you so you can rest enough to work-out with a trainer. Do I sound a little bitter?? Well I am... :0)

11/10/2005 11:20 AM

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1/17/2007 10:56 AM

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