Embrace yourself Mommy

If you have just given birth, held a life within your body, had the satisfaction of becoming a mother then you’ll know that what you see in the mirror is not what you saw before the pregnancy. Your body changes, its scarred and maybe you still have a post pregnancy fat. You feel stretchy, saggy and loose. But you are still proud and elated. Rather these are just words as your happiness has no words.

We have had many celebrities who have posed in their pregnancy. A slew of celebrities have talked about their stretch marks and showed them unselfconsciously. Kate Winslet, Julia Roberts, Katie Holmes, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears to name a few of them. Back home Aishwarya Rai Bachan was comfortable enough to take her time to loose baby weight. But then the media hyped it as if it was the most unheard of thing to do.

Jade Beall, a mother-of-one from Tuscon, Arizona, began by publishing a series of semi-nude self portraits on Facebook, revealing all the scars and imperfections that came with pregnancy and the birth of her son, Sequoia. Her portraits inspired hundreds of other mothers, many of whom wanted to be photographed in a similar way, and Ms. Beall turned her images into a book called A beautiful body project, set to be published in January. Delighted with this trend and people’s interest for real bodies as opposed to plastic perfection she started this project for post partum bodies with its imperfection on display.

I doubt there is anyone who won’t be moved by such display of affection and love from these proud moms. Another thing it did was change my perception of my own body. Looking good has become so much of a photo shop job that there are young gen X now going for portfolio and photo shopped pictures for their facebook page. The fact is  – there are many ideals of beauty but women’s body image has taken a nosedive thanks to advertising, Hollywood, Bollywood and, and, and…

After looking at these images by Jade Beall I feel it’s a step towards moving to accept your body with all scars and imperfections. Our obsession with cosmetic surgery or corrective surgery may give you well-endowed look or a thinner nose but will not give you happiness.

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