Exposed: the bump

Since Demi Moore set the ball rolling, many celebrities, including Jessica Simpson, have exposed their bumps.

Since Demi Moore set the ball rolling, many celebrities, including Jessica Simpson, have exposed their bumps.

Published Oct 17, 2013

Share

London - The

soft lighting bounces off the model’s bare limbs, and an opulent fur blanket falls from her shoulders. The carefully placed fur covers the woman’s modesty, while also revealing the splendour of her body.

But this isn’t a glamour shot – it’s the latest way pregnant women are celebrating their impending motherhood: “baby bump” photography.

The woman in front of the camera is not a model, but Sabrina Tait, a 36-year-old who is eight months pregnant.

“I don’t usually like getting pictures taken, but I’d read an article about women who were having pictures taken of their baby bumps and I thought it was a lovely idea,” says Tait.

“I hadn’t heard of it during my first pregnancy with my son, Benjamin, who’s now three, but I wish I had. I’d been through a couple of miscarriages – one before my son and one before falling pregnant with Abigail, now four months old – and it makes you even more grateful that you’re lucky enough to fall pregnant.

“I knew that this pregnancy would be my last and I wanted a record of it.”

So, at 37 weeks pregnant, when most women are putting their feet up, after months of battling with swollen joints and stretch marks, Tait made her way into a studio to bare all. But why was she doing this?

“At first I wanted a picture taken with me wearing a white shirt with my tummy on show – I’m very lucky, I didn’t have any stretch marks – but then we started playing around with the brown fur.

“I felt quite shy initially, but then I relaxed. I put on black shorts and a black bra and wrapped myself in the fur so that it covered my modesty,” says Tait, who is engaged to Steven, a fireman.

“You can’t really see anything and it’s amazing how flattering the pictures are. I think they’re beautiful – elegant, not sexy. My fiancé thinks so too.”

More and more women are having their pregnant bodies captured professionally on camera.

Of course, we can blame the actress Demi Moore for all this. She started the trend in 1991, when she posed naked on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine while seven months pregnant. The photograph was credited with smashing taboos about the pregnant body.

But now, it is hard to open a magazine without seeing someone’s bare pregnant tummy – everyone from Cindy Crawford to Britney Spears and Kim Kardashian have exposed their bumps in the pages of magazines – and ordinary women are following suit.

One specialist photography company, Venture, has seen a 60 percent increase over the past year in women choosing to have their baby bumps professionally photographed, at a cost of £150 (R2 400) for a photoshoot and up to £300 for an album of pictures.

Wayne Kahn, one of Venture’s photographers, says many are prepared to bare everything.

“Women can be shy at first, but the majority will show off their body as long as it’s done tastefully.”

But are these pictures tasteful? Not everybody thinks so.

Some critics are concerned they are part of an alarming trend that sexualises pregnancy, putting women under pressure to look attractive and alluring at a time that can be exhausting, but should also be a time of reflection, introspection and preparation.

“Some of these kinds of photographs do look sexualised – says Dr Meredith Nash, an expert in body image during pregnancy, and author of Making ‘Post-modern’ Mothers.

“I find it depressing. Pregnancy used to be the only time in a woman’s life when she could put her feet up, eat what she wanted, not worry about how she looked, but that’s not the case anymore,” says Nash. “Now it’s all about tight-fitting tops, low-slung jeans and glamorous photoshoots.

“I worry that we’re covering up the reality of being pregnant – the fatigue, headaches, and mixed emotions – with these glossy images. It sets the bar higher for women, implying it’s not okay to show how hard pregnancy is. Instead you have to look beautiful, slim and hot at all times.”

Indeed, photoshoots are just one part of the “sexy mummy” industry: walk through Topshop or Primark and you will find rails of sexy, skin-tight maternity dresses.

And there is even a growing market for maternity lingerie – with companies such as provocatively-named HOTmilk selling black mesh and embroidered nursing bras with sobriquets like “Tantalised”.

It is a far cry from when pregnancy was a time for loose clothes and flat shoes, a time to focus on what was happening inside your body rather than outside.

And who are these women looking sexy for?

“Some women want to look sexy for their husbands, but most would say that it’s about feeling good about themselves and to feel empowered,” says Nash. “We live in a time that celebrates the “yummy mummy” who is youthful, energetic and sexy.”

Dr Laura Tropp agrees with Nash’s concerns. She is the author of Womb with a View, which analyses the business behind modern pregnancy. She says: “Pregnancy used to be time of preparation and reflection, but now it’s a time for clothing and trends and baby showers and pregnancy photography.

“I’ve interviewed lots of pregnant women who expressed concern over the glamourisation of pregnancy, saying it doesn’t reflect what they are really feeling.

“On the one hand, it’s good that women can show off their bellies and enjoy their pregnancy, but the expectations of trying to look good and show off every curve while pregnant can be hard. They feel pressure to have the perfect belly, the perfect bump. They look at celebrity pictures and feel bad they don’t look like that,” she says.

Natalie Duffell, 25, from West Sussex, agrees. “I put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy,” says Duffell, a part-time receptionist who lives with her partner, Andy Atkins, a police officer, and their first child, Harry, eight months.

“I had cravings for chocolate. There were days when I felt awful. I was heavy, tired, my ankles would swell up. My partner would tell me every day how wonderful I looked, but I didn’t feel it.

“There’s so much pressure to look good during pregnancy and get back into shape after pregnancy. I felt like I was being judged when I left the house.

“For the first 12 weeks, I felt really sick and nauseous and it was hard to get the energy to put on make-up and get dressed at times. People would openly say I looked really tired, which was really disheartening,” she said.

“You see photographs of celebrities and think if they’re six months pregnant and looking that good, why can’t I? Then they lose the weight straight after and again you think, I need to lose the weight too.”

So if she felt so why did Duffell have a naked portrait taken when she was 36 weeks’ pregnant?

“I didn’t want to do it, to be honest,” she says. “The last thing I wanted to do when I was eight months pregnant was strip off, but my other half had booked it as a treat, so I went along with it.”

To her surprise, Duffell found that once she had had her hair and make-up done and was in front of the camera at local studio Mighty Aphrodite, she found the experience hugely rewarding.

“I really got into it,” she says.

“We started with photographs of me with a shirt a little open so you could see my bump, then in my lingerie, then naked. After all, the pregnant body is the most natural thing on earth, so why cover it up?”

Psychologist Jane McCartney specialises in body image and says that it is not unusual for women to be proud of their bumps.

“During pregnancy, women can feel in awe of their own bodies and what’s happening to them,” she says. “It’s natural to feel immense pride and the desire to show off.

“In some ways, it can feel like your body’s not your own, so taking a picture like this isn’t narcissistic in the way that it might be considered to be normally. Instead, you are taking a record of a specific moment in time that may never be repeated.”

Jessica Klofta, 26, from Manchester, had pictures taken two weeks before the birth of her first child, Polly, now four months. She says she cannot wait to show her daughter the picture when she is a bit older.

“My mom didn’t have anything like that. She says when she was younger, you had to cover up your bump, if you showed it off it was considered rude. I think that’s sad – pregnancy is a really happy time,” says Klofta.

But she admits these kinds of pictures are not to everyone’s taste. “I got the idea after seeing a beautiful photograph of a pregnant woman in silhouette.

“I thought it looked classy and tasteful, but when it came to my own topless pictures I didn’t like them, I thought they looked a bit too rude. I’m quite a private person and they weren’t what I was looking for.

“I’m not suggesting we hide women’s pregnancies as they did in the Dark Ages, but it might be best not to parade these pictures – especially on sites like Facebook.”

Then there is the subjective matter of taste, says McCartney: “Ask yourself, would I photocopy naked pictures of myself and send them in the post to a 100 friends? Or would I print them on a Christmas card? Then ask yourself what your baby is going to think of these pictures when he’s a strapping teenage son.” – Daily Mail

Related Topics: