Having a toned body and abs may not seem like ground-breaking news, but it changes the whole story when you are talking about this same physique being on a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy.
Sarah Stage, a lingerie model residing in Los Angeles is due to have a child any day now, and she’s definitely taken centre stage in our eyes for just how much she’s not showing.
Because she is in the public eye (and she is absolutely stunning), she has a considerable following on her social media platforms. As unfair as it seems for someone to have the ability to look that stunning just days before giving birth, her photos and posts have sparked major controversy.
The public hasn’t been shy about responding to her tiny tummy, and made some extremely harsh comments about her lifestyle and selfishness to the health of her growing baby.
We are living in a fantastic era that is proving to be very accepting and becoming increasingly diversified in the modelling world. Whether that be the emergence of openly transgender and disabled models to models who have managed to pass the typical expiration date for the business, it’s all a positive to us.
So, why is the one subject we always seem to come back to the size of models? We obsess over weight seemingly more than anything else, and while it is clear many aspects of modelling are inevitably changing, this doesn’t necessarily mean a shift of less body shaming.
Many have voiced their opinions; bombarding her social media platforms with comments at the calibre of: “where’s this baby hiding at?? Definitely not her tummy!!” Various others suggested she was somehow harming the baby and should seek medical attention.
While the Internet is a better place than any to broadcast opinions, everyone should remember that not everything is cookie-cutter perfect when it comes to the human body, and pregnancy is no different.
Many women get noticeably larger during their pregnancies, resulting in a growing belly. However, there are a handful of women who go to the hospital thinking they are experiencing a tummy ache – and are then surprised to be on their way home with another human being at their side.
Some women have the baby growing inside them differently, so does that automatically mean that they are putting their child’s wellbeing in danger?
According to Dr. Ashton, women tend to gain approximately 10-20 kilograms during pregnancy, and while Stage has actually gained weight within this range, many won’t accept it. Because her before-pregnancy body was that of a model, she was already tall and thin. During pregnancy the weight she put on undoubtedly sits on her differently than it would on a woman with a different build.
Sarah is pregnant proof that there cannot be one blanket statement applied for this type of situation, so there’s no need to force it. As long as Mum and baby are happy and healthy, who is to dictate what’s right or wrong?
With the introduction of social media within the modelling world, it can mean that people have the ability to be hacked down just as fast as they were brought up. Skinny body shaming is still body shaming. We personally can’t wait to see Sarah spring back into modelling as a new mother.
