Expectant Mom Shuts Down Pregnancy Body Shamers by Comparing Bumps With Tess Holliday

A few weeks ago, endurance athlete Brittany Aäe (below right) compared her 39-week baby bump with a photo of then-expecting plus-size model Tess Holliday (left). While Holliday’s pregnancy was two weeks behind Aäe’s when the photos were taken, the difference is obvious — and body shamers wasted no time pointing it out.

Aäe has been criticized for her rigorous training routines and for scaling mountains, even in her third trimester. Commenters questioned whether she was putting her baby’s health at risk, while Holliday received comments along the lines of “I can’t tell you’re pregnant.”

In response, Aäe captioned her photo: “Both of us are shamed for our size — she for her roundness and me for my smallness. Both of us are having or had healthy pregnancies, as validated by our healthcare providers. Both of us are making empowered choices about our personal health. Why does our society shame women whose bodies do not adhere to some narrow notion of false normalcy?”

She also urged people to keep their thoughts and words about body sizes to themselves. “Pregnancy is tough enough without also being body-shamed,” she wrote.

Sorry haters, both moms have delivered healthy babies since posting the images.