Body-Shaming Bullies Attack Chrissy Teigen’s Pregnancy Pic
“Somebody is early to the party,” Chrissy Teigen wrote on Instagram showing off her growing baby bump. (Photo: Instagram)
When the supermodel Chrissy Teigen took to social media to announce her long-awaited pregnancy, she unfortunately got a lot more than “congratulations.” Yesterday, Teigen showed off her bump in an adorable Instagram shot and in her signature self-deprecatory style, she wrote, “someone is early to the party.” Then the criticism started pouring in almost immediately.
The Twitter-verse decided she was too big, and commenters started asking if she was expecting twins, and speculating on how far along she must be. Much of the criticism also appeared to come from other women such as Ticia, whose Tweet has since been deleted, wrote, “Damn you got big fast! My bestie is due in Feb and she’s ½ your size. Not twins? Probably triplets!” Another commenter Tweeted: “Uh @ChrissyTeigen from the looks of that bump, I think u might be expecting twins!! Isn’t it kinda early to be already shown like that?“
A Tweet from Chrissy Teigen addressing the speculation that she is having twins.
Teigen shot down the speculation quickly, and wrote, "I did IVF. One at a time. It isn’t twins. I can see the damn thing,” she explained on Twitter. “Get out of my uterus!” She continued, “Please stop. I put one embryo in. I have ultrasounds every few days. I didn’t announce at a week.”
As the mother of two children, I fully understand how a bump invites unwanted, and completely unnecessary, commentary. For some reason, a pregnant belly seems to create an open invitation for friends, family and complete strangers to offer an opinion about your bump. People will tell you it is too small, too big or decide on the sex of your unborn child. Is your bump sitting low? Must be a girl, who, according to oldwives tales and rude strangers, “will suck all the beauty out of you.” Some think a “basketball” bump must be a boy while bellies can even bring out the crazy- remember the speculation over Beyoncé’s so-called fake bump?
Model Chrissy Teigen is expecting her first child with husband, singer John Legend. (Photo: Instagram)
And don’t get me started on comments about weight gain, whether you’re breastfeeding or (my personal favorite), strangers somehow divining that your baby looks cold. One fed-up mother even launched a bog to chronicle complete stranger’s “drive-by meddling comments”- called That Baby Looks Cold.
I firmly believe that the only thing a pregnant woman should be told is, “Congratulations!” along with “You look great!” even if they are severely bloated or have just vomited their lunch on your feet. And please, don’t assume that someone is pregnant unless they unquestionably look like they are about to give birth or they have just shown you a sonogram. Some of us are carrying a few extra pounds or “pop” after a heavy meal. Go ahead, ask about the due date and how the mom-to-be is feeling or what color the nursery will be painted, but please, don’t ask if its twins.
There is no “one size fits all” measurement when it comes to pregnancy, which should be a time for celebration, rather than criticism and body-shaming. Some women have a barely visible bump up until the day they give birth, while others seem to “pop” as soon as two lines appear on a pregnancy test. Everyone is different, and it’s the journey of motherhood and the creation of a new, healthy life that should be the focus of people’s attention, rather than the weight on the scale.
Teigen addressed all of the negative comments on Twitter.
After the Internet brouhaha, Teigen wrote that she would no longer be posting any pregnancy pics. “No more preg tweeting for me, lesson learned!!” she wrote. “Back to food and reality TV and hay things.”
Chrissy, we’re so sorry to hear that and would have loved to read your funny take on pregnancy, so we hope you’ll reconsider. And most importantly, congratulations, you really look great.
Related:
‘No I’m not fat, I’m pregnant’
