Such a rich topic. I found that after discontinuing fertility treatments and making the conscious decision to lead a childfree life, suddenly I felt a newfound shame around my belly that had softened and grown over the course of my infertility journey.. it felt as if I had not earned the “right” to it. It hit me rather suddenly, this story that women who carry pregnancies have a “right” to a softer midsection, and I do not. For me, this story came out of a period in the body positivity movement, when my social media feed was filled with pictures of mothers — holding their babies — proudly displaying their soft bellies, c-section scars, stretch marks (wonderful! Yes! Normalize how bodies change with pregnancy and birth) AND I really internalized those images in such a way that does not serve me now as a childfree woman. What I unconsciously took away from those images was that *mothers* can be proud of their bellies postpartum and beyond, as if a soft belly is something only a mother is entitled to.
This post brought so many memories and reflections back to the forefront, and I appreciate it as an invitation to explore further. Oh, how I’d love to embrace my own pooch 🐶 in public, to lean back in my chair and rest my hands lovingly on it. What a mighty act of resistance through self-love.
Kara, I’m incredibly moved by what you so eloquently shared here. There is something very potent yet so unspoken in all of this. It feels super powerful to hear each other around our childless bellies, despite the differences in the circumstances that landed us in non parenthood. I love the frame of a “mighty act of resistance through self-love.” I’m going to keep that one close. ❤️
Loved this. You speak the absolute truth about the only time a woman is allowed to have a round belly. Sigh. Beautful tribute of love to your pooch
Such a rich topic. I found that after discontinuing fertility treatments and making the conscious decision to lead a childfree life, suddenly I felt a newfound shame around my belly that had softened and grown over the course of my infertility journey.. it felt as if I had not earned the “right” to it. It hit me rather suddenly, this story that women who carry pregnancies have a “right” to a softer midsection, and I do not. For me, this story came out of a period in the body positivity movement, when my social media feed was filled with pictures of mothers — holding their babies — proudly displaying their soft bellies, c-section scars, stretch marks (wonderful! Yes! Normalize how bodies change with pregnancy and birth) AND I really internalized those images in such a way that does not serve me now as a childfree woman. What I unconsciously took away from those images was that *mothers* can be proud of their bellies postpartum and beyond, as if a soft belly is something only a mother is entitled to.
This post brought so many memories and reflections back to the forefront, and I appreciate it as an invitation to explore further. Oh, how I’d love to embrace my own pooch 🐶 in public, to lean back in my chair and rest my hands lovingly on it. What a mighty act of resistance through self-love.
Kara, I’m incredibly moved by what you so eloquently shared here. There is something very potent yet so unspoken in all of this. It feels super powerful to hear each other around our childless bellies, despite the differences in the circumstances that landed us in non parenthood. I love the frame of a “mighty act of resistance through self-love.” I’m going to keep that one close. ❤️