While with HuffPost Live, actress Tia Mowry shut down pregnancy rumors that have been swirling around this year.
Mowry received comments from Instagram users, asking her whether she was pregnant with baby number two. She explained that she and her husband are not expecting baby number two, and she feels the constant speculation is a form of body shaming.
Mowry told host Nancy Redd of HuffPost Live:
“I am not pregnant, I am just happy. I’ve gained these extra 10 [or] 15 pounds because of my cooking show. … I’m just enjoying life and when I want to drop the pounds, I will, but right now I’m happy with who I am,”
“But it is a form of body shaming, I will say that, and it’s pretty unfortunate …We live in a society that is so obsessed with being perfect … why can’t we just be us?”
“We need to be more supportive with body images, especially with women, showing that all sizes are beautiful,” she said. “And I’m talking about in magazines, advertisement[s] in regard to what’s sexy and what’s not sexy. We all need to be a little more supportive of each other. I think if we start there, we’ll see a difference.”
Many women have stories about being asked if they’re pregnant when they aren’t, and Mowry is totally right: it is a form of body-shaming. It’s a not-so-subtle way of pointing out that a woman doesn’t look the way she’s “supposed” to, and it’s a product of the ridiculous standards we set for women’s bodies. Men are allowed to put on a few pounds, have a belly, or let their attention to their physical appearance fluctuate with the demands in their lives. Women are rarely afforded that same flexibility, and that needs to change!
