Yummy Mummies make me want to barf (but I feel bad for them too)

There is a new type of mummy around, one who embodies all that a woman should be: maternal and nurturing, but sexy and hip all at the same time. Sounds a little impossible to me. Not that moms can’t be sexy, they definitely can be. I just don’t think they should have to be sexy as defined by society, i.e. perky-boobed, flat-tummied, curvy-but-not-too-curvy, toned, and fashion forward. This is not realistic for all women. To draw from my own experience, my mom used to be tiny—I mean so tiny that even I can’t fit into her wedding dress. Then she had three kids, which I’m very thankful for. And all of us are very healthy, which I’m also thankful for. This is the case however, because my mom gained the proper amount of weight during pregnancy (for BMIs under 25, you’re supposed to gain between 35-45 pounds). Losing that kind of baby weight is very difficult, especially if you work full time. The majority of women who achieve yummy mummy status are celebrities whose job, as the media somehow forgets to point out, is to work out and look good all the time. Plus, they have such a colossal disposable income that they can afford to hire a work out instructor, a nutritionist, a stylist (and a therapist), all of whom help make yummy mummy status a reality. Of course, it’s easy to criticize the yummy mummies because you might feel jealous that they embody something you are pressured to achieve but cannot, or angry because they conform to society’s expectations. But consider that yummy mummies are caught in a double bind, just like all other mothers. Because they are youthful and fashionable, they are immediately accused of to be vain and unloving mothers whose children are probably just accessories. Conversely, if they choose not to focus as much on their appearances, then they are automatically stamped as a frumpy, boring mom. I’m glad I read the article about yummy mummies because its’ easy to forget that mothers are put under just as much pressure to possess very specific and often unrealistic characteristics as their teenage daughters.