Last month at the London Fashion week, Sophia Cahill, the former Miss Wales strutted down the catwalk naked and heavily pregnant. She did, of course, have the decency to wear a hat. The former Miss Wales stated that she had to strip off to support her family and felt sexy and womanly in doing so. She enthusiastically told reporters that she received many positive comments mainly from, er, men.
Although other models were sent down the catwalk also in the buff, it was the Über curvy Sophia stole who the show. In fact when the media reported the story, many of the non pregnant models had their nudity edited out and remained nameless. Sophia prevailed as the headline. Why? Because nudity draws attention, but when the nude model is pregnant, well that’s another story.
Motherhood fascinates us. In fact during my own pregnancy, doors were opened for me, cars slowed down so that I could jay walk with ease and the whole experience was wonderful. I got the best seats in the house and smiles all the way round. Of course now I wish I’d stripped off like Sophia to “support my family.” Probably have worked, but for different reasons. I suspect many would’ve paid mucho moolah to have me keep it all on.
But clothes on or off, our ideas about pregnancy aren’t just about belly size or carrying life. It’s about an idea or concept we hold about that state of being. An image that’s influenced and reinforced by the media. In fact, the media is so powerful that it can mold what we believe and whether we’re aware of it or not, what we then go on to say to others.
Things can get especially sticky when those others are ones without kids or struggling to have them. Afterall, its common to say to ourselves “don’t ask anymore questions!” to couples who have been married for a while who don’t have kids. It avoids the awkwardness felt on both sides. The fact that awkwardness exists on both sides is reflection of how we hold the pregnancy state in our minds; a superior desired state.
My video piece (on ther right) is about a message that you may not know you carry around in your head about pregnancy and motherhood. A covert message that is propagated by the media.
Understanding what might be at play can help you decide if that’s truly the message you what you want to convey when talking about pregnancy. Watch and find out more.
By the way, in case you were wondering, Sophia's hat was peacock blue. You were thinking about the hat right?
