I recently read that Gisele Bundchen had her pregnant belly airbrushed out of her fashion photo shoots because her pregnancy was “too sacred” to share with the world. What a striking statement to make in contrast to the very public belly (and body) baring photos that have been featured on magazine covers by celebrities like Britney Spears, Demi Moore, and Christina Aguilera. Showing off your pregnant belly is the norm these days, not hiding it. All you have to do is do a Google image search for “pregnant” and you’ll find thousands of women, not just celebrities, showing off their bumps in all stages of pregnancy (sometimes even postpartum). I wasn’t as surprised by the way she hid her pregnancy as I was about the reason. Usually, when a woman hides her pregnant figure it means she does not like how it looks, or she is trying to be modest. Hiding it because it’s sacred? That one I’ve never heard before.
I think what may set a woman like Gisele apart from the rest of us (besides the obvious) is the fact that her body is always on display. It makes sense that she would want to keep this part of her life private. It is the opposite for many women, since pregnancy might be the only time they find themselves uploading pictures of their midriff onto the internet. It’s a time when they can be proud of their midsection, regardless of how flat or toned it was before. People are entranced by pregnant bellies, however big or small. Pregnant women are especially always comparing pregnancy to pregnancy, month to month, wondering if they are carrying high or low, big or small.
People feel like they are entitled to see pictures of a woman when she is pregnant, but I think it really should be the woman’s choice. I don’t think it was wrong for Gisele to request that her pictures were airbrushed. I’m sure she has plenty of belly pictures at home for her family to admire.