Don't Believe The Hype

Trista Sutter (the bachelorette) on baby weight

My friend Eva said it best:

"GRRRR! Bachelorette, non-celebrity Trista Sutter is whining about her post-baby weight in US.
http://www.usmagazine.com/cover_story_14

This woman had a really tough time getting pregnant, and now she has a healthy baby, and THIS is what she's complaining about?

SHUT UP, SIZE 4 TRISTA!!!!
“I’m definitely not pleased when I look in the mirror,” admits the 5-foot-2 star, who now wears a size 4 and weighs 116 pounds, but aspires to surpass her prebaby physique and get down to 106 pounds. “When I fit into my size 26 Hudson jeans, then I’ll be happy.”

AND SHUT UP, TRISTA'S ASSHOLE HUSBAND WHO SHE LETS ENCOURAGE HER INSECURITY!!!!
"If I eat something that I shouldn’t, Ryan shakes his finger at me and says, ‘Uh, uh, uh!’"

*************

Egads!  What a HORRIBLE message Trista is sending out.

And yeahhhhhh, Eva, your comments are dead on.   Miss you!

Oh yeah, I'll be buying one of these sometime soon

Anyone who would put this on their daughter needs and Audrey Intervention.

Hi!  In the future I plan to have children, but still be considered eff-able, and thereby worthy of attention from men!

Hey, is you mother still worth having sex with?

Sweet Jesus, help me.....

Help us all....

Jennifer Garner and Women's Bodies after Baby...

I've got no real beef with Jennifer Garner.  I like her fine and all. 

What I don't like is when there are articles ABOUT her that go like this:

"She debuted her postpartum figure at the 2006 Oscars wearing a beaded designer gown.

Such an outing isn't stress-free, Garner says.

"I usually feel like, `No matter how many girdles you put me in, you will not be able to zip this.' They always say to you — as though it's something that should make you happy — `This is fresh from the runway.'

"But what I think is, `That was made for some 14-year-old girl from Russia! It was not made to go on my body.'"

What a jumble of sentiments those few lines evoke in me.

FIRST... "Debuting" one's post partum figure?! COME ON. So now moms are supposed to worry about finding the time to get a new figure in addition to caring for a crying baby and trying to get some sleep (um, can you tell I'm speaking from experience here?).

And as for Jen's comments.  Well, I'm glad she has the guts to tell it like it is.... but I don't like her putting herself (and in a meta sense, all women) down by talking about girdles and shit. She don't need no girdles!

What about portly male stars... like say, um, oh, I don't know, her husband, Monsieur Ben Affleck, perhaps?  There's been a few instances where he's looked more than a little doughy.  Think he had to wear a girdle?

(and for the record, the etymology of the word "Girdle" is also something I take issue with.  It sounds too much like Girl....But I guess I'd probably have to take on the ancient Greeks or something to right that wrong).

The Yummy Mummy Phenom

  Dude, I cannot express in words how much this pissed me off. No, I mean it really got my goat.

These letters-- M.I.L.F.-- were carved into the lawn at the high school in my neighborhood.  And I live in a good neighborhood, yo.  (But even if I didn't, this would be just as shocking).

If you've read some of my other posts on this topic, you know that I object to the term MILF and the Yummy Mummy phenom because it basically equates a woman's worth with her eff-a-bility. 

Now, I'm a new mom m'self, and OF COURSE I understand the desire to still be considered pretty and sexy and after putting one's body through hell. But I'd like to think that being a mother and being desirable are not mutually exclusive events.

But there's even more of a problem here.  This was CARVED INTO A LAWN.  (Who does that?)  AT A HIGH SCHOOL (By a student?!  Right there for all the students to see?!)  And not to be all "This signals the end of Western Civilization" on your ass, but come on.  What is the world coming to if the pop culture that we live and breathe is so sexist and misogynist and superficial that it oozes messages like this...and some people internalize them, and then spit them back in the form of horticultural graffiti.

It's twisted and infuriating and what I wouldn't have given to have chanced upon the "artist" who did this while out walking my baby.   Oh, that would have been a thing to see.