I was laying in my bed during a particularly satisfying procrastination session, scrolling on TikTok, when I came across something that made me stop dead in my scrolling tracks. An influencer that I had been following all year posted a get ready with me for my baby shower video. She then proceeded to give multiple options for her outfit, each one cuter than the last. The plump baby bump began to lose its irregularity and it actually became clear that her outfits would not be made without it. I could not believe how cute she looked with a big round belly, her outfits almost looking like they were built for it. Laini Ozark, said influencer, then turned her TikTok and Youtube into a follow me while I’m pregnant account, without losing any of her fashion integrity. I began to actually sort of like her baby bump. Before I knew it I was having dreams where I was pregnant and wearing cute outfits, and started yearning for a bump as if they were the new season of Miu Miu leather boots.
Soon, Laini wasn’t the only one sporting her bump. It began to feel like the only thing showing up on my feed was influencers and their pregnant bellies, flaunting their ultrasound photos of little beans. Amrit Tietz, a DJ and fashion influencer (she probably would not refer to herself as one, but then again, who would?) is married to an absolutely gorgeous man and spends her days posing for Vogue in a metallic silver skirt and a tight and sheer black tee, baby bump loud and proud. As for her nights, she DJ’s fabulous parties for fabulous people in fabulous attire. One of her pinned posts is her behind a DJ mixer on a rooftop, headphones around her neck, hair slicked back into a ponytail-braid, and clad in a mesh hot pink dress. Looking at her instagram, one can’t help but feel amazed. She is making pregnancy chic and powerful. I want to look chic and powerful! It is not just Amrit, but Harling Ross, ex-writer for Man Repeller, Marie von Behrens-Felipe, and so many more. For heaven’s sake, Rihanna magnificently performed the Super Bowl half-time show with a bun in the oven. I even stumbled upon this one young woman who posted a video titled, A Day In the Life of a Pregnant 20 Year Old. I watched as this soon to be mom with lucious golden curls spilling down her back, went from Chanel, to Celine, to the flower store, to coffee with her mom, to picking out a color for her nursery. Maybe it is the subconscious primal need within me, but I have never wanted to wear a soccer jersey meant for an eight-year-old boy with my baby belly peeking out more.
But where is this trend of young women getting knocked up and keeping it coming from? Twenty-first century feminism has been all about choice. You don’t have to wear dresses, you don’t have to shave, you don’t have to be a fashion writer (oops), and you don’t have to have the baby. There has been so much emphasis on making sure women know that they don’t have to do what they think is expected of them. In fact, they are highly praised for going against the grain. While that is all good and swell, I can’t help but realize that this has left women who may actually want to do stereotypically girly things – because they want to and not because anyone is telling them to – in the dust. That does not feel very feminist. Gen-Z and women on the cusp of it are starting to realize this, and it shows (literally).
Please correct me if I am wrong but there was much judgment and shame in our modern world surrounding a woman who gets pregnant at a young age and decides to not get the abortion. But now, there is all of a sudden a new type of sacredness and empowerment of young women shamelessly sporting a big round belly. Young women are reclaiming it. The right to choose doesn’t mean always getting an abortion. It also means proudly keeping the baby because you want to. And that is beautiful. Third wave feminism is all about being a woman in the way you want to be. And if that means doing things that are “traditional” then so be it. Perhaps it is a backlash of the pro-choice, radical feminist, independent working woman movement (which, once again is incredible). There is something about seeing a woman do what she does best, like Rihanna commanding a stage, being on the cusp of having her water break that is so refreshing. It is, for lack of a better word, boss. So much so that it is making me want to incorporate a large mound of a stomach into my everyday look (don’t worry mom I won’t). It is almost as if we are reverting back to traditional family values, but it is not necessarily a revert. It is modern. It is warm. It is cool to see women carrying these babies, mostly out of wedlock, and making cute little outfits.
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