Why we're so angry about Nadia Bartel's ‘mum tum' photo
When Nadia Bartel shared a rare, candid snap of her stomach after having two kids – the internet erupted. But was it really “disingenuous”?
Lifestyle
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Influencer and mum-of-two Nadia Bartel recently shared a photo of her imperfect stomach. Immediately she was slammed for trying to stay relevant by posting such a candid snap, and the brutal response exposes that when it comes to bellies or just bodies, women simply can’t win.
It all started when Bartel posted a photo of her stomach looking flat with the caption, “My tum today.”
It was a typical aspirational influencer shot. You know the trope, a blonde, thin woman shows off her small, toned body, Body+Soul reports.
However, she followed that snap up with a photo of her stomach bunched up that revealed some loose skin and captioned it, “Also my tum today that has carried two boys. Don’t forget that you only see the angles that people want you to see online be kind to yourself.”
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The stomach snap was a rare candid moment from Bartel, who’s made a living from being aspirational and influential.
Assumedly the shot was just meant to remind her followers that she’s also human with the odd bump, lump, and roll. But the reception to the photo was harsh. Some followers accused her of being a “try hard” or “disingenuous”.
The reaction was so extreme that she explained the reason behind her candid photo even further via her Instagram stories and said: “[Once] you have loose skin on your stomach… It doesn’t matter how much you work out.
“We’re always posting our best angles and that’s just human nature... you want to show yourself looking your best. But if you actually saw most of these people that you follow online every single day, you’ll see that they don’t look perfect.”
It’s hard to know if Bartel’s response calmed the critics, but the fact that a stomach photo could grab such a loud reaction signifies how obsessed women are with their stomachs, particularly mums.
Of course, why wouldn’t we be obsessed? Our current culture worships the flat stomach and ridicules a rounded one.
Yes, there are exceptions to the rule like Lizzo, but for every Lizzo, thousands of actresses and singers are praised for their toned stomachs hence, why workouts and gym memberships are geared around promising women precisely that, a flat stomach.
I mean, Jamie Lee Curtis just admitted she’d spent her whole career sucking in her stomach.
Mums also must contend with a whole other body culture, one that is obsessed with women’s post baby bodies and getting their ‘old’ bodies back.
Countless articles have been written about how ‘insert celebrity’ lost the baby weight. Kim Kardashian famously said that after the birth of her children she, “would wear – I’m not joking – three pairs of shapewears just to get out of the house,” because she so self-conscious about her post-partum stomach and that harrowing quote accurately sums up the whole toxic culture surrounding mums and stomachs.
It’d be tempting to dismiss the outrage surrounding Bartel’s stomach snap as just another result of silly internet fury, but the anger makes sense when you consider that Bartel has been a part of the culture enforcing that the toned flat stomach was better.
Has she said those exact words? Of course not. But she’s an aspirational woman on the internet that constantly takes photos that make her stomach appear flat.
Ultimately it sends the message to mothers that they should strive for the same. I mean, she’s an influencer. Her job is to influence.
So, when she decided to jump on board the body positivity train, it was met with mixed reviews because, for so many women, Bartel had become a symbol of the unattainable post-baby body and therefore a more candid shot felt false.
Unsurprisingly, when I reached out to mums to hear their reactions to Bartel’s stomach snap, the responses varied, but they all had a reaction, which speaks volumes.
For 41-year-old mum-of-three, Alannah, she found Bartel’s snap reduced her to an eye roll. “I’m all for realistic body image, but I can see why she’s being branded as a try-hard,” she said. “She’s making a living from showing off her body, so a ‘realistic’ shot makes me roll my eyes.”
However, 27-year-old mum-of-one Martelle, related to the influencer and felt like Bartel’s snap was a reminder that “we are all on our own journey, and she’s so entitled to share that”.
On the other side of the spectrum, 34-year-old mum of two Katie points out that she doesn’t follow influencers like Nadia because even their ‘worst’ photos “make me feel really bad about my post-baby body”.
Undoubtedly, influencer mum culture is very murky waters to weigh into, and there are plenty of body standards being pushed onto women. It is very easy for your view of normal to get skewed, particularly when influencers like Bartel are posting images that are give the illusion their stomach is still flat after childbirth.
Dr Lisa Beckett, a GP, who is only six months postpartum herself, told Body&Soul: “In order to grow a human, your body needs to change in many ways. It’s important to appreciate that you have just given birth to a child that may be up to 5kg.
“To accommodate this, your skin needs to stretch from many times its previous state.
“It’s unrealistic to expect your body to bounce back to its previous appearance after having a baby,” she continued.
“We need to take the pressure off women to be who they were before they had children. Everything changes when you become a mother, your body is no exception.”
So realistically, what does an unfiltered post-baby body look like? Well, different to your pre-baby body, Beckett explained.
“After giving birth, you may notice that you have softer skin, excess wrinkling skin, and pigmentation including a line down your abdomen (this is called the linea alba),” she said.
“This line will fade with time but may still be visible even six to 12 months after giving birth. Stretch marks may be a new feature.
“It’s important to remember not to compare yourself to other mums. Genetics play a huge role in skin elasticity and appearance, as does age, so every woman’s post-birth body is different.”
Bartel’s candid stomach snap caused such fury because she is part of the culture that makes women feel like they should look a certain way after birth.
Yes, Bartel’s more authentic snap was important and perhaps a step in a more helpful direction, but there’s no denying that she has a history of choosing to show a ‘perfect’ side of herself on social media, one that isn’t always the reality and that ultimately makes other mums feel bad.
Still, we can’t discount the fact that Bartel’s relationship with her stomach reflects larger societal issues, she’s showing off a flat stomach because just like all of us she probably feels pressure to look and appear a certain way to be seen as attractive – see woman can’t win!
Mary Madigan is a freelance writer, a lover of complicated coffee orders and expensive clothes. You can follow her on Instagram here.
This article originally appeared on Body&Soul and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Why we're so angry about Nadia Bartel's ‘mum tum' photo
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