Torah Bright recreates her controversial breastfeeding photo

Weeks after *that* headstand photo went viral, Olympic medallist Torah Bright says she’s since had second thoughts about posting it, but she’s proud that it sparked an important conversation about what other women expect of mothers.

It’s very on-brand that when trying to arrange an interview and photo shoot with Torah Bright, Australia’s most successful Winter Olympian tells Stellar it will have to happen after she takes a trip to the ski fields of NSW with her son Flow, who turns one next month.

It’s also not that surprising to learn that this was hardly his first trip to the slopes, which Bright still recalls fondly.

“Introducing him to these things for the first time just makes you relive the magic as well,” she says.

“He was about 10 weeks old when we made our first trip, and it was all a bit overwhelming. But as you go more, you just become a little bit more confident and efficient. And I’ve learnt to surrender to the fact that it may be a couple of minutes that he’s going to be happy – and not to force it.”

Clearly, her approach has worked. This time round, she says, “The first thing Flow did was eat the snow.”

“The baby comes and you’ve got a belly for months. And I just remember not caring. I just remember loving my body so much. So that picture also represents this.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

While there was no doubt the champion snowboarder –who won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and silver in Sochi in 2014 – was always going to be an adventurous mother, what the 34-year-old may not have anticipated was that she would cop so much criticism for it.

On Mother’s Day this year, Bright shared a photo on Instagram, wherein she was doing a headstand while topless as her son suckled on her breast. When Body+Soul shared the photo on its own Instagram feed less than a week later and hashtagged it “#wonderwoman”, the post attracted a lot of attention and made national headlines.

The responses were as supportive as they were swift to criticise Bright, who many claimed was setting unrealistic body and mothering standards, and rubbing her decision to breastfeed in the face of those who don’t.

One, in particular, which said “the ‘wonder women’ [sic] is the one at home on the couch breastfeeding one while the other cries in front of the TV beside the pile of unfolded washing next to the laptop with all the unanswered work emails. Show me that” was the inspiration for the Stellar photo shoot.

“My scene at home looks a bit crazier than that photo,” admits Bright.

“[But] however your motherhood journey looks, you are 100 per cent a wonder woman. That sh*t ain’t no walk in the park!”

The original photo at the eye of the storm. (Picture: Steven Chee)

In hindsight, Bright adds that she wishes she had thought twice before posting her breastfeeding photo, which she says was meant to commemorate and celebrate becoming a mother.

“If I knew how these women had taken the image, you know, to represent things that it wasn’t, I don’t think I ever would have done it,” she says.

“But at the same time, I think it’s a conversation that is a beautiful one to have – and that little dilemma did start it.”

Of other women’s adverse reaction to the picture, she says: “It’s [others’] projections on me – that you might not be a good mother if you don’t breastfeed or you choose not to or you can’t. It’s just this guilt put on mothers from the outside world. But really, we’re all just trying to do the best we can. And we have different breaking points.”

In addition, Bright reminds Stellar, having an elite athlete’s focused mindset may have prepared her to throw herself down a half-pipe at breakneck speeds, but it hardly got her ready for the roller-coaster ride that is parenting.

“I remember having a [hard] moment where I was like, ‘Whoa, do I want to be a mum?’ The thought went through my head. Does it make me a bad mother? No. At that moment I was just exhausted and I think [the photo] caught a lot of women at that moment, which is why they reacted.”

“The ‘wonder women’ [sic] is the one at home on the couch breastfeeding... Show me that.” (Picture: Steven Chee)

With two sisters who have already had children, Bright adds she has also suffered from the psychological trap of comparison.

“I’ve had experiences with comparing myself to others and it leads to no good end. It doesn’t lift you. It doesn’t lift others,” she says.

“That was the sentiment behind me calling out the criticism [at the time]. Motherhood is hard, let’s not make it harder. Let’s support one another.”

She is buoyed by the fact other mothers have since recreated the photo in solidarity. And despite the “dilemma” the photo caused, for Bright the image still represents the strength of mothers because it was taken at a time when she was physically and mentally broken.

“[Flow] wasn’t a graceful teether and woke up every hour for nearly two weeks. I said to my sister, ‘I don’t know whether I can keep doing this. I’m going to die.’ She was like, ‘Hang in there. Everything ends and everything changes.’ She then sent me a photo of another woman doing the headstand and suggested I recreate it. It was just a bit of fun.”

It also celebrates her changing relationship with her body. As a professional athlete, Bright’s life has been dedicated to the amazing feats it can do. But after having a water birth at her home north of Sydney – she calls it a “long and hard labour” – Bright suffered abdominal separation, which required months of physio to rebuild the muscles.

“The baby comes and you’ve got a belly for months. And I just remember not caring. I just remember loving my body so much. So that picture also represents this,” she says.

“I remember having a [hard] moment where I was like, ‘Whoa, do I want to be a mum?” (Picture: Steven Chee)

“My body will probably never look the same. But I love it because it has created and sustained life. It still is. I’m not comparing it to what it was. I’m grateful for it and I appreciate it more.”

Bright says that despite years of proving her athletic worth, she still gets comments about the way she looks.

“Still to this day, people will look at me and go, ‘Oh, you are just so tiny. I can’t believe you do what you do,’ or ‘You look like you could be some kind of model, not a snowboarder.’”

The Roxy ambassador points to the brand’s new campaign, called Welcome to the New Cute, which addresses this exact phenomenon by redefining how the word “cute” is used in relation to women.

“There are all these preconceived ideas around what a ‘cute’ girl should or shouldn’t be,” says Bright.

“I love that this campaign is challenging that cliché. Women are multifaceted. It doesn’t matter what you look like or what your body shape is like. As a female, you have to step up to so many different things in your life; Roxy is challenging women to share what makes them a multifaceted, wonderful, beautiful woman in this world today.”

Torah Bright and her son Flow star on the cover of this Sunday’s Stellar.

Bright’s competitive edge is still there – and while she says she is eager to achieve more in her career, she is also relishing the time with her son, headstands and all.

“I’m grateful that I have been able to pretty much have the first year of his life at home,” she says.

“But I am definitely motivated to keep snowboarding. I’ve got lots of things that I want to do. It’s just waiting for the right timing,” she says.

Whatever Bright chooses, she promises to harness her trademark ferocity.

“Mothers shouldn’t be restricted because, you know, if I’ve learnt anything it’s that you can be far stronger and you are far fiercer. Don’t discount someone who is a mother.”

Originally published as Torah Bright recreates her controversial breastfeeding photo