Ashley Graham announced her pregnancy on Instagram in mid-August with a gorgeous, posed photo of herself showcasing her baby bump in a body-con dress hugging her every curve. She was met with messages of congratulations and comments referencing her “sexy belly.” And just three days later, she took social media by storm when she posted another photo displaying her new journey to motherhood, which was a close-up of that same belly, unedited with stretch marks and all.
Despite the body-positive model making her own vulnerability look easy, she’s admitted that being so authentic about the changes while simultaneously trying to accept them was difficult. “This is a new body that I’m walking into,” she explained during an episode of her web series, Fearless. “I felt so isolated, I felt so alone.”
One of the earliest examples of prominent women breaking this perception was Demi Moore with her 1991 Vanity Fair cover where she posed nude while seven months pregnant with her second daughter, Scout Willis. However, as Manly points out, the photo represented an idealized version of pregnancy. “I'm really excited to be on the cover of Shape and offer some advice, particularly to new mothers. I'm proof that even after having a baby, you can look better and sexier than ever!” Kardashian is quoted in the beginning of the piece, which featured bikini photos and tips on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, kicking cravings and being a “hot mama.”