XX Factor: the blog

Department of Feminist Outrage: Pregnant Padma (Gasp!) Gains Weight!

Last year my former Jezebel colleague Moe Tkacik picked up on a new and horrifying development in the way that tabloids discuss women's bodies: Somewhere along the line," pregnant" turned into merely "fat." In an insane-o hybrid of baby and skinny fetishization, famous women are encouraged to gestate, but God forbid they stop working out. I was reminded of Moe's savvy observation when I saw this headline on People's Web site about Padma Lakshmi: "Padma Lakshmi Doesn't Mind Baring the Baby Weight." And what's inside gets worse. "One of the reasons I think I've gained weight pretty quickly during my pregnancy is that I'm not exercising as much as I do normally ... I can't. I'm feeling tired, and I have this business to run," Padma explains ... as if anyone needs to give an explanation for putting on weight while pregnant. Don't worry, she still poses half-naked on the most recent cover of Page Six Magazine, though they make sure to cover her "burgeoning belly."

I don't blame Padma, I'm sure the interviewers asked her about her pregnancy weight gain, and she felt she had to answer. I just wish the questions didn't occur to people to ask in the first place.

Tags: department of feminist outrage, padma lakshmi, pregancy, weight gain

Jessica Grose is the managing editor of Double X and the co-author of Love, Mom: Poignant, Goofy, Brilliant Messages from Home. Click here to follow her on Twitter.

Comments

One solution

By: sugar_k | Wed, 12/02/2009 - 13:28

I find that my feminist outrage is a lot less if I ignore People magazine and every other flavor of celebrity gossip. Why is it so shocking that a trashy, shallow publication will make trashy, shallow judgments on women's appearance? To me it's a case of "if this is the sort of thing you will enjoy, you will enjoy this sort of thing."

Want to read a nuanced profile of a woman's mind? Then step away from the checkout-stand mags. Starve the beast. You can do this.