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At some point in their pregnancy, many women have to start thinking about switching their clothes into maternity clothes.Honestly, the options out there aren’t too inspiring, and women are generally expected to give up their fashion sense for comfort.Not Rihanna, however, stunned the world with her fresh approach to maternity fashion.
Since she announced her first pregnancy in January 2022, she has eschewed the stretch pants and tent skirts of traditional maternity wear.Instead, she uses fashion to embrace, showcase and celebrate her changing body.Instead of covering up her bump, she showed it off in belly-baring outfits and tight-fitting couture.
From crop tops and low-rise jeans to delining a Dior cocktail dress and turning it into a belly-celebrating outfit, Rihanna revolutionized maternity fashion and how the pregnant body should be viewed.
From corsets to baggy sweatshirts, women’s waistlines have always been closely monitored by society, especially during pregnancy.
Often, women’s maternity clothes do their best to hide and accommodate pregnancy.Today, advice to moms-to-be can focus on tricks to conceal your pregnancy or how to make the most of a rather dull choice.
[Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Fenty Beauty by Rihanna] Society sees pregnancy as a critical time for women—the moment of transition from female sexual attraction to motherhood.Fashion is at the heart of young women’s identities, but maternity wear arguably lacks creativity.With its drab designs to accommodate the growing body rather than celebrate it, maternity clothing strips women of their eccentricities, style and individuality, instead confining them to the role of motherhood.Being a sexy mom, not to mention a sexy pregnant woman like Rihanna, challenges this binary female identity.
The moral arbiter of history, the Victorian era, is to blame for this conservative anxiety surrounding the status of women’s bodies.Victorian moral values confined women to the family and structured their values around their piety, purity, obedience and family life.
These Christian moral standards mean that even pregnant fashions are euphemistically named “for young housewives” or “for newlyweds.”In Puritan culture, sex was seen as something women “suffered” in order to become mothers, and pregnancy was a disturbing reminder of the “sin” necessary to have children.Medical books deemed so inappropriate don’t even mention pregnancy directly, offering advice to expectant mothers, but again use a range of euphemisms.
For many mothers, however, alarming infant mortality rates and the likelihood of miscarriage mean pregnancy is often more terrifying in its early stages than celebration.This anxiety means that once the pregnancy becomes widely known, pregnant women may lose freedom and agency over their own bodies.Once the pregnancy is visually obvious, it can mean that the mother may lose her job, be excluded from social activities, and be confined to the home.So hiding your pregnancy means staying independent.
Rihanna’s radical denunciation of traditional pregnancy fashion puts her bump in the spotlight.Critics called her choice indecent and “naked”, with her midriff often fully exposed or peeking under fringe or sheer fabric.
My body is doing incredible things right now and I’m not ashamed of it.This time should be happy.Because why would you hide your pregnancy?
As Beyoncé did during her 2017 pregnancy, Rihanna has positioned herself as the modern fertility goddess whose body should be respected, not hidden.
But you might be surprised to learn that Rihanna’s bump-centric style is also popular among Tudors and Georgians.
Post time: May-12-2022