There’s no doubt that women are the target of endless, unwarranted commentary on their bodies, more so following the birth of a baby. Despite growing a child and then putting their bodies through more trauma by birthing said child, many hold women to unrealistic expectation over how their bodies should go back to ‘normal’ afterwards.
But American musician, Halsey, is having none of it.
Taking to Instagram, they shared a series of photos showing how their body has changed since having a baby, publicly calling out the pressure put on women to “bounce back” after giving birth.
Having appeared on the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live, Halsey wanted to ensure fans and followers that despite receiving compliments for how great she looked in their first postpartum appearance, there was actually a myriad of work that went into helping them feel as comfortable as possible.
“The body behind all those compliments the other night was wearing a custom-tailored outfit and lighted perfectly after much testing, so I could feel good and do my job,” the 27-year-old wrote.
They continued: “I do not want to feed the illusion that you’re meant to feel and look ‘great’ immediately postpartum. That is not my narrative currently.”
“No matter what I do, people are going to talk about my body,” they added. “It is a confusing symptom of being in the public eye.”
Explaining the disconnection from their body after having their child, Halsey describes the aftermath of giving birth, saying: “My body has felt like a stranger’s for a long time.”
“I uphold myself to honesty to the point of over sharing sometimes but this feels important. The first picture on this slide is days after my baby was already born. A lot of people don’t know that you still look pregnant for a while after.”
Halsey, who welcomed a son, named Ender, back in July 2020, went on to explain that accepting and living in their new body is a process, while they recover from carrying and birthing a baby.
“It is still changing and I am letting it,” they wrote, adding that any kind of workout routine is non existent at the moment, as they refuse to bow to the added pressure for new parents.
“I have no interest in working out right now. I’m too tired and too busy playing with my darling son.”
They continued: “If you’ve been following me because you’re also a parent and you dig what I’m doing, please know I’m in your corner, I will never have my ‘pre-baby-body’ back no matter how it changes physically because I have now had a baby.”
“It has altered me forever; emotionally, spiritually, and physically.”
“That change is permanent. And I don’t want to go back! But in the spirit of honesty, I’m really tired and not a superhuman and this is really hard. Doing my best to serve my art and my family whilst keeping it all so very real. Love.”
