There’s plenty of things that can be taken the wrong way. There may not be the intention to offend someone, but things often get taken out of context and misinterpreted.
It’s an awkward encounter that most have experienced at least once. However, how can one argue unintentionally offending pregnant women? Retailer, A Pea in the Pod’s latest line included two t-shirts that read, “Wake Me Up When I’m Skinny,” and “I miss my waist.”
Those are two depressing and insulting statements. These remarks imply that during pregnancy your body is something you should be ashamed of, and that you should be nostalgic of the time before you were pregnant, a time before you gained weight. These statements imply that any body other than stick thin is wrong, when in fact, many feel that these statements are wrong.
First off, who would want to buy this regardless of if they are pregnant? It’s not funny. Many people have serious body image issues, and when you’re pregnant it has the change to magnified. Expectant mothers should be celebrating the arrival of their newborn child, not celebrating the arrival of their new found slim waistline.
The problem is that when an individual gains a certain amount of weight, it is assumed that they are eating garbage and not taking care of themselves. On the other hand, if an expectant mother doesn’t gain enough weight, or consume enough calories each day, some may begin to accuse her of being a terrible mother for not nurturing her baby enough. Some assume she is taking the insecurities on gaining weight out on the baby, and therefore is not fit to be a mother. There is no winning here.
The company that owns A Pea in the Pod, Destination Maternity, has since released the statement: “We have taken immediate action to remove a T-shirt from our stores and website that was perceived as offensive. We apologize to anyone we may have unintentionally disappointed. We strive to offer products that celebrate pregnancy and are committed to supporting the health and wellness of moms-to-be and their families.”
