By Martha Ross
Mercury News
WWR Article Summary (tl;dr) As Martha Ross reports, “Some fans slammed Kardashian for her new line, saying she should “let people enjoy their pregnancy without thinking they need to maintain the perfect figure.”
Los Angeles
Kim Kardashian is once again having to defend one of her business decisions.
This time the reality TV entrepreneur is pushing back against criticism from Jameela Jamil and others on social media who say she is trying to make pregnant women feel self-conscious about their growing bodies by introducing a new line of maternity “solutionwear” that they say emphasizes a need to have a “perfect figure.”
The latest Kardashian contretemps arose over her new Skims maternity line, which she announced over the weekend and which is launching Sept. 16.
Kardashian said on Instagram that her Skims “maternity solutionwear” offers “the best in comfort and support for your changing body during and after pregnancy.” The line includes a “sculpting” bra that can be undone at the front to breast-feed and a mid-thigh bodysuit and high-waisted briefs.
But some fans slammed Kardashian for her new line, saying she should “let people enjoy their pregnancy without thinking they need to maintain the perfect figure,” Us Weekly reported.
Another tweeted, “Excuse my ignorance but who’s tryna shape their pregnant bodies? Y’all don’t like being comfy and free and loose when pregnant? It’s pretty much the only time you can be as shapeless and free and comfy as you want!”
Jamil, the actress and body positivity activist, also chimed in. Without calling out Kardashian or her shapewear by name, Jamil wrote on Instagram and Twitter, “It would be so cool if pregnant people could just be allowed to be pregnant and get bigger and not be self conscious, and enjoy the miracle taking place inside their body and not have to worry about feeling embarrassed/shamed that their body is changing for an amazing reason.”
Jamil is a regular critic of Kardashian and her famous family for pushing products, including weight-loss supplements, that she said have “a terrible and toxic influence” on young girls’ and women’s idea about body image.
In responding to the backlash Sunday Kardashian, wrote on Twitter and Instagram that her “solutionwear” is not “to slim but to support.”
Kardashian claimed that it actually helps pregnant women feel more comfortable by offering support to the back and other parts of the body that suddenly have to carry additional weight.
“To anyone who has an issue with maternity solutionwear, and if you haven’t been pregnant before you may not know the struggle of what it’s like carrying all of this weight the way I did along with millions of strong women,” tweeted Kardashian, who was pregnant with two of her four children with Kanye West.
Kardashian also said that the fabric over the abdomen “doesn’t slim your belly.” That’s because the fabric is “actually sheer and a thinner layered material compared to the rest of the garment,” she said. Meanwhile, the compression on the leggings “helps with pain relief caused by swelling,” she explained. She also said the solutionwear helps after birth, by providing “the comfort and support that most women need after delivery especially if you are recovering from a cesarean.”
“We launched this category in response to the tens of thousands of pregnant women who wrote us requesting it and because it was something I personally needed when I was pregnant myself,” Kardashian added.
Kardashian’s claims were backed by celebrity friend Chrissy Teigen, who is pregnant with her third child with husband, John Legend. “Hi guys, actual pregnant person here!” Teigen said in a video she shared on Instagram. Teigen recorded the video while wearing a Skims bra and high-waisted briefs.
“Just wanting to show you and maybe talk a little bit about what pregnancy shapewear is,” Teigen said. She explained that shapewear isn’t designed to conceal a pregnancy or make a woman look smaller, but about offering comfort and support.
“This is not about creating a body we don’t know we have. Like, we’re not trying to do anything to trick you, we’re pregnant,” Teigen said, adding. “If you don’t like it, don’t wear it.”
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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
