'They are practising that self-love': mothers bare their bellies for photo project
'It's so ingrained that our worth is attached to our physical appearance,' says event organizer
For many people, getting a picture taken is nerve-wracking. Imagine what it was like for a group of women who showed off their stomachs before and after childbirth.
That's what happened for an event in Kamloops, B.C. Nov. 16-18, called We Won't Bounce Back. The event celebrates motherhood and the bodies that create life.
"People, after they have a baby, are going through all these different transitions. And yet the focus is on something like their weight … on bouncing back," Julie McCoppen, a doula and one of the event's organizers, told Radio West host Sarah Penton.
McCoppen wants to shift the conversation to focus on the strength and beauty of motherhood.
Event organizers collaborated with Milk & Honey Photography to photograph 23 women. Some women in the photos are pregnant, some have young children and some have teenagers. All of them bare their bellies.
"You can expect to see super raw images … very little posing, tender moments, struggle … a lot of the women were really pushing past some of their own discomfort to be a part of it and inspire others," says McCoppen.
The postpartum body
Deandra Tousignant is a clinical counsellor, and an event panellist. She is also one of the women who volunteered to have her photo taken. She was six months pregnant at the time.
"It was a bit terrifying. I've never gotten in front of a camera and been that vulnerable before," Tousignant told Penton. "We all have a certain idea of what a pregnant body looks like. But there's actually so many different types of pregnant bodies."
McCoppen says she wants women to embrace the changes their bodies undergo in motherhood.
"It's so engrained that our worth is attached to our physical appearance," says McCoppen.
She says many of the women photographed for the project still have a hard time with the way their bodies look in the photos. But she senses a shift happening.
"Even though it's uncomfortable, they are practising that self-love and they're working through those emotions."
We Won't Bounce Back takes place in Kamloops Nov. 16-18. The photos will be on display on Nov. 17 at The Rex at 7 p.m.
Listen to the full interview here:
With files from Radio West.