Thank you, Captain Obvious

Now is as good a time as ever to talk about body image, specifically in regard to Kim Kardashian.

Now that she has had her baby and the veritable media tornado over her weight gain is in its ultimate stage, I’ve finally figured out how I feel about all the tabloid attention.

First, as is no surprise, it shocked me how much flak she got for putting on pounds during pregnancy.

Did no one realize those pounds were a baby inside of her?

Of course she was going to put on weight. She was growing a person.

Second, it was ongoing. I know a large part of that has to do with Kris Jenner’s exploitative management style, but after a point I wanted to shove needles in my eyes.

And I didn’t even care that much.

It was thrown in my face everywhere I went.

Social media, newspapers, magazines — the entire summer everything and everyone was focused on how fat this one woman was becoming.

The one thing never addressed was the fact she was gaining weight because she. Was. Pregnant.

The sky is blue. Water is wet. A pregnant woman is gaining weight.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

Why did this come as a massive shock?

Of course we could talk about the dichotomy of the real woman versus the ideal woman.

The way the media responded to the loss of Kim’s “perfect” body was like watching a bunch of toddlers who were denied their toys.

I wanted to focus on the actual message this sent out.

And now it’s Halloween — a day for black cat costumes and sexy nurses.

I think it’s as good a time as ever to remind everyone women were not created to entertain.

If a girl dresses up as a black cat, let her rock that black cat.

But for everyone else, understand it is her choice to present herself in a “sexy” way for a night — the same way that the next day when she goes to lunch it will be her choice to present herself in a “casual” way.

Women were created for a diverse and complicated set of reasons.

One of them, biologically, is that women are designed to have babies.

Yet, even these days, it’s considered entirely appropriate to criticize a pregnant woman’s body.

To blame her for the biological changes that naturally take place.

The more Kim’s weight kept cropping up, the more almost personally offended I became.

Just because you don’t get to ogle her for nine months does not mean the world is ending.

Calm down.

­— ewenning@indiana.edu
Follow Emma Wenninger on Twitter @EmmaWenninger.