With Kate Middleton as the de facto celebrity maternity style crowd favorite -- a beautiful woman, albeit one whose pregnancy is barely discernible -- the world of expecting women need representation from Kim Kardashian. She's big, overflowing even; and she reminds us all that women need not only become vessels for the unborn, we deserve and are entitled to maintain our identities through our personal style. And, ultimately, women's bodies get enough negative attention in the media (not to mention in politics), without having to suffer public prenatal judgement.

Much in the way Jessica Simpson and Kate Hudson were tortured in the media over their respective weight gains, there is an entire camp of (questionable) humans who disagree, and who throw women under the bus in exchange for page views. And they're, overwhelmingly, women themselves.







The style editor of the Huffington Post, who surely has spoken with Kim herself about her physical pregnancy symptoms, has helpfully road mapped a list of rules for Kim. With lots of do's and do not's regarding clothing tightness, silhouette, and length, it's faux-concern at its absolute purest and finest. Like, "I'm just being harshly judgmental because I'm worried about you." She even signs off her diatribe with this line: "Your bump will thank you." Last we checked, a woman's "bump" didn't have a mind of it's own.

A writer from The Sun (a UK paper) blasts Kim's sartorial maternity choices, at one point even saying that her black-and-white dress made her look "fresh from Sea World on a lunch date."

In an article on Fox News' online magazine called "Kim Kardashian's Pregnancy Style Problems…Solved!" an "Emmy-award winning stylist" named David Zyla takes Kim to task on her choices and "remedies" them. Hilariously, on the home page of his personal website lives the line: "Every person has the right to feel empowered and look fantastic."

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And the list goes on.

Kim eventually posted on her blog, "For any concern that my clothes are too tight, I have so many pieces custom fit for my growing body! They make pregnancy Spanx which are tight."

They really DO make maternity Spanx, and as for the question of whether or not they’re safe? Like any pregnancy question, it’s best to consult your personal doctor, lady who chose to pose it to the general public instead.

If criticizing Kim Kardashian’s choice to dress her growing body however she wants – the one that’s gestating an actual fetus as we write these words – isn’t enough to make you sick, people are now fat-shaming her, as well.





In Touch Weekly reports that Kim’s excessive gain could give her health problems, having responsibly NOT researched Kim’s actual weight NOR spoken to her actual doctor.



And the New York Post is thrilled to announce that Kim is gaining weight in preparation to shed it with a weight loss endorsement deal. They also include some choice words from fellow woman and fashion commentator Amy Tara Koch: “It’s like she’s trying to stuff 5 pounds of baloney into a 1-pound bag.”

Here's why we support and defend Kim's maternity style. And let’s emphasize again (and again, and again!) that when it comes to her own body, no woman should be shamed because of the way she dresses to feel confident.

(Gloria Steinem agrees. Helena Christensen is fuming mad. Molly Simms and Gwyneth Paltrow are in Kim's corner. Gwyneth Paltrow – she of the neurotic, $300 per day diet! Jenna Dewan defends her, too.)

Kim’s clothes are an expression of how much she seems to love her body. Going out on a limb here, but that’s a good example to set for young girls susceptible to image issues.

Incredibly successful maternity-wear designer Liz Lange said, “I love that her style is starting a dialogue about maternity fashion.” So do we.

Refusing to hide her changing body under the tent-like fashions of our parents’ generation gives us a real example of what an actual pregnant woman looks like. The more diverse examples, the merrier, we say.

Speaking of hiding, for those of you living under a rock, she's expecting a baby with her boyfriend, and her divorce was just finalized. Her flashy fashion choices tell us that she's got nothing to hide figuratively, either. Take that, hordes of unmarried men expecting babies who are never taken to task for it.

On a lighter note, as women with all different types of bodies, we appreciate the fashion inspiration. It's tough looking up to Gisele and Miranda Kerr.

It makes people uncomfortable to see someone doing something that they'd never do. Maybe it's jealousy--people wishing they had the gall to take a fashion risk. Maybe Kim's actions contrast deeply with what they were able to accomplish during their own experiences, whether for financial reasons or because of physical condition. Maybe it's societal pressure to put women in boxes--even pregnant women. Either way, it's a step backwards.





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