"I know someone who I think of as being very traditional in her views of gender roles. But, she believes pregnancy is a fundamentally ugly thing, and that pregnant women should do everything they can to hide the changes that they are going through.

After much conversation, I came to realize that these views are tied in with this person's association of the celebration of pregnancy with the sexist idea that women are just 'baby-making machines', i.e. that the proper role of women is just to be pregnant. Given this individual's otherwise traditional views of gender roles, I was a little surprised to realize that her very negative views of the pregnant body's appearance is, in a sense, an expression of her feminism.

Those who view pregnancy as beautiful (as I do) she views as disrespecting women via their aesthetic response. I was fascinated - I had simply never thought about it that way, but I suppose I can see where she is coming from. I do not see that however as the direction that feminism (at least in the US) has generally gone - somehow, our culture has come to increasingly view pregnancy as a beautiful thing which need not be hidden (as though that were even possible), while simultaneously respecting the role of women in the workforce, in higher education and academia, in politics, and other positions of power. Our culture doesn't seem to view these two things as existing in tension.

I would assume much has been written about the aesthetics of pregnancy in the context of feminist ideals, but I can't say I've read it or even know where to begin. I think some background on that would be very helpful."

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