Rise of the Mum Bod!

Rebecca Reece
Aug 28, 2023
6 min read

Updated: Nov 14, 2024

The last few years, us ladies have celebrated the dad bod in all its forms. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing sexier than a stocky man.

Don’t get me wrong, we all love to look at a chiselled body, but when someone’s arms are wrapped around you in the ninja hug to beat all ninja hugs, you want to feel safe, comforted and like you could melt into them, and that my friends is what the dad bod brings in spades!

It most definitely rules!

It has been talked about for years now, with several of our favourite celebrities being photographed looking less than trim but rocking the change in shape like a King.

What that’s done for the dad bods in our everyday lives is let them know that actually, they don’t have to look like Thor to be a sexy little number.

Average is most definitely okay!

So, the question is, why as women do we still feel so pressured to have the perfect body, the most beautifully coiffed hair and clothes, and makeup that even the red carpet would be envious of?

Why are we still comparing ourselves to airbrushed, photoshopped unrealistic images of the female form and crucifying ourselves when we don’t match up to those impossibly high standards of beauty?

Since the dawn of time, the female form has been worshipped as something almost ethereal and divine. Artists have tried to duplicate its curves and musicians have sung about its beauty. From the exquisitely rounded renaissance bodies featuring heavily in paintings to the stunning marble statues of Ancient Greece, the female body was adored. Right up until the late 20th century, curves were an integral part of what made a woman sexy so what happened? Why did the divine feminine become androgenised and curves become a sin?

Talk to most men and they will tell you that the most attractive women have a little meat on their bones and curves on their hips and booty. Extensive research has been done and has confirmed that from a purely evolutionary point of view, curves subconsciously represent fertility and an ability to carry a pregnancy to term. Although the fashion industry has spent a couple of decades now trying to cite size 0 as sexy, the worlds women are fighting back, (go feminism – you are good for some things 😉), and the men in our lives have jumped on the bandwagon, confirming that actually, they like a curvy girl!

The mum bod is making headway and it's about time!

We can wax lyrical about the craziness that we have seen over the last 20 or so years, but the reality is, the fashion industry has created so much more than several generations of women who are uncomfortable in their own skin.

Eating disorders have doubled since the year 2000, with children as young as 8 years old being diagnosed with illnesses like anorexia.

The introduction of the internet has meant that we are bombarded constantly with imagery of models with perfect hair, makeup and figures, and then in the same moment, miracle cures for weight gain are thrown at us with the empty promises of extreme weight loss.

It’s a maelstrom of confusion, disorientation and distraction from what actually matters – learning to love yourself with all your imperfections and quirks because let's be honest, while you’re doubting you, the fashion and beauty industry is guaranteed to make a fortune.

Just think about what would happen if every woman let the need to be perfect go and just embraced her femininity,unique beauty and all those exquisite little imperfections that make her who she is.......

Don’t get me wrong, I am the first one to admit that I love getting dressed up.

I love how the right lipstick and dress make me feel. I love how slipping my feet into a pair of heels makes me stand just a little bit taller and makes me feel just a little bit sexier, but it's all just stuff. It means nothing in the grand scheme of things because sexy has never been what’s on the outside. It’s always been about so much more than physical beauty.

Sexy is an attitude and you cannot wear that. It doesn’t come in Gucci or Prada or Chanel. It isn’t perfume or lipstick or smoky eyes that promise nights of unbridled passion. It isn’t saying the right things or doing the right thing or being what society dictates.

It’s you.

You in all your quirky, peculiar and unconventional traits.

It's you being who you are even though you might say something that causes people to look at you strangely. Its admitting that you were today old when you realised something, even though you might worry you will look stupid. It's you being clumsy, being nerdy, being passionate about what you care about, dancing because the music moves you, singing because it makes you happy, laughing at inappropriate moments, crying because something moves you, fighting for the things you believe in even though people may stand against you.

It's you being you in all your imperfect perfection because that is what makes you truly beautiful. A size 6 waistline, no grey hair and perfect clothes and makeup isn’t what being a woman is about. Being a woman is about embracing everything that makes you who you are and owning it with a f*** you attitude!

Modern feminism seems intent on destroying traditional ideas of femininity and forgetting the incredible power that women have in a desperate bid to prove that we are as good or better than our male counterparts.

In that fight for equality, we seem to have lost the ability to see ourselves for those things that make us women and make us so much more than the sum of what people see every day.

We have the ability to grow life inside our bodies. To protect, feed and nurture a growing child to the point where it is ready to come out into the world.

This is no small feat!

We are nurturing with a natural impulse to protect, love and care for those around us that we love without even thinking about it. We can be the hunter gatherers, but we still fall into the role of the nurturer when we walk through our front doors.

We are the teacher, the lover, the peacemaker. We have so many facets as women, and we bring a balance that can be missing with just a masculine influence.

This is not to discredit how important a masculine influence within a family dynamic is, but modern feminism seems desperate to tell women that they can do it all and ignore the incredible things that they already do.

It seems desperate to imply that if you aren’t doing the things that men do, you are something less than a woman.

Women truly are incredible. They were before we were told that we had to be better than men and we will continue to be when we finally realise that we have nothing to prove!

I am the epitome of the mum bod. I have stretch marks from carrying two children and giving birth. Despite regularly attending the gym, I can’t get rid of my belly completely. I have freckles and

imperfections and on occasion, I can pinch an inch. My skin can be spotty, my feet are like a hobbit, (not hairy – just dry), I occasionally forget to shave my legs, but I am me.

I am this imperfect creature that laughs too much, drinks too much, gets passionate about what I believe in and loves my kids fiercely despite the fact they drive me bonkers at times!

I have learned not only to accept my mum bod, but to love it!

My mum bod carried four kids, two that sadly didn’t make it but are remembered with great love, and two who have enriched my life in more ways than I can even begin to express.

My mum bod has given me the physical strength to support my kids in my choice of work, the mental strength to support them through all the difficult times they have experienced, and the emotional strength to support myself through many difficult times.

My mum bod has harboured me through some incredibly hard times and celebrated some incredibly amazing moments with me.

My mum bod has been my saving grace in so many ways and its only now, at 46 years old that I am beginning to understand just how much it has actually done for me.