Why Are Jennifer Lawrence And Rihanna's Postpartum Physiques Being Reported On So Differently By The Media?

Jennifer Lawrence once said she was never really interested in marriage until she met Cooke Maroney; they married in 2019 and when she became pregnant, she expressed that she wanted to keep their child shielded from the overbearing press that always has their eyes (and cameras) on celebrities like her. Rihanna and her boyfriend A$AP Rocky announced her pregnancy in January and she was seen in several different public appearances with her baby bump throughout the pregnancy. However, as the new moms have been seen out and about since their babies were born, the media has been crafting very different headlines about the two celebrities.

Why Are Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna's Postpartum Physiques Being Reported on So Differently by the Media?

Any mom knows how difficult it can be for your body to adjust to motherhood. So much changes in your body in such a short amount of time, especially during the postpartum phase. Jennifer, 32, stepped out in New York City on Tuesday with her husband for a date night at Strip House restaurant. She wore a floral dress with spaghetti straps, an olive handbag, and red strappy sandals with kitten heels. She wore minimal makeup and her long hair fell down around her shoulders in soft waves.

The Daily Mail reported on the couple's outing and the headline read, "Jennifer Lawrence looks incredible in a mini floral dress just six months after welcoming her first child as she steps out for a date with husband Cooke Maroney." The first paragraph read, "New mom Jennifer Lawrence showed off her slender post-baby body."

It's interesting to see headlines like this about her postpartum figure when just a few days ago, the media was reporting on Rihanna's postpartum body in a very different way. One headline read, "Rihanna flaunts her post pregnancy weight" while another said, "Rihanna embraces her thickness."

It's a very different coverage indeed. While Jennifer's postpartum body was called "incredible" and "slender," Rihanna's "thickness" and "post pregnancy weight" were emphasized. It leaves us with the eternal question of why a mother's postpartum body even needs to be pointed out in the first place. Why can't both women simply step out on the street normally and simply be called new moms who are enjoying life?

It points to a common obsession in our culture with both the pregnant and postpartum body. Mothers already have enough happening in their body with rapidly changing hormones, healing from birth, a lack of sleep, and breastfeeding a new baby; there doesn't need to be scrutiny over whether a woman is looking "slender" or not after they've had their baby. Snapback culture is still alive and well, when new mothers should actually be supported and encouraged in their postpartum process.