“”

Women's Health, Your Way

February 17, 2026

Ask & Search With Clara

Welcome to a new standard for women’s health answers.

BODYTALK / Rihanna is Being Shamed for her Post-Baby Body and Litera...

Rihanna is Being Shamed for her Post-Baby Body and Literally WTF?

Rihanna is Being Shamed for her Post-Baby Body and Literally WTF?

Rihanna is a music icon, a beauty mogul, a mom of three and a self-made billionaire…but she’s also a woman, which means no matter what she does or accomplishes, the world seems to think the most interesting thing about her is her body. And the world also seems to think that body is a thing they’re allowed to comment on publicly.

 

An account recently shared a photo of the singer at the airport carrying her son. It’s bad enough that someone snapped a photo of a mom in the wild just trying to get from point A to point B with her child in her arms. But what came next is just….blood boiling, at least to me. 

 

“I can see why people leave their partners after birth,” a commenter wrote. Seriously?!?! The woman had a baby five months ago, but that’s not even the point here. The point is that speaking about a woman — any woman — this way is just beyond ugly. 

 

Seriously, this is exhausting. Did we all just collectively forget that having a child is meant to change a woman’s body? Did we forget that even in the absence of pregnancy and childbirth, bodies change over time? Did we forget that people are going to look different at an airport as opposed to all done up and airbrushed in red carpet photos?  Did we forget that aging is a normal thing?

 

We have always held women to impossible standards, and people have always felt entitled to comment on women’s bodies and looks. But with the rise of Botox, fillers, plastic surgery, filtering photos, and the like, I feel we’ve created an even more unrealistic set of beauty and physical standards…and these comments are proof.

 

One commenter said it best: “She looks like a mom who is having a great time with her son. A father should see this as thr [sic] ultimate picture of beauty”.

 

More from BODYTALK

I’m in a Facebook group full of smart, kind, successful women. And every year, after a holiday like Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day — a day meant to center women... Read more
When I first heard of James Van Der Beek’s passing, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Obviously, I didn’t know the actor. I wasn’t even a... Read more
Earlier this month, the New York Times opinion section ran a headline that made many parents — myself included — balk. "The Secret to Marriage Equality is Baby Formula," the... Read more
Sometimes it feels like everything I enjoy is deemed "bad for you". But finally, a piece of news I can get behind: That "I probably should stop but I really... Read more
I'm just a smidge over five feet tall, so when I got pregnant with twins, everyone's immediate reaction was the same. "You're so tiny," they'd say. How are you going... Read more
It’s hard to scroll social media without coming across a video from a creator who “prioritizes protein” or has a strict daily protein goal.  These creators will show us all... Read more
When I was going through infertility, hearing friends announce their own pregnancies felt like salt being poured into my wounds. It wasn’t just painful, it was uncomfortable. I felt like... Read more
I'll admit it: When I first started hearing the phrase "I'm just a girl" on social media, I was fully on board. It felt like the cute, cheeky reclamation of... Read more
I just came across a story of a mother who came close to terminating her pregnancy due to how debilitating her symptoms of hyperemesis gravidarum were. And in my opinion,... Read more

Snowed In and Slowed Down

I’m writing to you from my house, which is where I’ve been snowed in for the past five days (and counting). The weather in my city is bad enough that... Read more