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AIBU?

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Original poster

If it's so normal for women to have stretch marks on their stomach after childbirth...

35 replies

sundayrose10 · 15/03/2011 02:13

why don't women show them more? I mean dress in mid tops, bikinis etc. By hiding them, it's like a dirty little secret.

What happens when you start dating? (if you're single) wouldn't it take your partner by surprise? by showing them with ease, everyone knows where they stand.

OP posts:
Bubbaluv · 15/03/2011 02:21

I've never met a woman who actively shows of her less attractive bits in the hope of finding a partner.
Personally don't think women over about 25 should wear mid-tops anyway (judgeypants are fine thoughWink)
Would you also wear no makeup?
I'm a spanx addict so clearly we are coming at this from different angles!

lubeybooby · 15/03/2011 02:26

I happily wear a bikini despite not having anything like a bikini body but wouldn't have them on display any other time apart from in the privacy of my own home/bedroom. Couldn't imagine for example being sat in a pub or in a park in the UK in a top that shows midriff

Bubbaluv · 15/03/2011 02:31

I live by the beach here in Aus and I see bikinis on stretch-marked bellies all the time to be fair.
Also stretch marked boobs on show. You just need to pick your beach by it's demographic. I don't go to Bondi much any more because everyone is just so bloody young and gorgeous. There are other beaches though were you would think it was compulsory to have a child and then I feel much more comfortable.

MadamDeathstare · 15/03/2011 02:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lubeybooby · 15/03/2011 02:32

I was single for 3 years and never met a man that was shocked/surprised/bothered by them. I think apart from really young men it's kind of expected when they know you have kids

Bubbaluv · 15/03/2011 02:37

True MDS, we fear women's disaproval.
On the other hand, my DH knows where all my stretch marks are and flabby bits, but he def appreciates that I make an effort to look as good as I can in public. Men are very visual and while I'm no trophy wife, I think many men like their partner to take some care to highlight their best bits rather than their flaws.
God that sounds old fashioned!
I would hate it if my husband actively showed of his worst bits rather than dressing in a more flattering way - so I guess we're evenly vain?

Underachieving · 15/03/2011 02:40

You have a point actually sundayrose10, if the world were a better place we would celebrate womens bodies post-childbirth as a reminder of the miracle of birth... But it isn't, and we don't, aspiring instead that we should all somehow preserve our physical selves at 22 and childless. It is sad, because having stretch marks after a baby is just natural. I consider mine to be the mark my DD1 left with me and as such they are something I can feel warm and fuzzy about... As long as no one with judgeypants on is looking.

samay · 15/03/2011 05:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

pallymama · 15/03/2011 06:00

If I had a lovely flat tummy to display them on, I would! It's not my stretch marks, it's the flabby overhung they're on that I don't want on display. Blush

PigValentine · 15/03/2011 06:47

Shock samay! How rude!

linziluv · 15/03/2011 06:56

I don't call mine stretch marks, they're "mummy marks" actually! I show mine with pride and don't give a monkey's! Not that I'd wear crop tops at the mo but that's more the muffin top than stretch marks!

FabbyChic · 15/03/2011 06:58

My son has stretch marks from weight training, whilst he wears vests in the gym he wouldn't go for a night out with his stretch marks on display and actively tries to treat them/minimise them with creams.

It's a personal thing, personally I see no reason to display them, they are ugly.

FreudianSlippery · 15/03/2011 07:01

I don't like women showing their midriffs at any time tbh, whether they have the perfect body or not! I'm not a prude generally, just don't see the need for it. Not even that keen on bikinis, it's like walking around in your underwear Confused even if I had my ideal figure I would still wear a tankini/normal swimsuit.

AmandaCooper · 15/03/2011 07:08

I have no stretchmarks as I have no children, but I wouldn't dream of bearing my midriff in public. I'm not 16 years old.

FreudianSlippery · 15/03/2011 07:08

Btw that's not to say that women shouldn't feel comfortable about stretchmarks - I totally agree with that part! They are just a natural occurrence. DH doesn't have a problem with them at all either, to him they're just proof of the wonderful babies we've produced :)

ChippyMinton · 15/03/2011 07:27

i am fortunate to have no stretchmarks but i still wouldnt show my miidriff as its unseemly Hmm

DilysPrice · 15/03/2011 13:29

I'm with Chippy Minton, I'm genetically immune to stretch marks, but I'm also 40, and my cutoff date for midriff flashing is decades gone.

Honeybee79 · 15/03/2011 13:31

Why would I want to show off my stretchmarks?

And showing off your midriff in public when you're over the age of 18 is just not classy (unless on a beach).

LaWeasel · 15/03/2011 13:34

Showing your belly whilst not at the beach/pool is surely a non-issue. It's not fashionable to wear clothes cut like that atm and hasn't been for a good decade or so, so anyone that did no matter the belly would look intensely odd.

FWIW, I have stretchmarks on my thighs for puberty, and surgery scars on my belly, neither bother me particularly, but they are not areas I often have on show!

ragged · 15/03/2011 13:35

I like stretchmarks. I think they're pretty. No need to hide.

bronze · 15/03/2011 13:35

I don't need a crop top to show off my stretch marks. I have them on the backs of my knees.
I'm c

bronze · 15/03/2011 13:36

overed in them
bum boobs thighs stomach backs of knees yo uname it its probably marked

LaWeasel · 15/03/2011 13:36

Can't believe your sonographer samay! Mine insisted I was going to need extra scans as I was underweight, even though I kept telling her I wasn't - my midwife rang her and told her where to go in the end!

BettyCash · 15/03/2011 13:37

I don't love stretchmarks and I wouldn't show them off but I won't hide them either... IYSWIM

slightlymad72 · 15/03/2011 13:44

I don't have stretchmarks, I have a road map of Europe including all minor roads,stretching from my boobs to my knees, the only time I would reveal them is if someone wanted directions.