How Society and the Fashion World’s Attitudes Toward Pregnancy Changed and Why We Thank Rihanna for That

Pregnancy is always a special time in a woman’s life. It brings lots of hopes, worries, and, of course, changes to the body of the future mother. Before, it was called “a delicate condition” and women tried to hide their new bodies. But today, we see that pregnancy is not perceived as something secret. Pregnant stars wear all sorts of revealing clothes at red carpet events, appear on magazine covers, and share their honest photos online, with more and more women around the world joining this trend.

We at CHEERY decided to find out how the perception of pregnancy in the world of fashion has changed, and why women don’t hide their bellies now unless they want to.

Pregnancy is cute, but it’s not for everyone to see

For a long time, society expected pregnant ladies to behave a certain way. They were supposed to act and dress modestly. For centuries, there were unwritten rules stating that women had to change their wardrobes and lifestyles as soon as they found out they were pregnant. Any deviation from the norm looked very bold, if not shocking.

But a new wave of feminism and body positivity changed this attitude to pregnancy. We realized that the changes happening to women’s bodies are perfectly normal and natural. What can be more natural than the process of forming of a new life? So, why should women hide it?

Demi Moore challenges stereotypes

In 1991, actress Demi Moore decided to challenge traditions and people opinions. At the time, she was expecting a baby from Bruce Willis and decided to record the moment of her pregnancy for a Vanity Fair photo shoot. Legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz took the photos.

So, the magazine cover with Demi Moore on it became iconic for the world. Since then, the cover has been imitated by other stars — from Claudia Schiffer to Serena Williams. But despite being bold in the magazine, Demi Moore herself preferred wearing clothes that covered her tummy in her day-to-day life.

XXI changes attitudes toward pregnancy

In the modern world, it’s hard to surprise someone with a pregnant star on a magazine cover. Today, magazines prefer to tell the women’s stories, not just show their bellies. So, more and more celebrities talk about this new stage of life, destigmatizing this topic. Rapper Cardi B spoke openly about how hard pregnancy was on her body, and it resulted in a series of articles about body recovery after pregnancy in fashion magazines.

After that, TV star and model Chrissy Teigen shared the story of how she lost a child when she was 5 months pregnant, and then Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, shared a similar story. This helped make the topic less taboo. As is often the case, when these famous people shared their stories about overcoming these difficulties, it cheered up millions of fans and made the topic more popular. Of course, in this changing environment, the idea of hiding pregnant bellies began to feel silly, so outfits for pregnant women became more original and interesting.

Beyoncé as a mother

Beyoncé surprised people with her appearance at the 2017 Grammy Awards. 2 weeks prior to the event, the singer announced that she was pregnant with twins. Many people were worried she would not be able to take part in the ceremony. But the star promised that the show would be stunning. And she kept her word: her role in the show was one of the most discussed events of the night.

Beyoncé devoted her entire performance to motherhood. On the stage, she wore a golden semi-transparent dress you could see her rounded tummy through. She also wore a crown with a halo design on her head. One of the most moving moments of the show was when the singer’s mother and daughter appeared on the stage. It symbolized the continuity of generations.

But despite wearing such a revealing outfit during her performance, Beyoncé wore a much simpler, yet still tight, dress when she accepted her Grammy Awards.

In short, even though women were able to express themselves on the stage and show their new bodies to the world, many of them still didn’t take risks in their everyday lives.

Rihanna changes the game

At the end of January 2022, Rihanna and her partner A$AP Rocky announced that they were expecting their first baby. They did it in a flashy way: they had a photo shoot in the middle of snowy Harlem. The future mother wore low-rise jeans and a bright-pink Chanel down jacket with massive chains on her naked tummy. With her outfit, Rihanna was saying, “Yes, I’m pregnant now, but I’m not going to change my clothes or my lifestyle.” It was a bold move because before her, stars usually announced that they were pregnant wearing white dresses, possibly because white can symbolize light and purity.

So, very quickly, Rihanna single-handedly managed to rewrite the rules of fashion for pregnant women by wearing casual clothes instead of appearing in an extravagant maternity outfit. In one of her interviews, she said, “When I found out I was pregnant, I thought to myself, there’s no way I’m going to go shopping in no maternity aisle. I’m sorry—it’s too much fun to get dressed up. I’m not going to let that part disappear because my body is changing.” By the way, her footwear of choice is still a four-inch stiletto heel.

“My body is doing incredible things right now, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that.”

When you look at the new outfits Rihanna is wearing in public, you realize that she doesn’t hide her tummy, but instead, she attracts attention to it. Not caring about how other people might judge her, she wears crop-tops, low-rise skirts and jeans, and transparent dresses. It’s obvious that she’s enjoying her new condition and not trying to hide it.

Of course, some people online think her clothes are inappropriate. But fortunately, most of Rihanna’s fans absolutely love her new outfits because she is still a beautiful woman, sensitive, and strong, and with a tummy now.

This is what Rihanna says about how she feels about pregnancy: “I’m enjoying not having to worry about covering up my tummy. If I feel a little chubby, it’s like, whatever! It’s a baby! I hope we can reconsider the ’norm’ for pregnant women. My body is doing incredible things, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that. This should be a celebration. Why should I hide my pregnancy?”

Of course, this new life stage is not all that easy for the star. She also struggles at times, like any pregnant woman. But fashion helps her at moments like these because bright makeup and stylish clothes are what make her stronger. She says, “Right now, being pregnant, some days you just feel like, ’Ugh, I just want to lay here on this couch all day.’ But when you put on a little face and a little lipstick, you transform.”

Pregnancy is beautiful

By setting new trends in many areas, from music to the beauty industry, Rihanna has become a positive example: now, women don’t have to be scared to be themselves when they are pregnant. They don’t have to follow meaningless fashion rules. They don’t need to hide their tummies or stop wearing stylish outfits or buy oversized clothes from maternity shops if they don’t want to. Now, modern pregnant women can wear the same clothes as other women, with just a little more comfort.

Have you noticed a change in how we treat pregnancy and the clothes that future mothers wear?