While Vogue and health organizations struggle to promote a healthier lifestyle among fashion models, celebrities continue to face a lot of pressure from people asking them to conform to impossible beauty standards. Such was the case of former Miss World Aishwarya Rai who was recently criticized in India for not losing baby weight, says Us Weekly.
Getting back in shape after a pregnancy is the aspect that women fear the most when it comes to having a baby. As if the slimming process was not hard enough, there is also the external pressure coming from people who are quick to judge. For celebrities, it’s even worse and some of them defy all medical rules by starving themselves to death in order to lose baby weight in less than one month.
Recent comments that Aishwarya Rai’s Indian fans have made in relation to her post-baby body have opened another Pandora’s box of pregnancy debates. Bloggers and online users argue that Rai is taking too long to lose the kilograms she gained during pregnancy and this affects her career. They also mentioned the fact that Aishwarya is a Bollywood actress, not to mention a former Miss World, and therefore, it is her duty to make sure she looks perfect all the time.
Drawing a parallel between their culture and the Western society, Indian fans wrote on their websites that the actress should follow the example of American celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Victoria Beckham. The two Western stars managed to regain their skinny figures in just a couple of weeks, but the ironic thing is that they are constantly criticized for being too slim and anorexic.
One Indian site created a cruel video of Aishwarya juxtaposing images of her before and after the baby and accompanying the photos with the sound of elephants trumpeting. The actress, however, ignored the harsh criticism and declared that she prefers to enjoy her motherhood for the moment instead of focusing on her weight.
Despite the negative remarks, there have been people who tried to defend the former Miss World. They all stated that Rai is a human being, so she doesn’t have to look perfect all the time. Besides, the new mother should worry more about her health and her baby’s health instead of following drastic diets.
