# You're pregnant? No, really? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 19, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004 "2006-03-19T16:08:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/41 "2006-03-20T16:12:21Z")
> [@Aangelica](#): > > Since **Chefguy’s** location is listed as Alaska, and it’s mid-March, and the only cities that are at all likely have an opera are Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, that makes the weather _itself_ unsuitable for wearing a crop-anything, let alone a crop top. Venue aside, it smacks of straight up attention whoring. As I recall, March even in southern Alaska is generally not the time or place to be wearing cropped clothing. > > I’m not a big fan of anyone, pregnant or not, letting their bellies hang out all over the place (if, that is, the word “hang” can be applied to your belly). I just find it tacky and don’t care to see it. In my personal opinion, it’s a bad look for everyone, everywhere. It either makes you look like a hooker/stripper or it makes your ensemble smack of trailer trash. The look itself is inherently in poor taste. That is just my opinion. > > Doing it in late winter in Alaska makes you a moron, too. > > A quick check indicates that on Saturday (the most likely day for the opera viewing), the weather in those three cities was as follows: > > Juneau: High of 23 degrees, low of 0 degrees. > Anchorage: High of 23 degrees, low of 11 degrees. > Fairbanks: High of 21 degrees, low of -17 degrees. > > Since operas tend to take place in the later evening, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the stupid bint was running around with her belly bared in an absolute maximum temperature of 15 degrees F. Next time she can put on a freaking sweater. If her belly button is so sensitive she simply can’t wear anything on her swollen tummy, then stay the hell home. It was a particularly bitter evening, despite the warmer temps. There was a stiff wind blowing off Cook Inlet which probably dropped the windchill to zero or below. It wasn’t an opera, since I would rather be flayed alive than go to one. Just a symphony concert. **Waverly** : hairline comment already discussed. **kaiwik** : been to your fair island in the past. Like most “bush” communities, dress codes don’t exist and sometimes dress is optional altogether. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/42 "2006-03-20T16:33:42Z")
Pregnancy has the major effect of making your clothes no longer fit. Not everyone can or wants to buy a whole new supersized wardrobe for a few months- especially when they live in a climate where their clothing is likely to be covered by heavy jackets and perhaps they blew their clothing wad buying a heavy jacket that can accommodate a pregnant woman. It’s just skin. It’s not gonna kill you. Everyone on this earth doesn’t exist to make your life more attractive. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/43 "2006-03-20T16:49:26Z")
You don’t want to spend a fortune on maternity clothes? Great, buy a few men’s t-shirts and sweatshirts. Don’t want to buy them at full-price? Go to a thrift store; you’re not going to be wearing them for long in any case. I know women who never buy a single article of maternity clothing who nevertheless never let their bare belly hang out. In any weather. It’s just not necessary. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/44 "2006-03-20T17:00:28Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > You know Chefguy, the more I simmer over this, the more elitist and misogynist you smell to me. > > If your local symphony orchestra is actually bringing in dudes in harley shirts and chicks in tube tops–knocked up or un–more fucking power to them. That’s spectacular! No symphony orchestra on the planet would NOT see that as a huge success! If I were involved with this orchestra, and I saw an audience of types other than be-formalled WASPs, I’d have an orgasm. So there’s the elitism I smell coming off you. > > And if your issue is NOT one of class–if the harley shirt and sweats is OK And suspenders are WAY lower-class than a belt, unless they have little whales on them. Did they have little whales on them?), but a pregnant woman NOT attired in floorlength black is not, then there’s some pretty explicit misogyny there dude. > > I roll my eyes just as violently as the next person whenever my friend’s sister, the crystal and labrys, Ramtha disciple, non-bathing exstremist goes on and on about the fertility earth mother goddess inside every womyn, but dude I think you have some freudian digging to do. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has a one-night-per-week after work symphonic “sampler” program designed to draw new listeners. Casual dress is fine for those performances. Maybe this is something along those lines? Though I agree it’s a bit over the top to have the belly hanging out. But that counts for any public space that isn’t a beach. It’s just a bit much. ---
**Author:** ![kaiwik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaiwik/32/3978_2.png) [@kaiwik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaiwik)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/45 "2006-03-20T17:02:23Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > **kaiwik** : been to your fair island in the past. Like most “bush” communities, dress codes don’t exist and sometimes dress is optional altogether. True. We do have an active Arts Council and they bring in some great entertainment. There is the social tier in Kodiak who insist on putting on formals, furs and dripping diamonds while being escorted by their men in tuxes, while being seated next to fishermen straight off the boat in their carharts and Xra Tuffs, it’s quite an interesting sight. I love the Bush! ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/46 "2006-03-20T17:08:59Z")
What **Mama Tiger** said. No one is so poor that they can’t afford to get men’s clothes from Wal-Mart or the thrift store. Hell, pregnancy crisis centers and charities specifically collect maternity clothing. But hey, if you want to look like a two-bit whore with your belly hanging out, by all means do it. Just don’t expect a universally warm reaction. Robin ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/47 "2006-03-20T17:40:00Z")
Yeah, I agree that lack of funds doesn’t excuse being uncovered. My local Goodwill store has a nice selection of maternity clothes. You could probably get a decent maternity wardrobe there for under $50. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/48 "2006-03-20T17:51:44Z")
> [@Waverly](#): > > Explain this to the class, please. What is the relationship between the father’s hairline and the child’s academic progress? Read the thread again-someone asked that and he said it reminded him of the Geico commercial with the cavemen. You know, the low brow ridge, hairline-meets-eyebrows thing? ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/49 "2006-03-21T02:31:10Z")
Damnit, if pregnant women can run around showing their bellies and people deem it appropriate, then I demand the right to run around in public wearing shorts with unshaven legs and not get funny looks! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/50 "2006-03-21T03:51:38Z")
> [@even sven](#): > > It’s just skin. It’s not gonna kill you. Everyone on this earth doesn’t exist to make your life more attractive. No shit? Damn, what insight. Your mother must be so proud. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2006, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/51 "2006-03-21T06:34:05Z")
Here in Melbourne, it seems to be the attractive young yups who are exposing their bellies…sort of like a desire to revert to their gym days of showing their tanned and muscled tummies, only minus the muscle, and with added _linea nigra_!! They can certainly ‘afford’ maternity clothes, but they choose not to wear them. First time I saw one, I was aghast. Second time perplexed. Now, I just laugh and try to imagine the same tummy being exposed so gratuitously a week after birth, with the sagging skin and the encrustment from leaking milk!! Eh, you’ve gotta love new-mums. They provide so much amusement. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/52 "2006-03-22T00:33:54Z")
Wait a minute. I’m already living in mortal fear of my belly button popping out if I become pregnant (sorry, outties freak me out) and now I find out that it _hurts_, too?? Just kill me now. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/53 "2006-03-22T02:27:33Z")
It gets very sensitive because the skin is so thin there and clothing rubbing against it hurts. But like I said, use a band aid or a bit of moleskin, works wonders. ---
**Author:** ![ninevah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/46a35a/32.png) [@ninevah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ninevah)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2006, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/54 "2006-03-22T22:09:32Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I can only find [this](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/149064.stm) as an example, but British pop singer Melanie Blatt did a series of pregnant belly photos - in fact, she started the trend, that continued with several other knocked-up UK pop chickies - and I thought she looked sweet. **jjim** , while the link works, the pics on it don’t (which I think is what you were using as an example). ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/55 "2006-03-23T02:42:08Z")
I think the visible pregnant belly thing started maybe about 7 or 8 years ago. IIRC, The Enquirer and other celeb-watching magazines published pictures which showed pregnant celebrities who were not hiding their bellies, with captions pointing this out. As I remember, these ladies were casually dressed and out doing errands or something. They were usually maybe 5-6 months pregnant, and showing a few inches of skin between their shirts and pants. IMHO, they looked rather cute. I think it’s a good thing that pregnant women don’t feel they have to hide under maternity tents. Unfortunately, this trend has been taken way too far. There’s a big difference between a little pooched out second trimester belly and a straining at the seams 8-9 month belly. And there’s a big difference between showing a few inches and showing the whole darn thing. _Nobody_ should be showing their entire belly in most public situations. And while I appreciate that an opera in Alaska might have a different dress code (or lack thereof) than an opera at the Met, I think we can all agree that it’s best to err on the side of modesty. Actually, any situation where you’re going to be sitting in close proximity to strangers is a good time to dress modestly. I don’t really care if guys walk around in tank tops in the summertime, but I sure as heck don’t want to be crammed in next to a guy in a tank top on an airplane. on preview– **Viridiana** –FWIW, my belly button didn’t pop out, and it didn’t hurt. I think it just depends on the individual. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/56 "2006-03-24T10:39:12Z")
> [@RSSchen](#): > > You do realize that this phenomenon is not assigned only to pregnant women and beer-bellied guys, right? > > IMPE, there are men of a particular ethnicity that think it’s okay to walk through the mall or grocery store or _wherever_ absent-mindedly pulling up their shirts over their chests and gosh I don’t know exactly, but it appears as though they are stimulating themselves. God it makes me sick. I DON’T WANT TO SEE YOU IN ANY STATE OF UNDRESS IN PUBLIC! If you want to twiddle your nipples or stroke your belly, do it at home for crissakes! > > I only mention ethnicity because, again, IMPE, it has only been this one type of man that engage in this practice. > > _insert pukey smiley here_ OMG! You are right! How did I miss that trend right here in NZ when blokes of “certain” ethnicities where their t-shirts as hats! What you don’t know about the t-shirt as hats trend? I’m sorry I speak as a 39 yr old woman who frequently goes barefoot to the supermarket and comes from a “culture” where being barefoot is more something you are supposed to grow out of rather then something that is socially unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![rinni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f6c823/32.png) [@rinni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rinni)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004/57 "2006-03-24T13:58:46Z")
Here’s the best of both worlds. She could have dressed up AND had a comfortable, easy breezy belly. [You know you want one.](http://www.uglydress.com/pregpromdres.html) I don’t know, maybe I’m strange, but to me tube tops are beach wear/yard wear/house wear/you get the idea, with more slack given as summer draws nearer. Actually, a girl was in my place of employment today (a drugstore), in March and in the rain I might add, and as soon as she came in she removed her outer sweater and walked around the store in a top cropped just below her ribcage. It was weird. I mean, I don’t really actively care, but “WTF? It’s MARCH!!!” began running on a ticker along the bottom of my mind’s eye whenever she wandered into my view. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youre-pregnant-no-really/349004.md?page=2)