Boudoir for Mamas
Ditch your pre-conceived notions about bodies that are post-conception! Boudoir is for everyone… even and especially for mothers.
One of the hesitations I hear from women who would love to do a boudoir photo session but have yet to make the leap, is fear that pregnancy or having a post-partum body means they don’t deserve to be sexy. These ideas are rooted in harmful beliefs perpetuated by capitalism, which is constantly trying to get us to fight against the natural progress of our lives. You don’t lose your sexiness or sensuality after you get pregnant or have a baby. It is natural for every body to change over time – whether you have a baby or don’t.
But for moms, there is added pressure to “get your body back” (ahem, you never lost your body, it literally just created life) or to otherwise appear as if you never had a baby. This is a standard with impossible-to-meet expectations that suck the joy out of women’s lives, and add more pressure to the already-enormous list of demands put on all of us.
You might not initially think of a boudoir session for yourself as a radical act of rebellion – our culture often demands that women be sexy, and then condemns us for doing so by calling us shallow or conceited – but showing up as yourself, to celebrate the body you live in, is giving a middle finger to a world in which we are constantly being told to be invisible unless we are serving others.
Throughout your pregnancy and after having your baby, your body will change. Being able to frame that as a good thing, should be a no-brainer, and would be if it weren’t for the oppressive systems working against us. Curves and extra softness that you didn’t have before getting pregnant are signs that your body is doing its job to grow your baby. The stretch marks you may have after bringing another human being into this world are all moments where your body made room for a miracle.
No part of that needs to be hidden, and it doesn’t disqualify you from experiencing a boudoir photo session. You are deserving, worthy and taking the time for yourself can help you to reconnect to your body as you step into a new chapter of your life.
It’s okay if you don’t walk into the studio with rock-solid confidence. It is a boudoir team’s job and passion to get you there. With professional pampering like hair and makeup, and the supportive guidance of a skilled photographer who can capture your favorite parts of you (and show the parts of you that you might struggle to love, in a new and flattering way), you can give yourself permission to thank and appreciate your body for all it has done and will do for you.
