In May, we asked readers whether they shared the reaction of one of our staff members — Cherished Coworker — who wasn’t excited about seeing the belly button and linea negra of our cover model — Beautiful Pregnant Lady. Your letters were overwhelmingly positive, but three readers did write in to say, very politely, that they didn’t care for it.
Love the cover!
Why do we keep showing pregnant women in a way that most of us don’t really appear when pregnant? When I got pregnant, I had no idea that you got a line down your stomach because I’d never seen it before. And it’s disappointing and scary and you feel like you are the only person out there who isn’t amazingly perfect while with child.
— Tera Rogness, Minneapolis
Beautiful Pregnant Lady should be so proud of herself and her belly button! I have a 7-month-old daughter and still have a bit of my linea negra to remind me of the amazing thing my belly did! I think Cherished Coworker needs to get in touch with reality and get a little more comfortable with women.
— Katie Bird, St. Paul
Just wanted to show my support for the cover with the beautiful pregnant bellies! LOVE it!
— Melissa Batalden Mendez, MSW, LISW, Edina
Thank you for using such a real photo; real is pretty. I’m glad to give you the vote over Cherished Coworker who needs to put down the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and look at real beauty!
— Amy Schneider Purdy, St. Paul
Just to test your coworker’s theory on men being bothered by the photo, I left the magazine sitting with the mail so that my husband would see it. He did, immediately picked it up, said “Wow, those are some pregnant women!” and started paging through the magazine. I asked him what he thought of the cover. He didn’t really understand why I was asking the question, so I told him to read the editor’s letter. After reading it, his comment was “Good for her. Nice photo.” Granted, we have two kids, so my husband is pretty aware of what pregnant belly looks like. However, I would bet that if you are trying to increase male readership, you are targeting guys with kids, and that guys with kids probably have seen a pregnant woman’s stomach, but that is just a guess.
— Elissa Chaffee, Arden Hills
BPL is beautiful! So are the other two women on the cover. Hats off to Minnesota Parent for showing how wonderful it is to be that far along!
— Cynthia, St. Paul
I loved seeing the very pregnant, “real life” belly on the cover of Minnesota Parent. Just like the belly I had while pregnant with both of my boys.
Beautiful!
— Erika Scheurer, St. Paul
I have to say that I had a similar reaction [to Coworker’s] to this photo. After looking at it longer, I think you made the right choice. Covering BPL’s insecurities would make the picture look fake and by the way, she looks like a healthy woman!
— Rebecca Anderson, Plymouth
Yes, we need to see more photos of “real” bellies/pregnant women (protruding belly buttons and all) and yes, all three women are truly beautiful. Thank you for running this photo (and to the BPL for agreeing, given her reservations) and for not Photoshopping it.
My husband’s reaction when he saw the photo? “I thought you said you were going to do yoga when you were pregnant this time…” (Grrrrr — beside the point!)
— Julie Dukowitz, Brooklyn Park
I was out with my wife this past weekend and saw the magazine cover and immediately thought what beautiful women — belly buttons and all. Each of those women has new life, possibilities, love, and hope growing within them. I can’t picture anything more beautiful than that. I also can’t help but to think of all of the women that struggle with pregnancy or fertility that would long to have an ‘outie.’ In answer to Cherished Coworker’s challenge, you have attracted a new male reader.
— Brett Turner, Minneapolis
Not only are BPL’s belly button and linea negra beautiful, they are a desperately needed revelation of what women’s bodies can do! Birth isn’t bunnies and bottles, it is full, round, powerful bellies and the women that carry them. That POWER scares most people, so we tame it and airbrush it and cover it.
— Gina Picht, BPL’s doula, Eden Prairie
I do have to admit that my initial response was a quick intake of breath, probably kind of like your gasp. Like, “Wow, I can’t believe that’s the cover.” But then I immediately thought, “Why the hell not?? She’s pregnant, for Pete’s sake!!” As for this cover not attracting more male readers, that’s bogus. I’d like to think the real men who read this magazine are the ones who take their significant others as they are before, during, and after pregnancy, extra weight, linea negras, sagging nipples, and all!
— Lisa M. Bolt Simons, Faribault
If your potential Minnesota Parent male reader thinks all women really do like the Photo-shopped models we all are so accustomed to seeing on magazines and billboards everywhere, and is actually put off by this month’s cover, then he has a lot to learn.
Kudos to you for publishing this month’s beautiful cover!
— Jo Bernhardt, Minneapolis
I would like to bet that those three woman’s husbands or significant others love their bellies the way they are.
— Alice Anderson, Bloomington
I’m glad you didn’t pull the cover. A little linea negra and outie belly button is the real world and they look fabulous! Actually, from my own personal experience, looking at the outie belly button makes me want to grab my own (I’m not currently pregnant) and protect it from one of my kids accidentally touching it or brushing up against it because at that point in my pregnancies, it was very, very tender to the touch. I showed my husband the cover and asked him what he thought and he replied “Just fine.” We have three children so he’s seen it before.
— Jill Wallace, St. Paul
I am a director of an early learning center, as well as an expectant mother with my first child. How great that three beautiful pregnant ladies were on the front! I, too, flip through my pregnancy mags and have grown tired of preggies in the nude that have flawlessly been airbrushed. Kudos to you for recognizing that expectant women are real beauties, with their protruding navels, swollen feet, and all of the other blessings that come with the honor of becoming a mother.
— Amy Nelson, Maple Grove
I’m a male with a pregnant wife and I thought your cover was great! Quite an eye catcher, too, so I immediately focused on your editor’s note. My wife has an innie like the other two models, but the outie still captured my attention because it’s unusual to see a pregnant woman with a bared outie.
— Shawn Stanley, St. Louis Park
I read your editor’s note and laughed. Please tell the woman formerly known as Beautiful Pregnant Lady (now Gorgeous New Mom?) that it was not only a photo that brought a lot of nostalgia (my children are 7 and 9) but my first thought was, “How did she get her toe nails painted?!” More real moms (and dads) for the cover is a good thing. Keep up the great work and leave the airbrushing to someone else.
— Mary Cathryn D. Ricker, NBCT
You go girl —— I absolutely loved the cover this month! There is nothing more beautiful than a pregnant woman regardless if she has an innie or an outie.
— Ashley Maas, Brooklyn Park
Thank you for publishing the pregnant belly photo, it’s great! I looked at the cover, noticed the linea negra and navel and didn’t think a thing of it. I’m shocked this was even a question!
— Jennifer Cook, Maplewood
I think it is important to see real parents on your cover, not perfect looking airbrushed ones. Tell your male “Cherished Coworker” that that is certainly not the way to attract more readers of any kind! The Beautiful Pregnant Lady is just that — real and beautiful. Real pregnancy involves real bodily changes — an outie belly button and linea negra being just a few of those.
— Joanna Genovese-Cairns, Apple Valley
Not so much
I have to side with Cherished Coworker. I gasped when I pulled the magazine out of my mailbox. Just not something I want to see. I have seen many pregnant bellies and do not desire to see them on the cover of Minnesota Parent.
— Julie Plante, Minneapolis
Pregnancy brings out the best in women and sometimes the worst. That woman should not have believed that picture was her best. The real world is real enough, no airbrushing needed, but she should have covered up.
— Corrine Rudnick
