Photographer Natalie McCain makes work that is both inspiring and crushing. This Florida mother of two has made headlines in the past for the “Honest Body Project,” a series of portraits of real mothers’ bodies that aren’t photoshopped, airbrushed, or perfect. But in her latest series, “Speaking Out: A Series on Judgment and Being Shamed,” it’s the heartbreaking and real stories behind the photographs that are getting the attention. Speaking with CafeMom, McCain said of the project, “One of the most important things I have learned since beginning of ‘The Honest Body Project’ is that you truly never know what someone else has been through.” Some women in the series were shamed for giving birth while overweight; others, for being too skinny. The most common story, however, is that each of these women was told by somebody else that she wasn’t good enough. As she explains to McCain, “The questionable looks when I tell someone that he’s diabetic, comments like, ‘Well it’s because you have diabetes, right?’ No, I do not. ‘But you had to have had at least gestational diabetes…’ No, I did not. Not with any of my children. ‘So, what did you eat while you were pregnant for this to happen?’ Nothing I ate caused this.” “Even if you do everything right, breastfeed, formula feed, skinny or not, work or stay home, bad things can still happen,” she says. “We need to support each other no matter what our size is, no matter the circumstances.” “I know all moms have felt judged at one point, either for their bodies, lifestyles, etc.,” she tells CafeMom. “Parenting is hard enough without being shamed. I hoped that this series would inspire women to think twice before judging others.” More from CafeMom: Photographer Transforms Newborns into Tiny Disney Princesses & the Results are Magical For the mom-of-two pictured here, her insecurity came from others’ judgment of her sexual orientation. More from CafeMom: 10 Moms Confess How They Really Feel About Little Girls Wearing Bikinis “‘Is he your first?’ ‘Yes, and our last.’ Cue the ‘Yeah right’ look … or my favorite line, ‘Oh, you’ll change your mind when he is older.’ No. I will not change my mind. I have a disabled husband who is medically retired from the US Army. I already take care of two people every day,” she explains to McCain. “My boy will be just fine. He is loved beyond belief. He has cousins. He will have classmates. He will have friends. My husband and I won’t have to struggle nearly as much to pay for tumble class, or daycare, or soccer camp, or whatever it is that he excels at in the future because we will be able to nurture his talents and gifts fully, without sacrificing … Financial stability is important for my family. Being a family of three secures that for us.” “I am a gregarious, smart, and funny person. I also have a really big butt. I didn’t know I had a really big butt until I was in fifth grade, and that’s when several other girls made sure they told me I had a big butt; every day, several times a day, as meanly as possible.” “I tried to hide it; big shirts, long, full skirts, never walk away from someone, dark pants, stuff like that. I even talked to a plastic surgeon when I was in college about reducing the size. Imagine my surprise when he said, no, he could not; he would have to remove muscle, and that doesn’t lead to being able to walk well.” More from CafeMom: Mom Issues a Heartbreaking Plea to Parents: Teach Your Kids About Differences “Right about the time I had come to the conclusion that I was grossly deformed, Sir Mix-a-Lot came out with my theme song, ‘Baby Got Back,’ and I realized that maybe my butt wasn’t so gross after all. Suddenly, the big butt was the big thing to have! Butt not big enough? You can by underwear with extra butt cheeks added in! I was stunned! More songs followed, Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ got lots of airplay, movies hired actresses with booties, and jeans now fit.” More from CafeMom: This Mom Recreated Shots of Hilda, the Original Plus-Size Pinup & It’s Glorious “No matter what, none of us will never good enough for this world. The grass isn’t ever greener. You’re either too skinny or too fat; your butt is too big or it’s too small; your breasts are too big or not perky enough or you’re flat chested; you’re too muscular and look ‘manly’ because you work out or you’re fat and lazy because you don’t work out. You will never be good enough for them so we have to be good enough for ourselves.” “Pregnancy gifted my body with a 52-pound weight gain along with deflated, saggy breasts that I often equate to flapjacks, and a serious chip on my shoulders about not staying dedicated to health and fitness during pregnancy,” she tells McCain. “I was stuck in this world of comparison. I compared my weight to other women’s weights. I compared what I ate and even the vitamins I took to other pregnant women.” “Even after recently losing 25 pounds, I still cannot see a beautiful woman in the mirror,” she reveals, “but I never struggle finding the beauty in other women and often am envious of it; often saying that all women are amazing and should be appreciated and respected no matter their sizes or shapes. My story is ongoing, because I am a self-body-shamer working to dig out of the deep abyss that is body shaming.” More from CafeMom: Mom’s Bikini Transformation Will Give You More Than Just ‘Body Goals’ “I receive so many messages from women; often times they are sharing things they’ve never shared with another person,” she tells CafeMom. “I felt compelled to create a series where women were speaking out about being shamed in hopes that it would inspire others to do so in their personal lives.” To see more of Natalie’s work, you can visit thehonestbodyproject.com or pre-order her book available everywhere August 15.
title: “Moms Speak Out About Being Judged In Raw Photo Series” ShowToc: true date: “2024-09-13” author: “William Rushing”
Photographer Natalie McCain makes work that is both inspiring and crushing. This Florida mother of two has made headlines in the past for the “Honest Body Project,” a series of portraits of real mothers’ bodies that aren’t photoshopped, airbrushed, or perfect. But in her latest series, “Speaking Out: A Series on Judgment and Being Shamed,” it’s the heartbreaking and real stories behind the photographs that are getting the attention. Speaking with CafeMom, McCain said of the project, “One of the most important things I have learned since beginning of ‘The Honest Body Project’ is that you truly never know what someone else has been through.” Some women in the series were shamed for giving birth while overweight; others, for being too skinny. The most common story, however, is that each of these women was told by somebody else that she wasn’t good enough. As she explains to McCain, “The questionable looks when I tell someone that he’s diabetic, comments like, ‘Well it’s because you have diabetes, right?’ No, I do not. ‘But you had to have had at least gestational diabetes…’ No, I did not. Not with any of my children. ‘So, what did you eat while you were pregnant for this to happen?’ Nothing I ate caused this.” “Even if you do everything right, breastfeed, formula feed, skinny or not, work or stay home, bad things can still happen,” she says. “We need to support each other no matter what our size is, no matter the circumstances.” “I know all moms have felt judged at one point, either for their bodies, lifestyles, etc.,” she tells CafeMom. “Parenting is hard enough without being shamed. I hoped that this series would inspire women to think twice before judging others.” More from CafeMom: Photographer Transforms Newborns into Tiny Disney Princesses & the Results are Magical For the mom-of-two pictured here, her insecurity came from others’ judgment of her sexual orientation. More from CafeMom: 10 Moms Confess How They Really Feel About Little Girls Wearing Bikinis “‘Is he your first?’ ‘Yes, and our last.’ Cue the ‘Yeah right’ look … or my favorite line, ‘Oh, you’ll change your mind when he is older.’ No. I will not change my mind. I have a disabled husband who is medically retired from the US Army. I already take care of two people every day,” she explains to McCain. “My boy will be just fine. He is loved beyond belief. He has cousins. He will have classmates. He will have friends. My husband and I won’t have to struggle nearly as much to pay for tumble class, or daycare, or soccer camp, or whatever it is that he excels at in the future because we will be able to nurture his talents and gifts fully, without sacrificing … Financial stability is important for my family. Being a family of three secures that for us.” “I am a gregarious, smart, and funny person. I also have a really big butt. I didn’t know I had a really big butt until I was in fifth grade, and that’s when several other girls made sure they told me I had a big butt; every day, several times a day, as meanly as possible.” “I tried to hide it; big shirts, long, full skirts, never walk away from someone, dark pants, stuff like that. I even talked to a plastic surgeon when I was in college about reducing the size. Imagine my surprise when he said, no, he could not; he would have to remove muscle, and that doesn’t lead to being able to walk well.” More from CafeMom: Mom Issues a Heartbreaking Plea to Parents: Teach Your Kids About Differences “Right about the time I had come to the conclusion that I was grossly deformed, Sir Mix-a-Lot came out with my theme song, ‘Baby Got Back,’ and I realized that maybe my butt wasn’t so gross after all. Suddenly, the big butt was the big thing to have! Butt not big enough? You can by underwear with extra butt cheeks added in! I was stunned! More songs followed, Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ got lots of airplay, movies hired actresses with booties, and jeans now fit.” More from CafeMom: This Mom Recreated Shots of Hilda, the Original Plus-Size Pinup & It’s Glorious “No matter what, none of us will never good enough for this world. The grass isn’t ever greener. You’re either too skinny or too fat; your butt is too big or it’s too small; your breasts are too big or not perky enough or you’re flat chested; you’re too muscular and look ‘manly’ because you work out or you’re fat and lazy because you don’t work out. You will never be good enough for them so we have to be good enough for ourselves.” “Pregnancy gifted my body with a 52-pound weight gain along with deflated, saggy breasts that I often equate to flapjacks, and a serious chip on my shoulders about not staying dedicated to health and fitness during pregnancy,” she tells McCain. “I was stuck in this world of comparison. I compared my weight to other women’s weights. I compared what I ate and even the vitamins I took to other pregnant women.” “Even after recently losing 25 pounds, I still cannot see a beautiful woman in the mirror,” she reveals, “but I never struggle finding the beauty in other women and often am envious of it; often saying that all women are amazing and should be appreciated and respected no matter their sizes or shapes. My story is ongoing, because I am a self-body-shamer working to dig out of the deep abyss that is body shaming.” More from CafeMom: Mom’s Bikini Transformation Will Give You More Than Just ‘Body Goals’ “I receive so many messages from women; often times they are sharing things they’ve never shared with another person,” she tells CafeMom. “I felt compelled to create a series where women were speaking out about being shamed in hopes that it would inspire others to do so in their personal lives.” To see more of Natalie’s work, you can visit thehonestbodyproject.com or pre-order her book available everywhere August 15.
