For centuries, the existence of the female body has been viewed by some as a “problem.” Some women’s bodies are considered too beautiful to be displayed in public. (Don’t they understand that bare shoulders may inspire impure thoughts in poor helpless people?)
Or the body is too fat, too old or “deformed” to be displayed. (What are these thinking Wearing miniskirts after 40: Don’t they know that’s unattractive? )
Too little coverage, too much coverage; too fancy, not fancy enough. The only way to win this game is not to play it, as one woman asked on Reddit’s “Am I The Assh*le” if, as a mom of four, she was wrong to wear a two-piece swimsuit.
A Reddit user created the post using the Burner account (not uncommon on the AITA subreddit). She explained that she was the mother of 2-year-old quadruplets and had recently started learning to swim. Since the kids were too young and needed one-on-one supervision, the anonymous poster and her husband found two friends to come with them so the kids could be in the same class.
“All other children were accompanied by mothers/female guardians during the course and all wore shorts/shirts and bathing suits,” she explained. “My husband/his friend was wearing shorts and no shirt and I was wearing a two piece.”
While she noted that her swimsuit was “modest,” she did note that her midriff and back were exposed. She had no idea about any of it. But a few days later, things took a turn.
“When everyone was getting dressed and ready to leave, some mothers came up to me,” she recalled.
“They said they didn’t want to mention it ahead of time so as not to make the class awkward, but they and a few other moms were uncomfortable with me wearing a two-piece to class all week. They suggested that if I was here with the kids In another class, I would cover up my belly because no one wanted to see the stretch marks I had from my pregnancy (which was way higher than average since I had quadruplets) and I asked them if they were right. My husband/his friends have a problem with not wearing shirts at all, they say they don’t care because they don’t have a ‘baby belly’ like I do.
The exchange made her wonder if other mothers were “rude or honest.”
She said it didn’t occur to her that her stomach would be offensive, and perhaps that was her responsibility.
“Atta?” she asked.
And… *deep breath* Okay! Let’s get started…
Reddit users overwhelmingly supported “OP,” calling her an “NTA” or “not an asshole.” In fact, many people are (understandably) shocked by the horrific behavior of other moms at the pool.
One person wrote: “Their rudeness and entitlement is worse than any stretch marks.”
“I swear, sometimes a mother is a mother’s worst enemy,” lamented another. “You’ve given birth to 4 babies; your body is the way it is because it carried them, and I’m glad you weren’t ashamed, or at least not before these women felt entitled to tell you to hide. There’s no reason to cover up a pregnancy Patterns, they’re not inappropriate at all, especially when they tell an epic story of motherhood.
“I do aquatics, I would report this to the pool/facility manager and have them talk to the moms,” a third suggested. “No one who runs a swimming pool wants customers to humiliate each other.”
The only person who thinks Reddit users are “jerks” can’t even believe this is actually happening. This, they asserted, was of course a fabrication.
However, for the original poster, she updated the post and expressed her gratitude.
“I didn’t expect things to get so heated!” she wrote. “This makes me feel a lot better about the situation. Fortunately (or unfortunately) this is not our usual pool and we won’t be finishing the course until next year, so I don’t have a chance to tell those people what you suggest.
Whether or not she gets a chance to explain herself to those rude moms, we hope she keeps rocking two-pieces!
