- Sameera Reddy reacted to trolling of Katrina Kaif over postpartum weight gain
- Charu Shankar highlighted women's identity disassociation post childbirth
- They emphasised need for healthier self-relationship before postpartum fitness
Sameera Reddy has reacted to the trolling Katrina Kaif faced over her postpartum weight. The Tiger Zinda Hai star was recently targeted online over her appearance and alleged weight gain after she attended Ganpati celebrations in Mumbai.
In a conversation with NDTV's Sneha Mordani, actors Charu Shankar and Sameera Reddy shared their thoughts on postpartum recovery and the scrutiny women face over their bodies after childbirth.
They were asked about the pressure on women to lose weight after giving birth and the tendency to focus on their appearance rather than health concerns.
The Animal actor replied, "Yes, absolutely. Thanks for asking that question. It is such an important conversation to have, because when I work with women, and I've been in this field now for around 10 years working with prenatal and postnatal, that's my specialisation, I've had patients coming to me. I remember this one girl; she came to me, and she brought a photograph of herself from her wedding."
Charu continued, "And she said, 'You know what? This is me, okay? This is not me. This is me.' I mean, can you imagine the profundity of this disassociation of self? Her identity is completely tied up with who she remembers herself to be, whereas who she is now, the body that she inhabits now, the relationships she inhabits now, the responsibilities that she inhabits now, all of that has changed."
She further said, "And so I think when we look at postpartum rebuilding, we have to look at it as rebuilding. A lot of women come to us, and they're looking at fitness as a sort of punishment. They're like, 'No, I want to get rid of this maternal, what is this fat over here, this fat over here?' The way we talk to our bodies is so unkind. I mean, let's keep the trolls aside for a second. Let's look at the conversations that we have with our own bodies. How many of us look in the mirror every day, and we're like, 'Wow, you look so good today. My god, I love you. Thank you for doing everything that you're doing. Thank you for making this baby.' You made a whole baby and gave me a baby in my arms. Wow, body, I love you.' Has any woman ever said that? When we look at postpartum fitness, no, really!"
She added, "So when we look at women's health, we have to start from here. We have to start from a point of, 'Can we have healthier relationships with ourselves?' Then come the fitness routines. Then comes the nutrition, because all of that has to be to rebuild our sense of self."
Picking up on Charu's point, Sameera spoke about the pressure on women to return to their pre-pregnancy bodies. She said, "Pre-pregnancy body. You know how many people talk about that? 'When am I going to get my pre-pregnancy body?' I'm like, 'Honey, please reinvent yourself and go to a newer you. Stop looking back to what you were, right?'"
Charu said, "Oh my god, Sameera, thank you for saying that. Because there is this bounce-back culture. What is that? I mean, like, how, you know, nobody's invented a time machine. Nobody can possibly take you back and make you who you were. But what you can do..."
Sameera then referred to the praise women receive for losing weight after childbirth and cited Bipasha Basu as an example.
She said, "I can't believe that people are championing this! So, for example, they're like, 'Wow, you've lost so much weight; how did you do it?' Or, 'Wow,' you know, 'Bipasha Basu just did this comeback cover, which I think she looks spectacular in.' But again, she was spectacular even when she gave birth. She was spectacular even when she took that time for herself."
Sameera then defended Katrina against comments about her appearance, saying, "And now Katrina comes back, and in whatever form she wants, she is stunning right now. She's an entrepreneur; she's built an incredible empire. I have so much respect for that lady. What are we sitting here and being so petty about with one damn photo, right? It is petty, it is literally petty."
"I'm telling half those guys and women out there, look at what this woman has created. And even if she didn't, that is her choice," said Sameera.