The internet is flooded with reels of men objectifying women's bodies, trolls body-shaming actors and influencers, and fitness coaches defining the ideal female body type. Amid this, a fitness enthusiast shared a video of how a fellow gym buddy made her feel good about herself.
"It's Not A Bump, It's A Blessing," Said A Fitness Enthusiast About Belly Pouch
Lily, Founder of The Night Club and Athlete at Gymshark, shared a conversation she had about her belly with another fitness enthusiast. Many women have a belly pouch. Is it fat, or does it have anything to do with your uterus?
The guy told her, "It's not a bump, it's a blessing". She confided in him and told him that she thought it was all fat. The man told her, "In front of your intestines is your uterus. It makes you feel like you are bloated".
"If you have food in your intestines, it's going to push your uterus out more. You have got less space here," he added while gesturing to her belly. "It's the most advanced and amazing part of the human body. You should not feel embarrassed about it. You should feel great about it," he said.
Lily felt good about it, and the video already has more than 4.5 million views. But here is the thing - the guy's explanation of why a woman might have a belly pouch was factually and medically incorrect.
Uterus Is Not In Front Of The Intestines
Dr Karen Tang, MD - Gynaecologist Surgeon, wrote in a comment, "Love the support, but as a gynaecologist, what he said isn't anatomically correct". Dr Tang is also a social media influencer and posts educational videos on pelvic pain, period health, and reproductive rights.
If you Google the location of the uterus inside a female body, it will pinpoint the pelvic region, between the bladder and the rectum. It's not fixed in front of your intestines.
Dr Tang further explained that a normal-sized uterus is tiny. "It's not pushed up and forward by your intestines," she said, adding, "The lower belly is either just normal fat or the intestines themselves that get bloated, and since gravity pulls things downwards, more of the bulge is in the lower abdomen for both men and women."
The expert also posted a video on her Instagram and explained, "A normal uterus is only a few cm larger than a normal-sized testicle! It sits below the pubic bone, and doesn't move with intestinal bloat as he also suggested!"
Gynaecologist Busts Myths Around Uterus Size
The size of the uterus isn't what that man said. A normal-sized uterus is tiny, but if a woman has a large one, there might be underlying healthy ailments.
- It could be a sign of fibroids (a non-cancerous tumour)
- It can be adenomyosis (the tissue lining of the uterus grows into its muscular wall)
- It could be a large ovarian cyst
The expert wanted to warn women about a large mass in their pelvis because a person cannot feel a healthy uterus from the outside. A patient could feel the mass, come across the video, and think that everything is normal. However, this could delay the diagnosis.
"There is already TOO MUCH of a delay in diagnosis in these conditions because of normalization of painful or heavy periods, bowel or bladder symptoms in women, etc.," Dr Tang added.
"Inaccurate mansplaining (even if well-intentioned) unfortunately doesn't actually help, and potentially hurts women," she concluded.
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