Pregnant Woman's Plea to Strangers: Shut Up

Keep your advice and observations to yourself, please
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 7, 2010 1:13 PM CDT
Updated Jul 7, 2010 1:51 PM CDT
Pregnant Woman's Plea to Strangers: Shut Up
For some reason, people think it's just fine to make rude comments to pregnant women.   (Shutterstock)

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is 9 months' pregnant, and it shows, and she doesn't need you reminding her of that fact. Or, for that matter, offering your wisdom on what she eats and drinks (like the barista who told her to go decaf) or what sex baby she's carrying (like the clerk who said it must be a girl or she'd be "much prettier"). Everyone's well-meaning, sure, but "in what realm of society is it acceptable to comment negatively on a person's appearance, let alone a stranger's?"

Oh, that's right: The realm of pregnancy. "Strangers, mind your manners," she writes in the Los Angeles Times. "Hold the door open and hold your peace about my health, girth, and all the rest. And if you know me, don't ask me how I am unless you really want to hear it. There's an answer to that question, and it isn't a cheerful 'great,' like we both would like it to be. Even easy pregnancies are complicated. I'm still here, still me, under all this." (More pregnant women stories.)

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