Beyoncé gave birth to twins Rumi and Sir just about three months ago and yet has managed to look like perfection ever since. But if I hear one more person talking about Bey’s “post-baby glow,” I’m going to barf.
My disgust comes at the hands of a recent Vogue.com article with the headline, “Beyoncé Proves Why a Post-Baby Glow Is Officially Better Than Makeup.” There are honestly so many things wrong with this statement that I don’t know where to begin.
The article was a response to Knowles’ beauty look at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball last night, where she showed up rocking a more natural makeup look paired with a nude lip. She looked amazing, there’s no denying that. But implying that her the look was the result of a “post-baby glow” is not only factually incorrect but insulting to Queen Bey herself.
Let’s be real here: Beyoncé did not “wake up like this.” Despite having fantastic genes, Beyoncé probably worked super hard to look like this. She takes care of herself, eats well, and cares for her skin. And oh yeah, she also has a whole team dedicated to making her makeup look picture-perfect.
You may think I’m getting nitpicky here. Obviously, Vogue wasn’t implying that Beyoncé wasn’t wearing makeup — why am I making such a big deal out of this? Because it’s obnoxious that woman are supposed to act like they don’t care about their appearance and yet they’re still supposed to show up looking like an ad for Maybelline. This “no fucks given” attitude is dangerous — it’s deceives us into thinking we should put little work into ourselves and then wake up looking like Rihanna. It sets unrealistic expectations for young women and causes self-esteem issues that can last for years. And Vogue is just perpetuating this lie that women, and mothers in particular will look amazing without having to do a thing.
And while we’re on the topic of mothers, we should mention that Vogue obviously did not make up the term “post-baby glow.” It’s a problematic phrase that’s been thrown around for years. Giving birth is freaking hard, and having a newborn doesn’t get easier. And even though Beyoncé and Jay-Z have reportedly hired six nannies for their twins, they’re probably tired AF. So whatever “glow” you’re concocting is actually sweat and exhaustion.
One more thing I’d like to throw in this rant: nobody has ever tried to claim that new dads are sporting a “post-baby glow.” In fact, just the opposite. Fathers get to embrace their “dad bods” while mothers are supposedly glowing from having to push out a little human out of their vaginas. Oh, was that too graphic for you? Welcome to childbirth.
Moral of the story: let’s stop glamorizing child-birth, new motherhood and everything that comes with it. And let’s stop and appreciate all the hard work that makes Beyoncé look like that, ok?
