Yeah, this. Going forward, I think I will decline to make eye contact with all postpartum women. I'm almost certain to get it wrong if I try to be nice, and they're not worth the trouble. |
That’s what I thought. I’m old enough to have been taught by my grandmother and by Emily Post that no lady or gentleman is so vulgar as to comment on the appearance of another. |
That is *not* what you are gaslighting. There are women in here saying these comments are unwanted, you are defending your "right" to make unwanted comments about physical appearance, and accusing the women who do not want comments of being the one to have the problem. |
I hope you never tell any moms that their babies are adorable, either. Soon we can all live in the Emily Post approved Utopia populated by a bunch of Dwight Schrutes: “It is your birthday.” |
Spare us. Nothing cheaper than running your mouth for a few short seconds with a cookie-cutter insincere complement. |
DP but you are aware that we have freedom of speech in this country, are you not? We actually DO have the right to make comments. You have the right to be offended. But YOP do not have the right to preemptively dictate what other people are and are not allowed to say. So actually, if you are unable to accept that when you converse with another autonomous human being that they might make a comment you “don’t want” then you are in fact the one with the problem. |
I’ll do the opposite. I’m going to keep interacting with them and they have to deal with normal human socialization. |
Add ruined to the list Depressed. Victim-seeking Entitled Ungrateful Not deserving of human contact Not believing lived experiences (street harassment) Self centred shrew Bringing negativity to the world What else? |
Great! And now you get to hear how some of us perceive your amazing cookie cutter insincere comments about our bodies |
You know what I usually say to new moms I see out socially? “Gosh I’m so happy to see you! I’m glad you’re here!” And then I ask if I can get them anything like a drink or shady chair. It’s so easy to have good manners. |
DP— the person you’re quoting didn’t say you don’t have the right. They’re saying it’s weird to defend your “right” to make someone feed badly. Especially a postpartum mom which is a weird degree of punching down to insist you’re entitled to do. |
I mean it’s actually better to say nothing at all than to be rude and weird, so this is a good solution! |
Regardless of anything else that has been shared in this thread, I just want to second the suggestion that the nicest compliment you can pay someone is "I am genuinely happy you are here." As someone who has struggled with mental health at various points in my life, including postpartum, this is far and away the kindest thing someone can ever say to me, and the bonus is that there is absolutely no way to misconstrue it as an insult or an unreasonable expectation. People need to hear that that others are glad they exist. They especially need to hear it when they are going through a tough time. I am somewhat ambivalent on compliments on my appearance -- there are times when they are welcome but there are also times when I would really prefer people not focus on my body or how I look, even if they do it in a complimentary way. But if you are reading this thread and thinking "I give up! What are you supposed to say then?" I highly recommend just saying "It is really good to see you." |
I’m just going to keep being someone with good manners. How weird to find that difficult. Maybe you were raised in challenging circumstances. |
Some of you are doing incredible mental gymnastics to justify your behavior of commenting on others’ bodies. But I am encouraged that most people get that it’s just flat out rude! |