The female body can work miracles, but why do complete strangers want to touch our growing baby bump all the time?
In the United States, a young woman recently received media attention when she made an elderly woman quite clear that she should not be touched without being asked.
When pregnancy becomes interesting for others …
She was shopping with her boyfriend when he started talking to the lady and helped her to get something on a shelf. "I turned around after I had looked at two drinks, and her eyes lit up after she noticed that I was obviously pregnant," said the pregnant woman on the US portal "Reddit". "Immediately she ran to me with outstretched hands and started touching my baby bump," she continues. "I freaked out and almost fell over (my friend caught me). I don't like being touched – unless I allow it. I also barely allowed my mother and sister to touch my baby bump! (Mine Friend touches him, but respects my limits). " She asked the lady not to touch her anymore, whereupon she replied harshly "How rude! I just showed the baby some love".
"You have to respect your elders, little girl"
Then the situation escalated, because although the mother-to-be named Covid-19 and the fact that she was not touched by strangers as the reason for her reaction, the lady in the supermarket did not want to accept the reprimand. "You have to respect your elders, little girl," was her argument. At some point, the pregnant woman left the supermarket angry with her boyfriend, but today, almost a month later, she feels guilty.
Does she really have to have that? On the US portal "Reddit", other women are now reporting on their experiences when someone touches their baby bump without being asked.
Women report on their experiences
"I hated that strangers thought they had a right to touch me when I was pregnant (usually I act surprised and told them I wasn't pregnant to teach them a lesson), and I would while NOT tolerate a damn pandemic! ", writes an angry user. Another reports: "Once I put out my hand and started rubbing the other woman's stomach – she didn't like that at all!"
"Oh, I thought it would be okay to touch someone else's body"
Another victim had a more drastic idea: "I announced at the time that if someone touched my stomach, I would touch her vagina." It was similar with this woman: "When I was pregnant, a stranger started to grab my stomach and I told her straight away not to do it – but she did it anyway and laughed. She did find it not at all funny when I grabbed her breasts … I then said: 'Oh, I thought it would be okay to touch other parts of the body'. "
Pregnant women do not live in the petting zoo!
The most common argument, however, is that pregnant women don't live in a petting zoo – the limits of every woman should always be tolerated and accepted! "Pregnancy does not change the social rules about touching strangers without their consent. Age does not justify ignoring these rules," writes a "Reddit" user. How right she is!
Sources used:Reddit.com