Redefining Beauty: Carmel Jenkin's Art Empowers Pregnant Women Against Unrealistic Body Standards

Body standards exist everywhere across the world, as popular media and advertising agencies propagate them to sell products that feed on people’s bodily insecurities, even though these body standards are often physically unattainable. They are forged by models or actors who undergo rigorous dieting and dehydration to look like they do. Many actors have also come forward, stating that these bodies are simply unhealthy and unrealistic for ordinary people without the budget and beauty treatments that they have access to.

Bodies are also made up of cells and tissues that change daily. They can bloat and slim depending on a large number of things. Australian artist Carmel Jenkin portrays these convoluted feelings on bodies and their societal standards through line art paintings. Her art blurs the lines between the abstract and the figurative. In her canvases, bodies change and morph, giving people comfort in seeing that it is perfectly acceptable for their bodies to look one way or another. Her latest series, Nurture, explores how body standards affect a particularly vulnerable group: pregnant women. This is why her work is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of Gender Equality and Good Health And Well-Being.

Ennoble by Carmel Jenkin, part of the Nurture series. Image courtesy of Carmel Jenkin’s website.

The non-profit Break Binge Eating has cited a study that found more than 50 percent of adults from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany have reported experiencing weight stigma. Meanwhile, a study published by the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) found that 20-40 percent of women are dissatisfied with their bodies.

The Beginning by Carmel Jenkin, part of the Nurture series. Image courtesy of Carmel Jenkin’s website.

When it comes to pregnant women, a study published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth found that statistically, women’s body image dissatisfaction did not differ during pregnancy from when they were not pregnant. They did, however, have different reasons to experience bodily dissatisfaction, which includes feeling “fat” and feeling that they no longer have control over their bodies. Unrealistic portrayals of pregnant bodies in media, with no bloating, stretch marks, or uneven skin tones, also further contribute to their body image dissatisfaction.

Carmel Jenkin’s Nurture series helps pregnant women better come to terms with the “odd” bloating and curves they’ve gained during pregnancy. Her series also covers how bodies change throughout the pregnancy, starting at The Beginning and ending with Soon.

Mother Nature by Carmel Jenkin, part of the Nurture series. Image courtesy of Carmel Jenkin’s website.

Carmel Jenkin's Nurture series serves as a powerful visual commentary on the unrealistic body standards that permeate society, particularly affecting pregnant women. By blending abstraction and figuration, Jenkin’s artwork challenges the rigid ideals of beauty often imposed on women's bodies, offering a more fluid and accepting perspective. Her pieces resonate with the complexities and transformations that bodies naturally undergo, providing a source of comfort and validation for those grappling with body image, especially during pregnancy. In doing so, she encourages a healthier self-perception and fosters a broader cultural shift towards embracing the diverse and ever-changing nature of the human body.

Find out more about Carmel Jenkin's paintings and other pieces on her website, www.carmeljenkin.com, or her Instagram account @carmeljenkin.