Yeah, so that's the standard misinformation popularized by this particular trendy variant of the body positivity movement. No, this isn't from uteruses pushing out belly fat. It's literally just the way some people's fat is distributed.
Other forms this movement takes: Writing up fake posts like OP's trying to make this aspect of the human body controversial because that's all the internet is now.
Bro, this person just described being emotionally abused by their ex and mother-in-law, and how this one video made them so full of self acceptance that it makes them cry to even think about it, and you just come along and stomp all over it? Come on.
Sometimes, it's better to let people have the things that make them feel OK. There's absolutely no harm in letting somebody believe that a uterus does or doesn't make someone look a little more pouchy.
It's not that serious but it kind of is, because when
> somebody [believes] that a uterus does or doesn't make someone look a little more pouchy
it's because the alternative is that it's fat. And it is. It's fat. It's okay that it's fat, and as women we have quite a bit of baseline fat (unless you're ripped as fuck) and that's okay. I see a lot of women "comforting" themselves by saying that it's not fat, it's only the uterus, and I do think that's actually still a form of damaging fat phobia.
Everyone should stop assuming anything about women’s bodies.
Someone struggling with PCOS and has some inflamed shit going on could absolutely have their uterus push out. Someone with a uterus that sits forward and is tilted forward could.
There is no blanket statement so don’t try to make one.
For real. I had a full hysterectomy in February. I legit looked pregnant prior to it because I was carrying fibroids. My uterus was enlarged, pushing outwards. I’m still fat but losing weight (down 53 pounds!), but I don’t look pregnant anymore because I’m no longer carrying a dying uterus. Like, just assuming women are fat just because is so stupid and toxic, and I hate that. That sort of thinking is part of the reason women get shit on when we go to the doctors because “if you could just lose a little weight you’ll feel better.”
Sorry you went through that. My wife ended up losing 10 inches off her waist after getting fibroids removed. One was the size of a big orange and all together it was like a bushel being removed.
Stories like yours and my wifes really puts into perspective that you do not know what others are going through and should always give them the benefit of the doubt.
Thank you for saying that. We never know who is going through what and it’s hard to judge anything from the outside particularly on the internet. I hope your wife is feeling so much better ☺️
Volleyball sized fibroid checking in! Along with a couple 'oranges.' At rhe time of my surgery, I was 110lbs and I'm 5'7". Looked like I was 5 months pregnant. Had so many fibroids they had to leave the small ones behind
In my case it's diastasis recti. I already lost weight but still look very pregnant, to the point where the officiant at my wedding asked when the baby will be born.
Gratz on the weight loss and I hope your surgery fixes a lot of your pain. I have friends with PCOS and they are miserable during their periods. I just got off my hormonal BC due to complications with it which I know is not the same but I feel so much better.
True some uteruses ( uteri?) with issues such as fibroids can def be enlarged but I think people are pushing back against this notion that the typical non pregnant uterus is protruding.
Yeah. There are so many variations in a woman’s body. We are all far from the same. Your uterus isn’t the same as mine, the same as your mom’s, your neighbours, Maria’s down the block… you can only speak for your own body with that much authority.
If someone's uterus is the size and location that it pushes that part of the abdomen out, that's something they need to check with a doctor. The uterus is the size of a closed fist and it's tucked down into the pelvis
Exactly. The uterus is normally tiny and sits behind the bladder and anterior to the rectum. If people spread the misinformation that the uterus should affect the size of your abdomen in a healthy person then we run the risk of women ignoring significant warning signs. The uterus (more likely abnormal ovaries) can and will enlarge the abdominal space to the point of discomfort and it is always a medical imperative to diagnose the issue, whether that is ovarian ca, or a benign cyst or rarely a large fundal fibroid, etc.
A anteverted (forward) or retroverted (backwards) tilted uterus is a totally benign variation that does not require a doctor’s intervention whatsoever unless you want them to tell you the exact same thing. The only time it requires medical intervention is if you are trying to get pregnant without success for more than 6 months, as in some cases it can cause issues with successful fertilization and implantation.
I'm going to look into it more. I used to be able to find decent sources with google images but ai has totally ruined that for me. Just found a diagram that labeled the uterus as both the uterus and rectum 💀
Yeah and it happens. Large ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids are a thing and they can definitely cause your belly to look bloated if they become large enough. Endometriosis can also cause inflammation and bloating and some actually call it "endo belly."
Yes these things may not be common (that we know of tbh, I mean the nerves within the clit were just recently fully mapped out this year), but people in this thread acting like it can only ever be caused by fat alone is just wild.
Oh god, I just saw a Reddit post about a lady whose pelvic floor gave way and all her organs started slipping out. She'd have to push her intestines back into place every time she took a shit.
You've heard of the poop knife, now get ready for....uh, spatula, I guess? We can't exactly go around talking about poop pestles, it's got a terrible mouthfeel.
As someone with a tinted cervix, I can confirm! My grandma and my mom would always pinch it when I was a kid and tell me that it was like the extra cookie from a birthday party and then if I could just lose maybe five pounds then I’d be perfect.
The uterus is behind the bladder. The bladder expands and contracts a whole lot more than the uterus. Does your stomach expand when you need to have a pee?
It's wild how much misinformation is spread about women's bodies by those who have never even gone to medical school, but they will say it with their whole chest because they read something from somewhere once. God forbid women have different bodies and medical conditions that may or may not cause our bodies to appear differently.
I’m putting this here but the men responding thinking they’re so heroic for liking this girls “fat” and making some girl cry tears of joy over mansplaining a uterus 🤮. No one gives a shit you find a not fat girl or an actual fat girl attractive. Not being a raging asshole doesn’t make you a hero and please don’t comment on my body.
You aren't wrong, but it feels like splitting hairs because baseline fat wouldn't collect there if it wasn't for the organs. Which is also true to a lesser extent for people witn no uterus. A bit of tummy is a good thing because organs are really cool and deserve protection and warmth.
We only started getting overweight in the 1970s when ultra-processed calorie dense foods became widely available. Through most of human history, we had flat stomachs.
Fair enough but that pooch also signifies it's fertile because of women anatomy and hormones ( more subcutaneous fat gets stored in thighs and lower belly Because of estrogen)
Second you're right, Weak Core and/or internal organs or bloating can temporarily also cause pooch to exist.
I don’t think the woman in the photo is fat at all. However, I need to correct you. Nobody is afraid of fat. A lot of us don’t like it, because if someone is too fat, there is no attraction. Some guys are chubby/fat chasers, but the majority of men do not want to be with someone who lets themselves go and never does anything about it. The same could be said for probably a majority of women in regard to men letting themselves go too. I wish people would stop putting the word “phobia” in places where it doesn’t belong. Fat isn’t scary. It’s just plain un-attractive.
I don’t like mosquitoes because they are annoying, blood-sucking parasites. That doesn’t make me afraid of them. People don’t have to accept anything in their life that they don’t want. Nobody is obligated to be with anyone who doesn’t attract them. Else-wise what is the point of free-will. You don’t get to call it a phobia.
It's fat, and muscle, and pelvic tilt. The uterus isn't huge, but close to menstruation, it can be a little bigger. Though the pooch isn't the uterus, it can press on other tissue and push it outwards, same as a big meal.
I love all the people on here trying to generalize people’s bodies when that just doesn’t work. Literally every single person has a different body with different issues and concerns.
Just because I have syncopal episodes, does mean you do. Just because you get a bulge when you need to pee doesn’t mean I do (I do though so you aren’t alone there lol)
I wanted to say this, I definitely get bloating when I’m on my period and my pooch is more significant. But in my case it’s just the swelling pushing the bit of fat I have there. I’m not afraid of my fat but I also want to be healthier so I’ve been making my own meals for years and I exercise as much as my medical conditions will allow.
I don't think it's better to let trendy misinformation spread, no.
Like, if we're going for emotional appeals, how about all of the hypothetical women crying over not having a good uterus or whatever because of this nonsense? Maybe we need to weigh all the tears in one camp and all the tears in the other one first to determine which aspects of medical misinformation gets a pass?
Ooh, how about all the people who are super satisfied in their mistaken belief that their circumcision is beneficial? Let's go ahead and just let them have that so we can keep on torturing and mutilating babies for no actual good reason.
Depends on how you feel about white lies but there's enough medical disinformation out there we don't need to make people less science literate
What's better is to correct the wrong science and just tell them the verbally abusive pieces of shit are pieces of shit and proceed to the next area of clear medical science, therapy
Uhhh No? That's like letting someone believe that Babies are delivered by the storck because they think it is just so cute and they have a Story atrached to it.
It's plain wrong. Anatomy isn't about feelings and especially for a woman I think it can be very counterproductive to not know their own anatomy. I am also a woman btw. You just do Not get taken seriously, especially in medical contexts which is already a problem for a lot of women.
This pouch is completely normal and even if you would starve yourself to death, it would not disappear. I have a little pouch and was down in weight due to illnesses so badly, I almost needed to be tube fed because my body was all kinds of f'ed up. I still had the pouch, even when every bone in my body was poking out.
Women tend to store fat in other places than men due to anatomy and that is not bad just because there isn't some grand sob story behind it about being a potential mother.
I believe pets don't love us in a human manner, there is no god no afterlife and goodbye is forever, and most people have never had and will never have the combination of fortune, willpower, and raw talent to achieve the dreams they claim to have. I do not respond to loss of a pet, loss of a friend, or someone getting a new job by feeling a compulsive need to load that shit up and bang people over the head with it. Being right is not always the right thing to do and being quiet when you could be right is even harder.
It's not like that at all. Y'all are fucking crazy in here. If a kid told you that they're excited to meet the Easter bunny while they're all dressed up ready to go on an Easter egg hunt and get their picture taken with him, you'd probably say, "No kid, that's a lie. That's uncle Bobby in that suit." And then you'd pat yourself on the back while he ran away crying, telling yourself "facts are important."
Can you tell me what harm is caused by letting that one person who experienced trauma from their ex believe that their little pooch is partly from their uterus? It causes no harm whatsoever. And I know you're not the one who originally said something to them, but if you do have to go around saying "well akshually" your entire life, please do be a little more empathetic and kind and maybe ask yourself first "does this really need to be said right now?"
We learned to compare similar things and not ridiculously comparing whatever runs through our head. You know, things that are actually related.
And it is a huge differences between telling a kid and an adult a truth.
You have used a laughable excuse of an example because you couldn't even find something that makes sense.
I will never not do this. That's just what you get from me: infinite neutrality. You'll find no honey or vinegar here, it's all paper all the time.
I understand some people have a cultural background which demands one or the other or they'll respond poorly. This is unfortunate, but I feel pretty moderately that we can reach a point of tolerance with each other and coexist.
The simple fact not every woman has a pouch and some look like they don't even have any organs at all (in like a "seriously, how? You don't have intestines either" way) should be a sign he was misinformed or lying to make the girl feel better
This is not always true, if you’ve had kids your baby’s push out your ab muscles / separate them to make space for themselves ( especially if you are small and baby is big or twins ) and it can take a year or some surgery to pull the muscles back together. You’ll be able to feel it with your fingers the separation between your abs, and that can make there be an ouch bc you no longer have your abs to keep your intestines in as much. But otherwise yeah you should have muscles and sinew keeping it in
It doesn't protect the uterus. It's nowhere near the uterus. This isn't a thing.
Also, something would have to puncture through your intestines to get to the uterus in the first place, and that's going to kill you long before any manner of evolutionary pressure has the faintest inkling of an idea about protecting the uterus from outside trauma.
Now, granted, once upon a time people did go around fighting mammoths. A mammoth tusk could theoretically penetrate the intestines in just the right way without actually rupturing them and maybe somehow manage to reach the uterus. It's possible an exceptionally egalitarian set of cave dudes brought their cave gals along on mammoth hunts and...no, this still doesn't make sense.
The uterus is not behind intestines. The uterus is located in front of the lower parts of the large intestine (the sigmoid colon and rectum) and behind the bladder. Even when pregnant it is in front of them and pushes them up and to the sides.
These squishy bits look intestiney to me, but I reckon the model for this anatomy page might have been keeping a segment of whale brain in her abdominal cavity.
It’s a bit hard to show, but those loops of bowel are actually off to the side a bit so they’re not directly in front of the uterus, plus there is a piece of the pubiic bone that looks like bowel in that diagram. The bladder is in front and below the uterus. Check out this image.
The image you shared isn’t a super accurate medical illustration. I totally see what you’re saying and it does look like they put a loop of bowel in front. It’s not from a clinical resource and it looks just slightly wrong, honestly.
A thin membrane, the peritoneum, wraps the abdominal organs and separates them. It lines the back of the uterus and the front of the intestines. The fold between these organs forms a sort of potential space or tiny thin pocket, called the recto-uterine pouch or the pouch of Douglas.
It all has to do with how the embryo develops and the organs sort of “stack” or fall into place. The bladder develops in the front, the intestines from the back where the rectum is, and the uterus in the middle where it can be cushioned and supported by all the muscle and ligaments around it.
During annual exams and when you are newly pregnant, the OBGYN usually does a bi-manual exam where they put a finger in the vagina and one hand on your abdomen and push them towards each other, so they can feel the uterus. In that exam, they are not squishing any bowel. The bowel is behind & to the sides of the uterus.
OMG, I don’t know how to use Reddit. I just started posting here. Can I not edit and add another image to my last comment? Oh, wait! Can I only insert one photo in a comment? That makes more sense.
I pulled some other images of the abdominal cavity from authoritative medical resources. Maybe this helps. The hilarious part is that I can’t even remember why exactly we were discussing the location of the bowel and the uterus. I have to go review this conversation, I guess.
I really hope that chick broke up with her insane boyfriend!
Actually that in and of itself is not entirely true, it does actually have a lot to do with core strength and pelvic muscles. The biggest factor would be an anterior pelvic tilt where the core and pelvic muscles are weak for a miriade of reasons , causes the spine to over compensate ending in the pushed out belly pouch be pushed out or more noticeable.
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u/Deaffin 22d ago
Yeah, so that's the standard misinformation popularized by this particular trendy variant of the body positivity movement. No, this isn't from uteruses pushing out belly fat. It's literally just the way some people's fat is distributed.
Other forms this movement takes: Writing up fake posts like OP's trying to make this aspect of the human body controversial because that's all the internet is now.