Keira Knightley has criticized Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge for unintentionally piling on the pressure for new mothers to appear picture perfect by posing for cameras hours after giving birth.
Prince William and his wife have made it a tradition to introduce the world to each of their three children by standing outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London shortly after their arrivals to allow the media the first glimpse of their babies.
While many have expressed their admiration for Catherine’s impressive turnaround, actress Keira is keen to point out that the British royal’s pristine post-pregnancy appearances set unrealistic expectations for other new moms, who often feel far from camera-ready.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star felt the pressure first-hand in 2015, as she welcomed her first child, daughter Edie, just one day before the Duchess gave birth to her second kid, Princess Charlotte.
In a candid essay titled The Weaker Sex, published as part of the Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) collection of works, Keira writes, “We stand and watch the TV screen. She (Catherine) was out of hospital seven hours later with her face made up and high heels on. The face the world wants to see.”
“Hide. Hide our pain, our bodies splitting, our breasts leaking, our hormones raging,” she continues, according to Refinery29. “Look beautiful. Look stylish, don’t show your battleground, Kate. Seven hours after your fight with life and death, seven hours after your body breaks open, and bloody, screaming life comes out. Don’t show. Don’t tell. Stand there with your girl and be shot by a pack of male photographers.”
Keira’s comments about the Duchess’ post-baby pictures come after the star, who is married to rocker James Righton, shares graphic memories of her own childbearing experience at the very start of the article, which she dedicates to “my girl”.
“My vagina split,” she begins, recalling the physical pain she endured as her heart filled with love for her newborn. “You came out with your eyes open. Arms up in the air. Screaming. They put you on to me, covered in blood, vernix (fluid which protects the baby’s skin in the womb), your head misshapen from the birth canal. Pulsating, gasping, screaming.”
“You latched on to my breast immediately, hungrily, I remember the pain,” she explains. “The mouth clenched tight around my nipple, light sucking on and sucking out. I remember the s**t, the vomit, the blood, the stitches. I remember my battleground. Your battleground and life pulsating. Surviving. And I am the weaker sex? You are?”
Keira’s piece is just one of the many stories featured in Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies) – fellow actresses Gemma Arterton, Saoirse Ronan, Karen Gillan, and Jameela Jamil have also contributed to the book.