The Day Pinterest Insulted My Body

It's no secret I've been trying to Monetize my blog since earlier this month. I intend to mostly continue on doing what I'd normally do... I'm just pushing myself to actually follow through and write. If applicable, I've started to include links to products directly related to the topic I'm covering... (so if you see one, and it's something you're interested in, help a girl out!)  

I was blogging anyway, why not try to make something of it?

In the process of learning the ins-and-outs of having a blog to make money (even if your goal is, say, gas money?), I've created a Pinterest. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm way behind on this stuff.  Out of curiosity, I clicked on the little "Promote" icon and I followed my curiosity to pay for an advertisement. I scheduled to pay a whopping $2.00 (because.... I still need to pay for gas) to promote a post I wrote a long time ago and just recently edited and linked to the products I originally mentioned. This post was organically created, and was the most "pinterest worthy" post I had... so it made sense to experiment with the promotion features with this particular post. 

It was titled "10 Things they DON'T tell You: POSTPARTUM" and if you don't remember, this was the image that I soon found out was not worthy of an advertisement:

REJECTED!
Pinterest gave me two reasons this advertisement didn't make the cut. Based on their advertising guidelines this was considered Clickbait: 

We rejected one of your ads because it didn't meet our advertising guidelines
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•Clickbait
Your ad's image or description includes what we consider to be "clickbait". We don't allow clickbait tactics that play on people's fears, damage self-esteem, use alarmist language or imagery, or purposefully withhold information. Please don't try and trick Pinners into interacting with your ads.

The way I understand clickbait is much different than this.  If I were to make an advertisement using a clickbait tactic for my postpartum blogpost it would look something like this: Mom has a baby and you'll never guess what happened next! Similar to those annoying Buzzfeed things that I vow to never, ever, EVER be like! What you find in the body of my post is exactly what it says you'll find... 10 things no one (except bloggers, like me) will tell you about your postpartum body and experience. Nothing tricky or sneaky about the words I used... so I was flooded with questions I had for the Pinterest team and their rational for this rejection...

Is the image of a postpartum body something to be feared?

Does it really damage people's self-esteem?

Is the imagery of a real​ body really so alarming that it's not worthy of a $2.00 advertisement?

... and it gets worse.. The second reason the ad was rejected was because it fell under the category of Health or Skincare Images

 •Health or skincare images
We don't allow demeaning images of health or skincare conditions that suggest user deficiencies or capitalize on anxiety.

Okay, now I'm getting mad. 

Demeaning? 

a skincare condition?

deficient?

This causes anxiety? 

Maybe I'm wrong and I'm just a person that doesn't have stretch marks post-baby, so the image above doesn't strike a sensitive cord...? Or maybe I'm the opposite and I'm actually hypersensitive, hormonal and defensive of women who have-I don't know-sacrificed their body for the survival of the human race......? (insert eyeroll emoji)

​I decided to conduct an experiment to see what would happen if I tried to advertise the exact same pin only with a different body. Below is the edited version:

This image actually is clickbait (what woman wouldn't wonder how to get that body postpartum?... or... ever....) and to credit Pinterest, it was rejected for being such. However, It was not rejected for Health or Skincare images. It's certainly not demeaning, but I, personally, know wayyyy more women that would feel anxiety or inadequacy seeing this image as opposed to the first image. I don't think there is anything wrong with either, but it's sad to have some evidence showing that a real life postpartum body is something people don't want to look at... or at least something the Pinterest algorithm has decided people don't want to see. 

Meanwhile, I login and this is what is advertised to me: 

I'm not going to boycott Pinterest or anything, because I think as a whole their guidelines are trying to protect people... and don't get me wrong, I fully plan to get rid of my postpartum "jelly-belly" and get my abs back. I don't love my body this way... but I love the reason it's this way, and if my jelly-belly was forever, I'd get over it. It was the most beautiful sacrifice I've ever made! But... I get it, pinterest... I understand that to people that don't know Maebel and don't know the love you can have for your own child, the image of my body, or any other postpartum body, might not be what pinners want to see... but aren't I advertising to the demographic that this appeals to? The demographic that understands that the child and the sacrifice for the child is the most beautiful part!? The demographic that gets it?

It's hard not to scratch your head at the postpartum body and wonder how did something so natural become something so taboo...

Thoughts? Feelings? Emotions? 

How do the two advertisements make YOU feel? 

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