By Erickka Sy Savané
Let’s face it, some questions are just taboo. If you’ve ever asked a
woman, “How many months are you?” when she wasn’t even pregnant then you
know there aren’t enough rocks to crawl under. It’s right up there with
“Is that your grandchild?” when it’s actually the person’s kid.
I’ve been both the asker and the one asked, and it can suck on both
ends. Usually, the person asking is just excited and can’t wait to share
in the big news, but for the person who isn’t pregnant, well, it’s not
so cool. Does any woman want to look pregnant when she is not?
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To be on the safe side, common sense says that asking someone if they
are pregnant is a no-no unless they are being transported to the
hospital delivery room because it’s just not worth the embarrassment of
being wrong. Most would argue that it’s none of your well-meaning
business anyway. If a person wants you to know they will tell you.
Actress Tia Mowry has been very vocal about the negative impact of the
media’s constant speculation that she is pregnant and equates it to a
form of body shaming. At one point she felt compelled to share this
message on Instagram.
But the truth is nothing is ever so black and white, and there are only a few occasions when–dare I say it–it’s okay to ask. Here are some…
1. When she’s such a good friend that even if she isn’t pregnant you
can both have a good laugh. When one of my besties asked me if I was
preggers and I definitely wasn’t, I didn’t get mad, sad or offended. If
anything, it was an indication to go easy on the Cheese Puffs.
Seriously, if your homegirls can’t ask you anything then maybe you need
to re-evaluate the friendship.
2. You want to be mean. True story, Sandy was just a few weeks into a
relationship with her man when they happened upon his ex-girlfriend at a
party. “Congratulations!” she said enthusiastically.
“For what?” asked Sandy.
“The baby!” said his ex, pointing to her belly, with a wicked smile.
3. You’re her husband or boyfriend. Not every woman is ready to
announce a pregnancy even to the person she loves and some women don’t
even know that they are pregnant, like in the case of Carol who hadn’t
lost the weight from her first baby so a big belly was no biggie. It
took her husband insisting on her taking a test for them to discover
that she was actually six months. The same thing happened to my mom who
had my brother and then me just 10 months later.
She didn’t find out I was coming until she was a full nine months.
Perhaps if one of her sisters had said, “Hmmm…you look pregnant,” she
would have found out sooner.
4. When the person is constantly sick, tired and/or moody. Nausea,
vomiting, and threatening to stab you for showing up 10 minutes late to
lunch are all indications that a person might be with child. Sooooo, for
your own safety, you might wanna ask in your sweetest voice, “Hey, do
you think you’re pregnant?”
