Slim Figure, Wrinkle-Free Face... Unmarried Chinese Women Wearing 'Fake Bellies' and Taking 'Pregnancy Certification Photos'

Expert: "Desire to Preserve Beautiful Appearance"
Also Criticized as a Marketing Strategy Promoting Appearance Supremacy

Among young unmarried women in China, wearing a 'fake belly' and taking pregnancy photos is spreading like a trend. SCMP

Among unmarried women in China, it has become trendy to wear a "fake belly" and take "pregnancy photos." This is done to capture beautiful images before getting older.

According to the Hong Kong media outlet South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 23rd, Chinese famous influencer "Meiji Gege," who has over 5.7 million followers, recently posted pregnancy photos online. However, these photos were taken wearing a "fake belly," not from an actual pregnancy. Wearing the "fake belly" and a dress, she flaunts a slim figure and beauty. Meiji Gege wrote, "I did a photo shoot with a pregnancy concept," and "I took the photos with my best friend."

Another woman told the media, "I thought I would have wrinkles on my face and skin in my 30s, so I took pregnancy photos in advance when I was 22." As more women take pregnancy photos using "fake bellies," various types of "fake bellies" for early, mid, and late pregnancy stages have appeared. A specialist analyzed this trend as "a desire by women to preserve their beautiful appearance."

However, some criticize it as a commercial tactic promoting appearance-based values. This trend stimulates the psychology of women who want to maintain "white, slim, and youthful skin" even during pregnancy. Regarding this, a specialist pointed out, "Photos often imply that women should maintain a youthful and slim figure even while pregnant," and said, "Such expectations are unrealistic."

Domestic netizens who saw this news showed various reactions such as "I just can't understand this. Am I getting old?" "Seems good to look back on later," "Should I take some in advance while I'm young too?" "What a strange trend," "China really has severe appearance-based culture," "Chinese news is always surprising," and "I'm worried this might become a trend in our country too."