The powerful short film shows that pregnancy and athleticism are not mutually exclusive.
Sports giant Nike just dropped their latest ad for their maternity line Nike (M) which was first launched last year.
The ad, which features the legendary Serena Williams, is a powerful celebration of pregnancy, motherhood and female athletes.
Football player Alex Morgan and track athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, Perri Shakes Drayton, Nia Ali and Bianca Williams also feature alongside the tennis champion.
The short film – which is officially titled Toughest Athletes – is being hailed for showcasing breastfeeding athletes. Viewers have also praised the ad for demonstrating that pregnancy and athleticism are not mutually exclusive.
The ad opens with a question: “Can you be an athlete? You pregnant?”
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“That depends,” it continues. “What is an athlete? Someone who moves? Sounds like you. Someone who gets it done, no matter what? You do that. Someone who listens to her body. Also you. Someone who defies gravity. You. Someone who deals with the pain, hits her limit, and pushes past it. Pushing, pushing, pushing. Someone who earns every single win.”
It ends by saying: “So, can you be an athlete? If you aren’t, no one is.”
Nike shared Toughest Athletes on their Instagram page yesterday.
“Motherhood looks different on everyone,” the caption reads. “But no matter what you do or how you do it, you are the toughest athlete.”
Too often, the media needlessly frames breastfeeding as a taboo. Until recently, depictions of breastfeeding mothers in films and television were quite rare.
However, in recent years, the conversation around breastfeeding has changed for the better.
Just last month, for instance, a commercial which captured the struggles of breastfeeding mothers aired during the Golden Globes.
Frida Mom – a postpartum company – were behind the deeply moving ad which highlights the challenges many mothers face, from leaking to clogged milk ducts to the pain of engorgement.
