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Mum’s the Word – Episode 9 (2003)

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The obsession with slim education content clip 2

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

In a world obsessed with slim, these women explain how they felt about the body changes that happened to each of them during and after pregnancy. Zoe Carides recalls her mother’s comment just a week after Zoe had given birth that the actress still had a little stomach, although hers had firmed up immediately.

Curator’s notes

Rebecca le Tourneau hosts Mum’s the Word. In this clip we hear actress Zoe Carides and broadcaster Amanda Keller discuss body image before and after pregnancy with a group of women. It’s fly-on-the-wall television and as viewers we are meant to feel we’re eavesdropping on a real conversation. The multi-camera recording captures the rapport very well.

It’s arguable that the cross-section of white, highly educated and articulate women is not representative of Australia as a whole. However, the topic discussed could be said to be one most new mothers share. The show is an example of lifestyle television programming which has grown rapidly in Australia in the last decade, often due to the low production costs but also because these programs are very popular.