Why there’s nothing wrong with this mom jogging in a bikini

I would never go jogging in a bikini. (In fact, I would never go jogging. Or wear a bikini.) But I’m not a supermodel hawking a jogging stroller for a Vogue photoshoot. Ymre Stiekema is. So why is she taking so much heat for it?

Dutch stroller company Bugaboo shared this photo, an ad for its Bugaboo Runner shot for Vogue Netherlands, on social media with the caption “Wow doesn’t model and mother of 2-year old Lymée, Ymre Stiekema look amazing in this @nlvogue shoot!’’

The Internet answered, but probably not in the way Bugaboo imagined. The controversial photo has been the source of much debate.

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My answer? Yes, she does look amazing. Good for her. And others felt the same way.

But hundreds of people on social media, many of them moms, felt the need to vent about the photo. Some called the ad “unrealistic’’ and “totally ridiculous.’’ They wrote things like “Are you kidding me? Who goes running like that?’’ and “I love how natural this photo is and how it represents most mothers…’’

Well, it’s an $815 stroller, designed by a high-end stroller manufacturer specifically for joggers and advertised in Vogue, so I’m not sure the goal was to represent “most mothers.’’ It seems to me that the sensitivity meter on this one climbed a bit too high.

Stiekema’s child is two years old. It’s not like she just gave birth last month. She’s a supermodel who is also an avid runner. It makes sense that she’s fit. As for the black-and-white bikini, many doubted in their posts whether runners really run in such a little amount of clothing. But a good number of runners responded that they, in fact, do.

Stiekema’s bikini didn’t strike me as outrageous. She was hired to model a running apparatus. It’s not like she was wearing it for a handbag ad. And in Boston, we’re used to seeing runners dressed in what amounts to a bathing suit while running.

Shalane Flanagan running the Boston Marathon in 2014.

What the ad did was stir up an old outrage for women: Hollywood and magazines flaunt a body type and image that is perceived as largely unattainable. And then when celebrity mothers “bounce back’’ so quickly after giving birth, it’s eye-roll inducing.

Hey, I get it. I remember wearing my maternity clothes for a while after giving birth because my regular clothes didn’t fit. And the last person I wanted to look at was a beautiful new mom on TV in tight clothes and perfect makeup when I was feeling so…frumpy. I reminded myself that celebrities are paid to look great. I am not. Yes, I care about my appearance. But comparing my body, hair, and makeup to a celebrity’s is not realistic — post-partum or at any other time. I don’t have an army of personal trainers, chefs, or hair and makeup artists at my disposal.

And this is the message I want to send my young daughter as she becomes more conscious of her body: In our celebrity-obsessed society, we have to stop comparing ourselves to celebrities. That’s what’s unrealistic.

Speaking of models…check out these Tom and Gisele sightings:

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