Beyoncé shows off her post-baby body on the April 2013 cover of Shape magazine in a wetsuit-inspired bikini. Designed to show off her sleek shape, Blue Ivy's mama strikes a pose similar to her recent sizzling GQ cover. We admit to bowing down to Queen Bey for all of her music-making, baby-creating, style-setting prowess, but there was something with this cover that stopped us in our worshipping tracks: a belly-button ring.
Belly-button piercings bring us back to the '90s, when pop icons like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera burst onto the scene in all of their blonde, tanned glory. Part of their appeal -- aside from their addictive music -- was the fascination of watching kids who had grown up on the Disney Channel shed their teen queen personas as quickly as you can say "low-rise jeans."
As they were shedding those good-girl images, they simultaneously shed their clothes to reveal toned, taut bodies. Their flat bellies inspired sit-ups amongst ladies everywhere, and how better to show off one's six-pack abs than with a bit of bling? Britney, Shakira, Janet Jackson, Paris Hilton and more showed off belly-button rings that, at times, were even more pronounced thanks to an accompanying chain.
But times have changed and the belly-button ring went the way of the so-called "tramp stamp" ... or so we thought. It makes sense that naval piercings would have become extinct amongst the 25+ crowd: We've gotten jobs where being fully clothed is a must, our jeans are no longer low enough to require bikini waxing and some of us have even given up tanning.
Moreover, most of the women who flaunted belly bling in the '90s have since had kids, and lord knows that a belly-button that has expanded enough to allow for a full-term baby could not withstand a piercing. Even Britney Spears took out hers! So why oh why would Beyoncé, the arbiter of all things cool, make the conscious decision to wear a belly-button ring after the birth of baby Blue Ivy?
We understand Beyoncé's desire to flaunt her flat, toned tummy, but we would have noticed her amazing bod no matter what. After all, the other celebrities who join Mrs. Carter in wearing belly-button rings are Demi Lovato, Vanessa Hudgens and Sammi Giancola of "Jersey Shore" fame. Not exactly the crowd that we picture Bey running with. But hey, that's just this editor's opinion. Where do you stand on belly-button rings?
PHOTO:
Check out Beyoncé in all of her glory over the years.
