(July 22, 2018, 3:39 am)theo hex

(July 22, 2018, 1:50 am)Akhenaten I'm not into the candids for a lot of the same reasons you're not, but I don't mind having them there. This entire board/community is already one degree more "creepy" than the "normal" population by virtue of catering to people with a fetish. I don't see what difference it makes at that point. And no, it's not a slippery slope or anything: posters can make plenty of excuses for some of the stuff we find distasteful, but there are no excuses for things that are unquestionably morally reprehensible or illegal, which is why you won't find anything like that here. So all in all, I think we do OK. And yeah just... avoid the candids section.

i avoid that board, just as i don't comment on threads dedicated to women i don't find appealing. i just think candids pass over that thin line of public invasiveness.

some here mention that posting instagam/facebook/youtube/reddit/etc content is creepy, but people post that stuff publicly. when you purposely post things on social media, you're encouraging people to look at those images. anyone who gets shocked that their pictures and videos get around is ignorant at least, delusional at best.

that said, i've seen people use the social media analogy, and it's false. if a pregnant woman is shopping at target for drapes and mouthwash, she isn't going out with the intent of having her picture taken, to be shared on forums. yeah, i've seen the old argument, "it's legal to take pictures of people in public!", but that doesn't negate that it is invasive to women. i can only wonder how the creeps over on the candids board would feel if people started randonly taking their pictures while minding their business out in public? it's always fine until it happens to you personally.

:rant over: shit's creepy, i avoid that board. out.

While I also think the people taking candids are making a mistake, I disagree strongly with the idea that the behavior is "invasive to women." You're rehashing the increasingly prevalent (in the West) impulse that women can't handle being sexualized and, therefore, must be protected from various types of slights and injuries that are mostly symbolic in nature. I can understand if a pregnant woman finds it slightly unpleasant to be photographed by some jerk at a Bed Bath and Beyond. I would also expect her to be able to accept that this is part of life (specifically, an unfortunate aspect of male behavior) and to move on (or otherwise consult her therapist). If she's preparing to take on the responsibility of raising a child, she presumably knows how to distinguish what is slightly vexing from what is actually important, or, if not, she will hopefully learn soon enough. It is also plausible that the woman being photographed is actually appreciating the attention. That we assume the experience is not only unambiguously bad but even violating is a mistake, and these kinds of assumptions will lead to more women overreacting to these kinds of encounters. (In other words, even the fact that a woman would assume she's being photographed for sexual reasons and respond angrily to that reflects the way we have conditioned women to think negatively about their sexuality.)

Furthermore, this is an example where the insistence that men are unilaterally at fault is misguided. It's reasonable for us to ask that certain interactions between heterosexual people change, but not all of them, and this is a case where I think much more can be gained from asking that women try to understand the man's motivations rather than attempting to shame men into desisting from a behavior they know they can conduct to their advantage (however slight) and with impunity. In other words, it's easy to call someone a creep and disregard them as subhuman, but I would rather the future mothers of the next generation of men to understood some of what men go through, to include the scummy stuff of locker rooms and message boards like this one.

Finally, I ask that those who take candids ask themselves if that's the kind of person they wish to be. I really don't think the conversation should be about who's harmed or what the consequences might be. The vast majority of the women in question are (rightly) oblivious to the behavior, many would be amused to hear it had happened to them, and almost all would be able to put the whole thing behind them within a matter of days. Therefore, I don't think we should take the idea of "harm" too seriously. The consequences for such a trivial offense would necessarily be small. Short of letting all of twitter know you're taking these photos, it's unlikely taking candid photos will glean much in the way of negative consequences. That's not the point. The point is most of us don't want to be that person. It sucks that there aren't more immediate ways for us to find gratification vis a vis our predilection for pregnant women. At some point, we need to accept that and move on with our lives. Taking candid photos is decidedly not that. Is that the person you want to be? I believe we can all man up and take responsibility for ourselves. That means behaving like the man we know we are in public even when there are very private reasons we might wish to briefly do otherwise. The fact that no one else knows doesn't mean we're not betraying ourselves.

(Incidentally, I think this issue with who we should be in public versus who we are has something to do with maturity. Taking pictures of pregnant woman comes across as adolescent behavior to me. That the people on this site engaging in the behavior are mostly adults makes me think this could be a developmental issue, and it might not be a bad idea to see a shrink about it. Is it too judgmental of me to think that taking candid photos is prejudicial to one's mental health?)

"You're rehashing the increasingly prevalent (in the West) impulse that women can't handle being sexualized and, therefore, must be protected from various types of slights and injuries that are mostly symbolic in nature."

you obviously didn't fully read, or understand the subcontext... NOBODY wants their picture takem without permission in public, regardless of gender. your entire reply smacks of "men's rights"/MGTOW sentiments, and i figured that eventually one of your types would show themselves.

Okay, here goes.

I take candids. Not nearly as much as I used to, but I do every now and then. I admit it could be viewed as creepy, although the simple act of taking candids doesn't fall in my top 5, or maybe even my top 10, creepy things that people can do to/around pregnant women. Why do I do it? Same reason people come to this board to download pictures of attractive pregnant women: to have a record of something I find remarkable. It's as simple as that.

That said, I readily admit that candid-taking can be a gateway to objectively bad behavior, such as stalking, inappropriate conversation, and inappropriate physical contact (all of which are in the top 5-10 list I mentioned earlier). Those are all activities I go out of my way to avoid. (I know what you're probably thinking, "honor among thieves" and all.)

The notion of "violation of privacy" is an interesting one, and one I don't really subscribe to. I'm not using a telephoto lens to photograph a pregnant neighbor through her bedroom window or any shit like that. In an age when nearly everyone has a 4K camcorder in their pocket, and in an age when sites like People of Walmart are popular, "privacy" in public areas simply isn't the world in which we live. There are limits to that, of course, such as the stuff I mentioned above and the upskirt/down-blouse stuff I was trying to point out in the other thread.

As for you, Theo, according to your posting history you have several posts in the teen forums of this web site. Those two forums are ones I never visit, and I suppose I could make a thread railing on people that fawn over minors. But I understand that there are some limited gray areas, just as there may be limited gray areas with candids.

Just my two cents.

Just want to add my two cents here. I take candids because in my mind, pregnant women are like a beautiful flower. They only exist for a certain amount of time in their radiant beauty. It's a fleeting, temporary moment in someone's life and it happens to be something I'm deeply curious about and appreciate from a distance. I don't take candids for the rush or adrenaline or risk. I take them because I truly admire women and their form. Would they think it's invasive? Probably. And I feel bad about that. It's funny because there are dozens of IG pages dedicated to candid shots of men, such as DILFs at Disneyland. Women follow and ogle at those candid pictures without anyone saying a word. Anyway, I get why people think it's disgusting. We all draw the line somewhere.

They are legal as long as they are not nude. Regular pics are fine. I get nervous taking them so I act like im viewing the food list on my phone when im really taking pics. Saw this (im assuming latino) woman with 2 daughters (maybe 3-5) she had on all white was maybe 6-7 months. I got a good view of her in the frozen aisle an took a pic. As long as no one notices you then you are fine.

A great way to possibly interact with them is to either have a female friend (have them pretend to be pregnant) & then ask to feel the belly of the woman you see. Theyre more inclined to talk if they know you are with or know a preggo. I download lots of YT & IG belly movement vids (some on my phone) & I saw a latin woman (possibly 8 months) so I said congrats an said "my mom is pregnant too" & showed her a tumblr belly pic & a movement vid. I was able to feel her belly afterwards.

But long story short: candits are legal an anyone can take a pic of anyone anytime. Just make sure no one sees it.

(July 23, 2018, 11:47 am)MrTek A great way to possibly interact with them is to either have a female friend (have them pretend to be pregnant) & then ask to feel the belly of the woman you see. Theyre more inclined to talk if they know you are with or know a preggo. I download lots of YT & IG belly movement vids (some on my phone) & I saw a latin woman (possibly 8 months) so I said congrats an said "my mom is pregnant too" & showed her a tumblr belly pic & a movement vid. I was able to feel her belly afterwards.

Remember when I mentioned a top 5-10 list of creepy things you can do to/around a pregnant woman? This shit is right up there.

(July 23, 2018, 3:16 pm)doubleintegral

(July 23, 2018, 11:47 am)MrTek A great way to possibly interact with them is to either have a female friend (have them pretend to be pregnant) & then ask to feel the belly of the woman you see. Theyre more inclined to talk if they know you are with or know a preggo. I download lots of YT & IG belly movement vids (some on my phone) & I saw a latin woman (possibly 8 months) so I said congrats an said "my mom is pregnant too" & showed her a tumblr belly pic & a movement vid. I was able to feel her belly afterwards.

Remember when I mentioned a top 5-10 list of creepy things you can do to/around a pregnant woman? This shit is right up there.

LOL. It takes a village. Of creeps.

Hey guys I’m gonna just pitch in here. I take candids because I like pregnant women as much as anyone else on this website. I don’t have a woman to call my own and to get pregnant so every so often I take pictures of some pregnant women. Sometimes I feel like it’s an invasion of privacy but honestly so many people in my age group do it I have friends that are girls and they take pictures of “hot” guys in public and Snapchat vids (memes and some vids passed around) invade privacy too. In this day in age everyone records each other and I’ve gotten used to that. We all have different reasons why we do and like the things we do, I take pictures and share them here as I get enjoyment with good shots of big bellies. We all have our own opinions.

There's a difference between recording pregnant (or any person) and keeping them to yourself, and recording them and showcasing the pictures here like some sort of hunting trophy.

And whether you have a pregnant woman to call your own or not, I'm sure 99% of you would be appalled and furious if you wake up one day to find your SO on this site without neither of hers or yours consent. Just keep this in mind.

(July 23, 2018, 9:55 am)doubleintegral The notion of "violation of privacy" is an interesting one, and one I don't really subscribe to.

As for you, Theo, according to your posting history you have several posts in the teen forums of this web site.

hmmmm... at least you're consistent, in that sense. i've better things to do than glom your posting history.