Why the celebrity baby bump reveal is about so much more than Instagram likes

This summer has seen a surge in celebrities posting photos of their baby bumps on Instagram, from Katy Perry’s unfiltered shots, wearing sweats and slides, to Nicki Minaj’s highly stylised reveal in a yellow wig and bottle-teat-covered bikini. Most recently, Gigi Hadid released a triptych of pregnancy portraits from an ethereal black and white shoot by photography duo Luigi and Iango, and Anushka Sharma revealed her pregnancy with a candid picture with husband Virat Kohli at their home. While the world has been hiding away in lockdown, pregnant celebrities are out in full force, embracing a new part of their identity in powerful shots that play a significant role in the hostile history of pregnant women and the media.

Pregnancy and the female gaze

The first pregnant woman to appear on television was Lucille Ball in 1952 in the internationally adored American sitcom I Love Lucy. While the television network, CBS, reluctantly agreed to the pregnancy storyline (which aligned with Ball’s real-life pregnancy), the word ‘pregnant’ was banned from the script, deemed too vulgar for television, resulting in the episode being titled Lucy is Enceinte—a French word for pregnant.

Forty years later, in 1991, actor Demi Moore appeared nude and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair, shot by Annie Leibovitz. The photographs caused mass hysteria and were labelled ‘pornographic’, with many places refusing to sell the magazine, while others wrapped the cover in paper to conceal the image—the way they did for porn magazines.

Fast forward to today, and the sight of a pregnant woman proudly celebrating her changing body, in spaces that expect the male fantasy version of her, still causes mass hysteria. Why do these images ‘break the internet’? As fashion and identity commentator Caryn Franklin, whose field of study covers diverse selfhood, objectification and gender bias, tells Vogue: “With so many images normalising the objectification of a woman’s passive and perfected sexualised body for the male gaze, a pregnant body reminds us that female sexuality is a raw, uncontrollable and magnificent power in and of itself.”

Franklin continues: “Here is an athlete in her physical prime, engaged in a marathon requiring stamina and a high pain threshold. She is a warrior, embodying authentic selfhood, a state rarely portrayed, yet vital for female empowerment.”

Pregnancy as a state of ‘authentic selfhood’ in a world, and particularly a media landscape, that is so focused on image and projection, is an intriguing idea. These are some of the most famous women in the world, and due to the nature of their jobs as pop stars and models, we are presented with so many different looks and versions of them that the stillness and rawness of a pregnancy shot stands out. It is a unique state of being, which, broadly speaking, has the same effect on all female bodies, irrespective of their world status.

Track athlete and mum of four Shakira Akabusi has documented the joys and challenges, both physical and emotional, during her pregnancies on Instagram and through her business Strong Like Mum. Akabusi recalls the particular significance of Beyoncé’s iconic reveal of her pregnancy with twins in 2017, a trailblazing moment in the celebrity bump movement.

“For me, Beyoncé’s reveal showcased strength and power while simultaneously showing softness and composure. When I saw the image, I felt a great sense that it was empowering women to know that motherhood is beautiful and, far from any outdated perceptions that some women may encounter, that motherhood is strength.”

Akabusi started Strong Like Mum to show new mothers that it’s still possible to be sexy, strong, confident and successful. “During pregnancy, I was told many times of all the things I’d never do again—never sleep, never be as active, never be body confident, but in fact I’ve found the opposite to be true. One of the positives of celebrity bump reveals is that other women who may be struggling with adjusting to pregnancy can see that what they are experiencing is beautiful, powerful and worthy of celebration. As a working mother myself, I find it inspiring to see high-profile business entrepreneurs highlighting motherhood as a core part of their identity.”

Break the internet

Celebrities posting their pregnant bodies is a valuable step towards changing the media’s representations of women and understanding what that landscape might look like under the female gaze. However, there is still a long way to go, and a lot more internet to break in terms of follow-up posts of unedited, no studio-lighting postpartum bodies, and truly inspiring body-confidence in new mothers.

As body-image researcher at the Centre of Appearance Research, Nadia Craddock, points out: “Seeing representations of pregnancy can be positive and powerful; it’s the marvel of the human body, which can help shift the focus of the body from aesthetics to function (creating new life!). However, the perinatal period is a vulnerable time for body-image concerns, and if the only media imagery of pregnancy is limited to one type of body (slim, young, no visual weight gain beyond the rounded baby bump, no stretch marks, hyper-feminine), this is obviously not helpful in terms of body image.”

Akabusi agrees: “It is great to see women celebrating moments they’re proud of, but it’s equally important to showcase the other side of the journey, which involves finding confidence and pride in your postpartum self.”

While perfectly presented celebrity baby bumps may pale in historical significance to the centuries-long fight for equality, the images are worth more than the sum of their parts, contributing to a vital shift in perception of a woman’s value and desirability in the public eye. With pregnancy comes a different kind of sexuality, one that is so powerful and uncontainable, it evokes shock and fear in a culture still intent on putting women into boxes and grading their sex appeal.

Under the female gaze, changes to a woman’s body such as pregnancy and age can add to, rather than subtract from, her sexuality. Far from seeing pregnancy as a disruption to life and success— something to do in private before ‘bouncing back’ in mind and body to whatever came before— celebrity bump photos and ongoing documentation of motherhood challenge society to see women as multifaceted beings, constantly evolving and gathering in strength.

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