English Version | Who let the baby bump out?

It's a fait-divers that's been repeated ad nauseum, but it's interesting because of its protagonists: Grace Kelly and Hermès. In 1956, the then Princess of Monaco used her purse, which happened to be from the well-known Parisian fashion house, to try to disguise her pregnancy from the paparazzi who were chasing her. The photographs of that moment went around the world - after all, that would be the first child (who turned out to be a girl, Carolina) of Hitchcock's eternal muse, whom the Principality welcomed with open arms. From then on, the popularity of Sac à Dépêches soared and, in 1977, it was officially renamed Kelly, in honor of Grace. What does this have to do with the subject that brings us here? Everything. If, until recently, pregnancy was something that was kept under wraps - it's worth remembering that we're talking about celebrities, the average mortal, fortunately, deals with this “problem” in a much less dramatic way - so as not to shock the public (something we'll never understand), disappoint fans (ditto), or lose advertising contracts (the body changes, so everything changes), in recent years we've seen the opposite phenomenon. From the heights of their marvelous, ever-growing bellies, various women, from Rihanna to Cardi B, have begun to “shout” slogans that have long needed to be heard: “I'm pregnant. Have you seen how incredible I look?”

There is no specific reason for this paradigm shift. It's a complex phenomenon, fueled by a confluence of factors, some related to celebrity culture itself, and others linked to social expectations of motherhood. Just think of the craze surrounding the release of the photographs announcing the first pregnancy of the Diamonds singer, who quickly became “mother” (there's an article about this in this issue) of half the planet. This would have been impossible without the rise of social media, on the one hand, and the constant search for content, on the other, which has created a culture in which celebrities are expected to share more and more details of their personal lives - feeding the cycle and encouraging other celebrities to join in. In addition, there has been a change in the way these personalities manage their fame. Whereas before they were advised to keep a pregnancy a secret until later stages, today some of them see pregnancy as a way of connecting with fans on a more personal level, humanizing their image and, of course, generating positive press. In other words, some people see this state of grace as an opportunity to promote their own persona/brand - after all, sharing sponsored content can be (very) profitable. But it's not all marketing strategy in this new way of communicating the arrival of a baby. There's an argument that can't be ignored: the fact that we're taking more and more interest in celebrities' baby bumps - and, invariably, their style for nine months - normalizing one of the most beautiful phases of a woman's life, in turn helps to normalize all pregnancies, even those of non-famous people, and counteracts unrealistic representations of perfect postpartum bodies. Jessie J, Kim Kardashian, Sienna Miller, Cardi B, Adriana Lima... all of them have shown that it is possible to flaunt a fabulous belly and maintain the level of glamour expected of a diva.

Originally published in The Mother Nature Issue, from May 2024. Full stories and credits are in the printed version.