Editorial: Keeping up with the pregnancies

Photo by Will Huang

Last September, Kylie Jenner was spotted out in Los Angeles supposedly concealing a baby bump. Then began some good old fashioned “aliens live among us” conspiracy theories. Pregnancy, especially out of wedlock, was once something that was shameful to a person’s reputation; now pregnancy is something that is only shameful if you hide it.

The rumour mill and pop culture conspiracy theorists quickly jumped on the Kylie pregnancy wagon citing that her and boyfriend Travis Scott were expecting their first child together.

Kylie confirmed her pregnancy on Feb. 4  with an 11-minute video, as well as numerous photos of her baby bump skewered all over the Instagram and Twitter-verse. What stood out to me was not that Kylie was able to hide her pregnancy from her fans and paparazzi successfully, but that she had to apologize to everyone for keeping it a secret.

Ultimately, the fact that Kylie had to apologize to fans is problematic. Pregnancy is a very personal time for anyone experiencing it. The fact that she couldn’t leave her house without a carefully planned escape route as well as housekeepers attempting to take photos of her in her own home is seriously disturbing and shows society’s obsession with pregnancy; particularly in cases where privacy is valued.

A person should not have to have their pregnancy policed by the public, but in our pregnancy-obsessed society that’s just the way things are. Pregnancy is a state where the person experiencing it is continuously judged and expected to ‘perform’ during their pregnancy in a certain way.

The fact of the matter is, it’s no one’s business how someone decides to experience their pregnancy besides theirs and their OBGYN. I think, however, amidst all of all this controversy, we can all agree that Kylie Jenner and her baby did indeed win the 2018 Super Bowl.

Persons experiencing pregnancy are now expected to have a grand gender reveal, a host of baby showers, diaper keggers and baby brunches along with the constant stream of comments about breastfeeding or bottle  debate. And the worst of it all, belly grabbing. If a person experiencing pregnancy decides to experience pregnancy in private, they are deviating from the norm and it’s often assumed they’re for ashamed of their baby or simply not fit to parent.

In Kylie’s case, she simply wanted to have her pregnancy out of the public eye to reduce her stress, with the health of her baby resting at the core of her decision. Due to the constant paparazzi stalking, questions on television directed to her family and friends, as well as the negative narratives surrounding her short-term relationship with Travis Scott, she had no choice but to remain private.

Kylie did decide to have a small baby shower with family and friends — and the fabulous North West. There was a drone flying in the fucking sky taking photos of her in her own home. It’s seriously disturbing that people are policing her pregnancy to the point where they would risk the safety of her and her guests just to snap a few pictures. Fortunately for her, enough of the chic design silk pajamas — which were provided by the lip kit mogul — were all one size too big for guests, providing her with the ‘covered baby bump’ comfort look.

Pregnancy used to be a reminder that women engaged in sexual activity and were, therefore, impure, tainted or property of the husband who they belonged to. Pregnancy is socially acceptable if you are correctly performing your pregnancy. People experiencing pregnancy are now subjected to increased surveillance around outfit choices, exercise, their food and beverage consumption, as well as how they are acting.

People experiencing pregnancy are encouraged when they are pregnant to drink kale smoothies, not stay out past 9 p.m. and apparently to only wear New Balance running shoes.

The fact of the matter is, it’s no one’s business how someone decides to experience their pregnancy besides theirs and their OBGYN. I think, however, amidst all of all this controversy, we can all agree that Kylie Jenner and her baby did indeed win the 2018 Super Bowl.

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