I'm a Little Sick of Celebrity Moms

Kourtney Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson, Jenna Elfman, Heidi Klum.  Everywhere you look it's "bump watch!" from TMZ to news sites like CNN.com.  I don't have anything against celebrity moms in and of themselves.  What I have a problem with is the fetishizing of mothers, particularly expectant mothers, in the media.

We all know that being pregnant is no easy ride, but you'd never guess that from reading Us Weekly.  Celeb moms are polished, primped, and pretty, looking... well... like movie stars who just happen to have a beach ball tucked under their Marchesa dresses.  And while celeb dads are covered in the media, they aren't splashed across every magazine cover and baby blog in the universe.  There are some male celebrities whom I have no idea even have kids.  Meanwhile, I know how exactly how dilated Nicole Ritchie was when they brought her into the hospital.  It's like we all sort of own the celeb moms: every move is documented, from what they're eating to who they're wearing to where they're shopping. 

And if a woman isn't currently pregnant, then the scandal sheets are eagerly pouncing on her every pooch.  I can't count the number of times I've seen Jennifer Aniston on the cover of OK! with a burrito in her belly being called pregnant.  Poor Angelina is either "too skinny" or "with child."  And stories of wistful women stating that they can't wait to have babies abound.  Apparently, it's not enough to be famous and talented; you also have to be a "yummy mummy:" fit, always happy, always wanting another babe.  Otherwise, the celebrity must be defective.

And I guess that's my problem.  By showing motherhood as glamourous, the rags are giving a false picture of the hard work that goes into being a mother.  It's not all Anne Geddes posters and Baby Dior, not even for celebrity moms.  It's also poopy diapers, midnight feedings, episiotomies, and post-partum depression.  And fetishizing motherhood might encourage women to go into pregnancy with false expectations.  Most of us can't be like celeb moms with nannies, trainers, makeup artists, and professional photographers.  So, if we go into motherhood comparing ourselves to Ms. Heidi Klum, Supermodel, then we'll feel inadequate... never mind that even the real Ms. Klum can't keep up to the public Ms. Klum featured on magazine covers.

So celeb moms, take a cue from celebrity dads.  Of course, we're interested in them.  Of course they take their jobs as fathers seriously (well, some of them anyway... JUDE LAW).  But they aren't depicted as otherworldly creatures whose sole purpose is to procreate gracefully.  They have jobs, personalities, tribulations... they're human.  And while moms in general have always been exalted, we should realize that celeb moms, too, are real peole.  So, Heidi, show up in sweats one day with milk splattered across your chest.  We'll all thank you for it.