I really hate the expression 'baby bump'. It's one of those terms that has snuck into the popular lexicon and just taken hold. It seems to surface most often when talking about celebrity appearances on the red carpet.
The papers and mags don't talk about a couple being pregnant anymore, they say "So-and-so was seen sporting a baby bump", as though the woman had just shoved a pillow up her dress or something. If the male's hand is seen "hovering protectively" around his partner's middle region, or if she feels like wearing something slightly loose and comfortable instead of skin tight, it's all cause for the media to go into conniptions about whether or not she's expecting.
Who'd be a celebrity, honestly? Given the struggles so many people have in conceiving, imagine it all being dissected in ravening detail in every magazine, newspaper and gossip blog. And imagine that precious life being referred to in such trivial terms as being nothing more than a 'bump'. Or imagine, as a mother, being lumped into a group of famous women for whom 'baby bumps are the latest accessory'.
I hate it. It's demeaning. It's stupid. And it's lazy writing.
You stole my thoughts! You stole my thoughts! I was mentally writing a blogrant about that. It particularly galls when that expression is used by actual journalists - as much as it can be called actual journalism when they're discussing Cate's pregnancy - as though it is a medical term. And the way it is always teamed with "sporting" makes it sound as though it is an accessory: she appeared in a fine ensemble, sporting this seasons Prada pumps and baby bump. < gag reflex >
ReplyDeletehere! here! i totally agree with you both. Not to mention the hideous clothing that 'normal' pregnant people get to "sport" about in (as the cupboard behind me attests). Now can we get back to your interesting life of reading and seeing bands etc, as it is great escapism from my maternal world ;)
ReplyDeletemicky - *waving* to nerd_safari