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Celebrity

I’m Not Sure If I Agree With This Author’s Assessment about the Evil of Celebrity ‘Bump Watch’

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The Atlantic interviewed the Drake University professor who wrote a book about the celebrity baby bump watch craze. In the October 2015 book,  Pregnant with Stars, Watching and Wanting the Celebrity Baby Bump (The Cultural Lives of Law), Renée Ann Cramer, an Associate Professor and Chair of Law, Politics and Society at Drake, examines the American fascination with, and judgment of, celebrity pregnancy.

The piece launches with Cramer’s response to Beyonce‘s twin pregnancy. Cramer gives her perspective that the celebrity bump watch phenomenon is part of a proverbial “pregnancy industrial complex.”  Cramer analyzed Beyonce’s pregnancy with Blue Ivy in her book.

According to the description of Cramer’s  book in Amazon, Kramer “exposes how our seemingly innocent interest in “baby bumps” actually reinforces troubling standards about femininity, race, and class, while increasing the surveillance and regulation of all women in our society.”

To do so, she compares media coverage of pregnant celebrities, including Jennifer Garner, Angelina Jolie, Beyoncé Knowles, Kristen Bell, M.I.A., Jodie Foster, and Mila Kunis, and then applies sociology pedagogy to criticize said media coverage.

Essentially, she blames bump watch articles for promoting unattainable post-baby bodies, something I’ve blogged about often over the past few years. But Cramer goes further. She actually makes a tremendous leap to link bump coverage with government control of women’s bodies, I suppose via social and legal regulations surrounding access to birth control and abortions, and the like.

It seems to me to be a tenuous connection to say “frivolous celebrity gossip” is part of a larger, and perhaps, covert strategy to control survey, commodification of and control women’s bodies.

I disagree.

I think pop culture and society’s obsession with celebrity pregnancy is just part of the admiration and hero-worship of stars, in general.  It’s just among the newest aspect of celebrity life to become enamored with, nothing more. The media cover what the people want to see. And when we see them click more links on bump watch, guess what, we post more.

The people express interest in it and they click articles about baby bumps, and the gossip rags and blogs, including this one, report on what the people want. It’s symbiotic.

In the Atlantic article, Cramer makes racial distinctions in the coverage and suggests that pregnancies of women of color are hypersexualized and less favorable than of white celebrities.

As a person who has covered celebrities and monitored the other sites coverage, I question that  assessment.  The media coverage is the same for the most part, in my opinion.

What is different is how the pubic reacts. It may be different because a lot of members of the general population already view Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez, for example, as sexual people. These women are sexy and their performance on stage and their clothing is revealing and we talk a lot about their bodies as their bodies are part of their image, their craft and their public persona.

Mila Kunis and Jennifer Garner are not known for that.

Also, celebrities of color aren’t given that much mainstream gossip press that is why niche sites like this one, Black Celeb Kids and Latina magazine fill in the void and the coverage of celebrity pregnancy in our sites are usually more positive.

I do agree that societal views of pregnancy are shaped by what people see when they read media articles about celebrity pregnancies, but I am not wholly convinced that there is a connection with control over women’s bodies. Perhaps, I will read the book and see if there is more to the analysis but from the synopsis and the Atlantic interview, I’m not buying it.

 

 

Ciara is Making New Music; Just Signed with Warner Bros.

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Look who is returning to her first love, music. Ciara!

The second-time mom-to-be recently announced that she has signed with Warner Brothers Records.

“We welcome Ciara to Warner Bros. Records and look forward to the next chapter of her storied music career,” Cameron Strang, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Records said in a statement.

She joins label mates Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. swoon

It’s perfect timing as the model and fashion designer muse has been working on her latest album, titled Jackie for over a year. The album is named after her mom Jackie Harris and Ciara said he started working on it shortly after becoming a mom for the first time, when she welcomed her now 2-year old son Future Zahir with ex,  hip hop artist Future.

Ciara and her husband Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will welcome their first child together later this  year. Meanwhile, here’s to new music!

My Other Home ❤️

A photo posted by Ciara (@ciara) on

Until then, enjoy this medley of some of her biggest hits:

Insider: Beyonce Struggled for a Long Time to Conceive Again

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Editor’s Note: I know. I know. Enough Beyonce coverage. Soon. I cannot help myself as I am a big fan. Now this….

It feels like the world stopped spinning on its axis for a moment after we found out Beyoncé is not only pregnant, but that she and Jay Z are expecting twins!

She’s already released a slew of gorgeous photos in honor of the exciting news, and now E! News has learned the whole process has been quite a “miracle.”

An insider tells us exclusively, “[Bey and Jay] have been trying for sometime, and it has not been very easy conceiving this time around, so when they did it was a miracle. They always wanted more kids, and they are doing really well as a couple so the timing is on point.”

As for Queen B’s health, our source explains, “Beyoncé is feeling OK. She had some morning sickness early on and her energy level is slower then usual, [but she] is taking good care of her body and has good doctors that are making sure she is on track.”

The rest of the family, including 5-year-old Blue Ivy, is ecstatic.

“Blue is excited to be a big sister,” our insider reveals. “And Jay Z has expressed his excitement to some of his very close friends.”

For now, the insider adds, “Jay Z has new music, and Beyoncé will take some time for herself now and after she has the babies.”

Meanwhile, Bey announced the news on her Instagram Wednesday, releasing a joint statement with her family beside a Virgin Mary-esq photo.

“We would like to share our love and happiness. We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes,” she wrote.

The announcement broke Selena Gomez‘s record by becoming the most-liked Instagram ever.

Then, on Thursday, the excitement only continued when she released even more photos as a part of the announcement in which she’s seen posing node, sitting atop an old car and and swimming in a pool.

originally printed and

Did You Know Beyonce Invented the Non-Verbal Red Carpet Pregnancy Reveal?

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Speaking of Beyonce being pregnant, did you know that she pioneered the red carpet celebrity pregnancy announcement?

From covering celebrity pregnancy for close to 10 years, I have institutional memory in this area. Bellyitch was one of the first site’s to declare that the “bump watch” origin was Demi Moore’s iconic August 1991 Vanity Fair cover.  Since then, others have accepted that assessment.

A little while ago, I noticed that after Beyonce famously announced her pregnancy by cupping her belly on the red carpet of the 2011 MTV Music Awards, other celebrities have chosen to quietly let the world know they are expecting using that non-verbal gesture.

Of course, she is not the first one to break pregnancy news while talking to entertainment reporters on the chain line, but since she did it, Marion Cotillard, Gwen Stefani, Amber Rose, Kerry Washington, and others chose to confirm rumors and let the world know they were expecting on the red carpet.

I welcome anyone who will prove to me otherwise. Hit me up on Twitter or Instagram or Facebook @Bellyitch! 🙂

Beyonce Will Join This Growing List of Celebrities with Twins

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Another celebrity diva is expecting twins! Beyonce announced on her Instagram page today  that she and her husband Jay-Z are expecting twins. She posted an artistic photo of herself in bra and undies wearing a veil sitting in a bed of flowers and roses.

She joins fellow singing diva Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez in twin motherhood and others like WNBA player Glory Johnson; celebrity spouses (or ex) Adrienne Bosh, Kayte Grammar, Kim Porter; Actresses Angelina Jolie,  Geena Davis, Anna PaquinDaya Vaidya, Garcelle Beauvais, Molly Ringwald, Mo’Nique, Sherri Saum, Holly Robinson-Peete, Rebecca Romijn,  Marcia Cross, Lisa Marie Presley, including via surrogates as with Sarah Jessica ParkerAngela Basset, Julie Bowen, Neil Patrick HarrisRicky Martin, among others. 


HOW TO INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF GIVING BIRTH TO TWINS


“We would like to share our love and happiness,” the 20-time Grammy winner captioned the baby bump photo which has been shared 2M times as of this posting. “We have been blessed two times over. We are incredibly grateful that our family will be growing by two, and we thank you for your well wishes.”

 

 

Also, there is something about Grammy Awards  when it comes to Beyonce announcing a pregnancy. She shared the news of her pregnancy with her first child, Blue Ivy following a performance in 2011 (arguably starting the red carpet reveal trend) and today, a couple weeks before the Grammy’s, here she is again to with baby news.

For the most part, the singer-songwriter has kept a lay profile for a while now since wrapping up her world tour last year. [side bar: I was just thinking about how Adele ended her tour by announcing she would be off to try to get pregnant again]

There has been a lot of speculation about a second child for several years now. And also, for the record, this is her third pregnancy.  In 2013, the multi-platinum selling artist revealed that she had suffered a miscarriage prior to the arrival of her daughter.

 “About two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time,” she revealed in a self-produced HBO documentary. “And I heard the heartbeat, which was the most beautiful music I ever heard in my life.

“I picked out names. I envisioned what my child would look like. I was feeling very maternal.

“I flew back to New York to get my check up – and no heartbeat. Literally the week before I went to the doctor, everything was fine, but there was no heartbeat.

“I went into the studio and wrote the saddest song I’ve ever written in my life. And it was actually the first song I wrote for my album. And it was the best form of therapy for me, because it was the saddest thing I’ve ever been through.”

I am excited for her and Blue Ivy, her daughter with Jay-Z. I am also looking forward to the bump watch and checking out what she will wear to this year’s Grammy red carpet on February 12.

This news comes the same week we learned about Pharrell Williams‘ triplets. 

Multiples are the new singleton.  lol

LHHA’s Joseline Hernandez Shared her Water Birth Experience on ‘The Real’

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Love and Hip Hop: Atlanta star Joseline Hernandez guest co-hosted on The Real this week and shared her experience having a natural, non-medicated water birth at a birthing center using a Douala. It has been just two and a half weeks since she welcomed her first child, daughter Bonnie Bella.

During the “Girl Chat” segment of the FOX Network daytime panel talk show, Hernandez shared insights into her labor and birthing experience which was filmed for a VH1 Delivery Special she co-executive produced. She explained shared that after her OB/GYN explained to her that the hospital wouldn’t allow the film crew, she opted to deliver in a birthing center, utilizing doulas and midwives.

The other hosts asked her to explain the experience more in depth.

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“You have all women, strong women, sort of like what we are,” Hernandez exclaimed. “It was the best experience in my whole life” adding “it is  like having a baby at a resort..”.like a hotel with a small pool.

When co-host Adrienne Bailon asked her if anything crazy happened, she shared a hilarious story about losing the fancy wig she wore during delivery and keeping the hat and headscarf and not letting the birthing staff, film crew or anyone else remove the hat.

The drawbacks of having a full staff, film crew, lights and all in your face in middle of intense contractions, we suppose!  She looked fabulous in white, red tassel earrings and a cute bouffant while co-hosting for the third or fourth time. Watch!

Pharrell Williams and wife Heather Lasichanh welcome Triplets!

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When we blogged last September that singer-producer-songwriter Pharrell Williams and his wife, model  and designer Heather Lasichanh, were expecting their second child, we were very very wrong!

The couple were actually awaiting the birth of triplets!

They’re here!

Vanity Fair reports that the babies arrived in early January.

“Pharrell, Helen and Rocket Williams have welcomed triplets. The family is happy and healthy!” his rep relayed to the outlet

Williams and Lasichanh, who wed in October 2013, are already parents to 8-year-old son Rocket Ayer.

No details on the sex or names of the babies have been released. That’s no surprise because they have done an excellent job keeping Rocket out of the public eye.

According to E!, the couple have been “wanting another child for a while.”

Well they got that and more!

They are our fave most fashionable couple. No really we love their funky style!

pharrell fashion

Kim Kardashian West’s Return to Social Media Just Turned Political

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Kim Kardashian West returned to social media in time to get political. Her husband Kanye West may be a friend of Donald Trump, but she still took the time to passive aggressively slam a recent policy imposed by the 45th US President.

In a Friday executive order, President Trump banned Syrian refugees and other citizens from several Muslim countries. Kim responded by posting statistics about annual deaths in America.

The graphic on Twitter showed the number of Americans killed annually by various circumstances. The fatal injury report deemed that two people are killed by Islamic jihadist immigrants each year, which was compared to 11,737 individuals killed by being shot by another American.

The biz mogul and reality TV show captioned her post, “Statistics.”

Bryce Howard’s Red Carpet Picks Give Us One More Reason to Love her

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The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards went down last night at The Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles, California and has been notable this year because of its diversity among winners (Viola Davis for Best Actress and Denzel Washington for Best Actor in Fences, Hidden Figures for Best Cast and Mahershala Ali for Best Actor Supporting Role in Moonlight).

But it was noteworthy in the fashion world for another reason.

This not the first time Howard, who was nominated for her performance in an episode of Netflix‘s Black Mirror, has opted to skip the expensive couture and custom designed dresses many stars wear on the red carpet.

In December, the Twilight saga series star wore a dreamy yellow Top Shop gown to the Critics Choice Awards, which sells for just $240 at Topshop. At the 2016 Golden Globes, the daughter of famed actor turned director Ron Howard,  wore a blue Jenny Packham gown that she bought herself at Neiman Marcus the week of the show.

These choices are awesome because in a world where many people clamor to imitate celeb style, she makes it achievable for fashion conscious women of all socio-economic levels. Also, you got to give it up to her for giving back while looking fabulous! Score!

More reasons to love Bryce! Swoon!

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