After watching quite a few episodes of
16 and Pregnant this semester watching
The Business of Being Born was a very interesting juxtaposition of representations of pregnancy and birth. In
The Business of Being Born we are presented with women whom are empowered by their bodies and in control of the process of birthing that they experience. In
16 and Pregnant, we are shown a quite different image of women who are shown to be disconnected with their bodies and not given a large amount of choice surrounding the multitude of changes taking place in their very own bodies. I think it is very important for us to think critically of the representations we are being given, to look past what we are seeing on these shows and think of how they are being constructed socially as well as the control the producers and film-makers have in constructing the images we are seeing.
On top of the material we have been watching, the material we are reading this week can also be seen in a lens of social construction, many of the articles in fact are directly addressing this issue, such as the article dissecting the gendered implications in society's construction and women's experience of childbirth.
In addition to all of this I would like us to consider the implications to the new Bravo television show coming out this April
Pregnant in Heels, which is a new reality show about rich expectant mothers in New York City. I want to know what you all think of this representation of pregnancy in conversation with all of the other representations we have seen or read about thus far in class. What does adding this representation mean to our understanding of how pregnancy is represented in pop culture in the US? How do class, race, age and gender play into all of the representations shaping them in different ways? Basically what do you all think??
- Emilia
The Business of Being Born completely opened my eyes to the beauty a homebirth can offer an expectant mother. It is such a natural and fearsome scene to witness. Human beings are the only animals that need assistance during labor and a woman's support system should be concerned with her welfare, wishes and the welfare of her baby and not with making the process happen as quickly and efficiently as possible. An individual goes to the hospital when s/he is sick and pregnancy is not a sickness. I loved seeing another option of childbirth "delivered," allowing such a holistic chance for a woman to bring her baby into the world.
ReplyDeleteAs for Pregnancy in Heels, the preview that I watched made me laugh out loud. I guess it was only a matter of time before pregnancy was filmed in such a dramatic, competitive way (first dating, relationships and weddings, next it'll be...funerals?). It will be an interesting show to watch, for sure. It looks like it will make pregnancy look posh and chic and glamorous.
::Maura B.
Well, what I think is that reality TV has taken over our television screens and just about anything with a reliable plot can be made into a show. That being said, I think there is an upside and there is a downside to this subject.
ReplyDeleteAbout half of the world has the potential to become pregnant. However, only recently has this matter been glamorized. I think 16 & Pregnant has reached its target audience and I think that it has informed the uninformed but it also is a show about underage females who have a child. There is not a whole lot of story there, so MTV edits down months of footage of multiple women into one 40 minute program. I am sure the plot of Pregnant in Heels will be similar.
I think viewers need to be smarter when eating what they are fed. Not everything on “reality” TV is real, sometimes it is edited in a sinister manner and sometimes the subjects are told where to take a conversation. Everything is influenced and we just have to be better consumers.
That being said, I enjoy reality television as a guilty pleasure and mean no offence. :)
-Claire L.
I thought the Business of Being Born was eye opening. I knew hospitals were a business industry so to speak so it was nice seeing it captured on film. I think home births are great but I think the film failed to examine all the reasons why a woman may forego a homebirth. I’m assuming having a home birth is quite expensive and many insurance companies probably don’t cover the cost of it. Also, the women featured in the film for the most part were in the upper middle class. It’s great they can afford the luxury, but women who are poor, more than likely women of color; don’t have the financial stability to cover a home birth. The movie failed to discuss this reality. They kind of made it seem like it’s just because women don’t know that home births are an option, but that’s not the case.
ReplyDeleteAlso, something I think is very odd about 16 and pregnant is the lack of discussion about the birth process. Sure the girls talk about being afraid of giving birth because of the pain or being afraid they will be one of those women who “poops” while giving birth [Chelsea voiced this concern comically in her episode with her friend] but we never see the girls discuss a birth plan. I wonder if any of the girls on the show have birth plans and if so, why does MTV omit the discussions regarding the birth plans? Maybe they don’t think birth plans would make good or interesting T.V. However, the show seems to have an educational platform so I think birth plans should be apart of the show. People actually learn information from watching shows like these. A read a lot of random blogs and one person I follow just gave birth to her first child. In her “Birth Story” entry, she mentioned how she asked the nurse were they going to give her pitocin. Even though she didn’t need any pitocin , she said she thought to ask since she saw it discussed on 16 and Pregnant. Therefore, people can learn important information from a reality television and I think discussing birth plans would be really helpful for women who don’t have access to that kind of information.
As for the Pregnant in Heels, I think the show is meant to be funny joke. I don’t think the show is meant to be taken seriously. However, for people who think the show is “real life”, the show may accidently glamorize pregnancy and marriage. The women on that show appear wealthy, so this show will probably omit the true hardships that come with having a child, maintaining a marriage, and living pay check to pay check. I hope people will watch this show realizing it’s only seeking to generate income and not portray the true realities of pregnancy.
**Ashley B.