Pregnant with the Stars

“What do celebrity baby bumps, boobs, and booties have to do with the law? In this compelling and creative new book, Renée Cramer suggests that contemporary culture’s fascination with these subjects reveals much about the complex web of social and legal regulations that shape our understanding of pregnancy, the body and femininity.“—Susan Burgess, Ohio University “When people hear I study celebrity, they often ask, ‘What’s going on with the obsession with celebrity pregnancy and baby bumps?’ Finally, I have somewhere to direct them. Pregnant with the Stars takes a nuanced and engaging look at celebrity pregnancy, connecting the baby bump craze to larger issues governing women’s bodies and what we expect and demand from them.“—Anne Helen Petersen, Features Writer at BuzzFeed and author of Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema “Pregnant with the Stars is as entertaining as it is illuminating. Cramer has a rare gift for drawing our attention to everyday forms of power that occur at the intersection of popular culture, politics and the law and converge in our gaze on women’s bodies.“—Claire Rasmussen, University of Delaware “Americans have voraciously consumed images of gorgeous, famous pregnant bodies—from Demi to Kiera—while ordinary women have officially lost rights, dignity, and safety as fertile persons. Renée Cramer cracks open interpretations of this development, inviting us to consider the consequences of celebrating those beyond our reach, while millions of real women are threatened with ignobility and ignominy.“—Rickie Solinger, author of Reproductive Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know “Cramer’s examination of celebrity pregnancy reminds us that robust analysis can also be wildly fun. Pregnant with the Stars reveals how the pop culture portrayal of pregnant women’s bodies undermines equality and deeply-held social values. Readers of all kinds will enjoy the book and want to talk about it—online, at work, in the classroom, and beyond.“—Chrysanthi Leon, University of Delaware “Cramer sees our obsession with pregnant celebrities as a distraction from birth-control politics….She urges women not to let what is an individual experience be influenced by celebrity-pregnancy hype.“—Crystal Erickson, Bitch Magazine

Renée Ann Cramer is Associate Professor and Chair of Law, Politics and Society at Drake University.