She Gives Birth, She's Wearing a Bikini: Mobilizing the Postpregnant Celebrity Mom Body to Manage the Post–Second Wave Crisis in Femininity

Neoliberal motherhood during the pandemic: Some reflections

“…After birth, new mothers are expected to return to their pre‐baby bodies as soon as possible and to remain fit in the following years (e.g., Littler, 2013; O’Brien Hallstein, 2011; Roth, Homer, & Fenwick, 2012). In the words of one interviewee: ‘I have so often heard, “could you still not get rid of your extra weight?”.’ A mother’s regaining of her sexual attractiveness and fitness is regarded as an indicator for her success in life (see also Cairns & Johnston, 2015; Littler, 2013; O’Brien Hallstein, 2011). Given the limited opportunities to exercise during the COVID‐19 pandemic, one might have expected a concomitant shift in expectations towards pregnant women and new mothers’ fitness and body shape.…”

Speaking About Birth: Visible and Silenced Narratives in Online Discussions of Childbirth

“…This article intervenes within this developed literature cited above, by focusing closely on discourses of birthing, to draw attention to the contradictions, tensions, and juxtaposition of contrasting discourses surrounding the birthing body, as they are framed within a neo-liberal preoccupation with individualized, intensive maternity (cf. Douglas & Michaels, 2005; O’Brien Hallstein, 2011). Specifically, the article progresses the recent attention paid to broadcast media and its representation of pregnant bodies by placing the focus on women’s talk and cultural discourse itself and the ways in which the body, birthing, “good” birthing, and birth cultures are conceptualized, and to what end.…”

“…But in addition, recent historical shifts in the division of domestic labor, the perception and mediation of birthing bodies and the relationships between birthing, pregnancy, and consumer culture have undergone massive changes in relation to other political, economic and cultural logics, and some of these discourses have become more visible, pronounced, and mediated over the recent past (cf. Bochantin et al, 2010; Douglas & Michaels, 2005; Moravec et al, 2011; O’Brien Hallstein, 2011; O’Donohoe, Hogg, Maclaran, Martens, & Stevens, 2013; Tyler, 2009). This includes work by Douglas and Michaels (2005) on “the new momism,” work by O’Brien Hallstein (2011) on “bikini-ready moms,” and feminist scholarship in Britain by McRobbie (2013), Littler (2013), Tyler (2009) on the political-economic and cultural contexts within which maternal subjectivities are produced and maintained and mother blame and guilt rationalized, as an individualized, idealized maternal subjectivity privileged within the intensive motherhood discourse (Hays, 1998).…”

Shapes of motherhood: exploring postnatal body image through photographs

“…Moore's postpartum picture communicated that 'the pregnant belly has here become a fashion accessory, to be donned for a certain time and then taken off' (Matthews and Wexler 2000, p. 204). Feminist scholars have argued that these iconic photographs made Demi Moore the figurehead for a movement centred around pregnant and postpartum beauty, facilitating the more recent rise of the 'yummy mummy' (see O'Brien Hallstein 2011).…”