Times are changing, and gone are the days when pregnancy was discussed only in hushed tones, if at all. Having a baby is cool — no doubt about it.
We’ve come a long way
Since every single one of us is the result of a pregnancy, you’d think it always would be considered a normal part of life. But no. In fact, just a generation ago and beyond, talk of pregnancy was taboo, particularly on TV, radio and the big screen.
“For the first half of the 20th century, the media were extremely nervous about even discussing, let alone portraying, pregnancy,” says Paul Levinson, PhD, professor of media studies at Fordham University in New York City. “In the 1940s, a woman could not be described in a movie as ‘pregnant.’ The preferred phrase was ‘in the family way.’”
Since then, perceptions about pregnancy have changed. The process began slowly at first. Once society at large realized that expecting moms were not second-class citizens, however, the media embraced the concept with a vengeance. Now, not only are depictions of pregnancy no longer forbidden, they’re downright fashionable.
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