Bordo examines society's peculiar and passionate fascination with the person-hood of the fetus and the construction of pregnant women as the "life-support system[s] for a fetus (p. 77)." Pregnant women's subjectivity is only acknowledged and appreciated when she is performing her duties as an incubator in a satisfactory manner. If she engages in behaviors deemed irresponsible, she is a bad mother for not performing her essential function.
Society's desire to identify and chastise "bad moms" has manifested itself in programs like 16 and Pregnant. What draws the audience in is the possibility that these young woman will not fulfill their potential as incubators. Camera crews follow these women and are able to capture instances of their subjectivity, but the show does not center the varying characteristics of each woman's life. Instead, her shortcomings and "selfishness" is placed at the forefront. The prenatal care and complex support systems present in each story are only addressed when it is inadequate or unstable. The peak of each episode is the arrival of the baby. Heaven forbid something be wrong with the baby, the audience must look back and consider what wrong-doing on the mother's behalf accounted for the problem.
I Didn't Know I was Pregnant is a far different pregnancy program. The women featured on this show have given birth, unaware of their pregnancy until they went into labor. These women are portrayed more sympathetically than the women of 16 and Pregnant. Because they did not realize they were pregnant their behavior while pregnant is excused. Several women featured on the show have admitted to engaging in activities that were potentially harmful to the fetus, like drinking, smoking and placing themselves in high stress situations. However, because most of these babies did not encounter serious health issues, these women and their babies are praised. It is assumed that these women's bodies were able to enact characteristics of their essential function as life-support systems in spite of the women's decisions. Programs like these downplay the importance of prenatal care and perpetuate the notion of fetuses as super-subjects.
Bringing in reality shows was a good idea! I think you make a good point that 16 and Pregnant is a show that is formulated around "kids" being unfit parents, which is then continued on in the sequel, Teen Mom. In all/most cases the relationship doesn't work out and the teenagers are looked at like bad parents. The only couple that is near respected on that show is the couple that gave their baby up for adoption.
ReplyDeleteI kind of disagree when it comes to I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant because I have poor feelings towards those people too. I sit in front of the screen and I'm like "Really, your baby was full term and you DIDN'T KNOW... you couldn't tell by the weight gain, missed period, or tiredness... what about the baby moving around?!?!" I blame the mother for not knowing her body, or being in full control.
I think any show based around pregnancy is "using" the woman's body. The filming objectifies the woman and baby as two different parts. The mom-to-be is this incubator while the program climax's with the child being born. I do not think the women in these shows are portrayed as they should be, but I would not know how to go about fixing that.
I agree that television exploits these women and turns them into spectacles because of their selfishness and irresponsibility. I think your example of 16 and pregnant is a smart one because MTV chooses to show these irresponsible moments in order to gain ratings. In the show the teens talk more about what they are losing by having a child, rather than showing happiness about being pregnant. At these moments they are not performing their duties as a mother because they are caring more about themselves than their babies. These women are young and are assumed to be unfit to carry/care for a child.
ReplyDeleteI also agree the show I Didn’t Know I was Pregnant (which is a very scary concept) is more sympathetic because these women didn’t get a chance to fulfill their role as a pregnant mother. Since they did not know they were carrying a child, their irresponsible actions are removed from them. They cannot be viewed as “bad mothers” because they were not aware of their baby and were not making consciously bad decisions.