title: Representations of celebrities' weight and shape during pregnancy and postpartum: a content analysis of three entertainment magazine websites.
abstract: Entertainment magazine websites provide a continuous stream of celebrity news accessed by over 13 million unique viewers each month. Celebrities' experiences of pregnancy and new motherhood appear to be popular topics within these media outlets; however, little research has investigated the content of this coverage. In this study, investigators coded articles (N=387) published between August 1, 2007 and August 1, 2008 on three popular entertainment magazine websites. Relatively few articles about celebrities' pregnancies discussed weight (13%) or shape (30%), and an even smaller proportion (6.2%) included any discussion of postpartum body dissatisfaction. This suggests a gap between portrayal of celebrities' pregnancies and postpartum experiences and those of non-celebrity women. This disparity is concerning as it might lead to unrealistic expectations about pregnancy and postpartum for both pregnant readers and a more general audience. This study provides important initial information about the messages these media provide regarding pregnancy-related appearance.
authors.affiliation: Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23220, USA.
authors.forename: Rachel W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Gow
authors.forename: Janet A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lydecker
authors.forename: Jennifer D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lamanna
authors.forename: Suzanne E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Mazzeo
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D049628:Body Size; D001835:Body Weight; D005197:Famous Persons; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007600:Judgment; D010506:Periodicals as Topic; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013851:Thinness / Q000523:psychology