in 1991, Demi Moore made having a baby bump chic when she posed on the cover of Vanity Fair heavily pregnant and nude.
Since then, dozens of famous moms-to-be have struck Moore-like poses with their child in utero. Earlier this year, a very pregnant Claudia Schiffer was photographed by Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld for German Vogue, and this month Orlando Bloom's supermodel wife Miranda Kerr -- seen after the jump -- took it all off for W magazine at six-and-a-half months pregnant. (See More of Miranda's Shoot Here)
Hollybaby Executive Editor Kathy Campbell says these shots are the celeb equivalent of getting a belly cast or creating a lasting memento of their pregnancy.
"I think being pregnant is a very special time in a woman's life, so why not pose to capture that special moment forever? There are plenty of women who do belly casts, so this is just another way of capturing it. I think it's beautiful," Campbell said.
Since then, dozens of famous moms-to-be have struck Moore-like poses with their child in utero. Earlier this year, a very pregnant Claudia Schiffer was photographed by Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld for German Vogue, and this month Orlando Bloom's supermodel wife Miranda Kerr -- seen after the jump -- took it all off for W magazine at six-and-a-half months pregnant. (See More of Miranda's Shoot Here)
Hollybaby Executive Editor Kathy Campbell says these shots are the celeb equivalent of getting a belly cast or creating a lasting memento of their pregnancy.
"I think being pregnant is a very special time in a woman's life, so why not pose to capture that special moment forever? There are plenty of women who do belly casts, so this is just another way of capturing it. I think it's beautiful," Campbell said.
When Moore first struck her iconic pose, we were a little more prudish. That mag cover was banned from several newsstands and at others was wrapped in paper to avoid offending sensitive eyes. Since Demi, Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum, Milla Jovovich, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have all bared their bellies during their joyous times.
Pregnancy represents a "safe" time for a celebrity to pose nude.
"During pregnancy, the naked body isn't as sexualized. It is safer to go nude because you're looking at these women as life-giving vessels rather than sex objects," explains US Weekly photo editor Peter Grossman.
Yet, in some ways, these nude pregos are setting unfair expectations for the average mama. Regular pregnant women simply don't look like Miranda Kerr with her shapely belly and well-proportioned everything else. A lot of women are swollen, veiny, bloated and have cottage cheese thighs when they're pregnant.
And not everyone is a fan of what writer Rebecca Traister once dubbed "pregnancy porn." Bruce Jenner certainly isn't. On a recent episode of 'Keeping up with the Kardashians,' Bruce was none too pleased when Kris displayed a photo of Kourtney Kardashian imitating Demi's pose in the couple's bedroom.
"That's a nude shot of my daughter Kourtney," Bruce said. "Why have that in here? Is it art?"
Some women see the pregnancy pictures as simply another outlet for celebs to channel their self-absorption.
"Some of them do it because they are self-selected narcissists who act like they are the first women to ever conceive a child, like its some great feat that nobody else but them are capable of," says 'Cult of Celebrity' author Cooper Lawrence. "Add to that the extraordinary attention we media folk pay to the 'baby bump.' We only encourage their delusions of grandeur by making it easy for them to think that their pregnancy is indeed the second coming, so they must be photographed for posterity, for all the world to see, since they are indeed 'special.'"
One thing is for sure. We won't be seeing any less of these naked pregnant celebs. As long as they keep selling magazines and getting clicks online, you can be sure someone will keep asking these pregnant stars to take their clothes off.
