The Real Reason You’re Obsessed With Jennifer Aniston Being Pregnant

Here we go again with another round of Jen Aniston pregnancy rumors. (Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)

Is she or isn’t she? Gossip mags are in a tizzy over speculation that Jennifer Aniston is pregnant with husband Justin Theroux’s baby. Her rep denied that the 47-year-old is expecting in the most perfect way, saying, “What you see is her having just enjoyed a delicious big lunch and her feeling safe on private property.” For some reason, this rumor pops up year after year with Aniston and other stars. And it turns out it’s more than just curiosity that has us clamoring for the truth whenever rumors of a Hollywood pregnancy swirl.

In her book Pregnant With the Stars: Watching and Wanting the Celebrity Baby Bump, author Renée Ann Cramer writes, “Women are categorized and defined by their pregnancies. Their stories provide a paparazzi-sized lens through which we can interpret a complex set of social and legal regulations of pregnant women.”

A study on the website for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) goes into detail about society’s objectification of women and the reasons we are so enthralled with the pregnancy and postpartum experiences of celebrities. “Pregnant celebrities … are likely targets for physical comparison among women experiencing the weight and shape changes of pregnancy and postpartum because many specific details (e.g., due dates, babies’ birth dates) are readily accessible to readers,” the article says. It adds that these women might “seek out information regarding pregnancy ideals to evaluate and process their own experiences,” and that celebrity maternity coverage is “likely to influence the general public’s expectations of what is ‘normal’ or ideal during pregnancy or postpartum.”

It’s undeniable that we’re fascinated with whether or not celebrities are pregnant — and then tracking their progress as if it were our own. Plenty of other stars have been the object of baby-bump speculation, and their ages run the gamut. False headlines announcing the pregnancies of celebs like Amal Clooney, Kylie Jenner, Lindsay Lohan, Gabrielle Union, and Tia Mowry saturate the Internet. It seems we are desperately hoping these women are with child or are simply jumping to conclusions because of weight gain. (How dare celebrities put on a few pounds?!)

The study analyzed articles posted on the websites for People, Us Magazine, and Star, and emphasized the fact that publications seem to be more concerned with body shape — or looks — over body weight, pointing to scrutiny over how a woman looks while pregnant and postpartum versus what is a healthy or unhealthy weight. “Among articles that referenced celebrities’ weight, pregnancy weight gain was mentioned more often than pregnancy weight.” The study concludes that the timelines in which celebrities are portrayed to bounce back to their “normal” bodies “are likely unrealistic for the average reader.“

But it’s not just the stars’ bodies that fascinate us. We’re also living in an age when the babies themselves are born into fame and glamorized as if they were celebrities in their own right — think North West, Blue Ivy Carter, Suri Cruise, and Violet Affleck. Again, we’re obsessed with comparing our own experiences to those of celebs — often to an unhealthy degree.

Given our ongoing public fascination with Aniston’s perfectly toned body and enviable lifestyle, it will be interesting to see how the public reacts to her weight gain and mommyhood — if she is indeed pregnant. And, from what we’ve learned, it will be just as fascinating to see how she bounces back and assimilates to life as a parent. If she is pregnant. Which she probably isn’t.

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