Framing Motherhood: Hypervisibility, Consumerism, and Gendered Expectations in the Digital Age

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_15How to use a DOI?

Keywords

pregnancy; photoshoot; hypervisibility; digital age; consumerism

Abstract

The hypervisibility and commercialization of feminine bodies through pregnancy photoshoots have become increasingly prevalent in contemporary visual culture. This paper explores how the representation of pregnant bodies in commercial and social media spaces affects societal perceptions of femininity, motherhood, and gender discourse. Drawing from feminist theory, media studies, and sociology, the study examines how these curated images contribute to the commodification of women’s bodies, reinforcing traditional gender norms while simultaneously offering spaces for empowerment and self-expression. The paper argues that while pregnancy photoshoots can provide agency to expectant mothers by celebrating bodily changes and reclaiming visibility in a culture that often marginalizes maternal bodies, they also serve capitalist interests by aestheticizing and standardizing maternal experiences. These images frequently emphasize a narrow ideal of beauty—glamorous, glowing, and effortlessly maternal—which can place immense pressure on pregnant individuals to conform to unrealistic bodily standards during a physically and emotionally transformative period. As such, the aesthetics of pregnancy are not neutral but laden with expectations that tie femininity to performative beauty and consumerism. This duality—where empowerment is entwined with commodification—raises critical questions about who benefits from these visual narratives and how they shape public understandings of motherhood and the pregnant body.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Anee Bhattacharyya
AU  - Ashwani Singh
AU  - Jyotirmoy Banerjee
AU  - S. Suriya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/23
TI  - Framing Motherhood: Hypervisibility, Consumerism, and Gendered Expectations in the Digital Age
BT  - Proceedings of the Indo-Bhutan Social Science Conference 2025 (IBSSC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 157
EP  - 167
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_15
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-561-4_15
ID  - Bhattacharyya2026
ER  -