TRAGIC: Baby Found Dead In Strawberry Field
Brooke Mueller Avoids Jail Time
Celebrity babies: what's the allure?
Filed under: Bump Watch, Celeb Kids, Media
When Stefania posted about Britney
Spears’ nanny feeding her baby
in the mall, the post received more than 10,000 hits a day on AOL’s main page, and more than 200 readers
commented. Charlene’s post about Heath Ledger deciding to be a stay-at-home dad garnered
125 comments. And Stefania’s “Katie Holmes: what are you wearing” post? More than 300.Engaging posts on adoption issues, government programs, school funding, snack foods, working women, and more cannot hold a candle to the traffic and comments generated by a single celeb baby post. So, readers, what’s up with that?
I started to wonder. And I’ve come up with a few possible explanations:
Having a new baby around is a great equalizer. Even superstar/philanthropists like Angelina Jolie have to deal with the same crap (literally) that non-superfamous mamas and dads do. There’s nothing like a crying, squirming baby to make any parent feel like a peer with a famous person like Britney or Katie. The baby, and often its odd name, humanizes a superstar for us.
Or maybe we just want to see rich people suffer, as they learn the hard way how challenging it is to have a baby, even if they can hire more help than us common parents. We want to see them make mistakes, and feel for a second like we’re not so jealous of them after all.
Or maybe we want to share not only the challenges, but the joy and pride that any new mom feels. I like to see pictures of Angelina with baby Z strapped in her sling. The love just oozing out of that pair is tangible, and it makes me feel good to be part of their happiness for just a second.
Or maybe we just like to feel a brush with greatness when we spy a celebrity in a soft and vulnerable moment of love, or stupidity.
Or it’s an escape. Getting caught up in Katie’s ugly underwear allows us a break from harder issues that we don’t feel like thinking about.
But honestly I don’t know. Personally, I don't care too much about celebrities and their babies. There are so many other topics I'd rather read about and delve into and address as a parent, from hard news to family crafts. As a blogger, it also makes me feel a bit frustrated that when I try harder to write a meaningful post it gets relatively ignored, in favor of Katie's undies. It makes me feel, sniff, a tad ignored. I'll admit it.
So, as news of famous babies continues to generate the greatest interest of any Blogging Baby topic, maybe you can tell me: what’s the allure?
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
3-02-2006 @ 4:55PM
Meagan E. Vanover said...i'm a total celeb-gossip whore. i am so inlove with pinkisthenewblog.com that i can't stand it. it's so wonderful see celebrities doing ordinary things, like just being moms. it makes motherhood cool in the public eye. on the other hand, seeing say, lindsay lohen picking her nose always makes me smile, too. :) celeb-gossip also enhances my vocabulary as in, "no, i will not 'pull a britney' and let you ride home on my lap.
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3-02-2006 @ 5:02PM
Tara said...Larissa--I'm SO WITH YOU on this. I just don't get it. I have never been one to keep up with all that crap. My husband will ramble off a name and I don't even know who it is. I guess I'm not very mauch help in anwering your post, because I don't even read blogs/posts about celebrities. I could really care less!
Reply
3-02-2006 @ 5:49PM
Meredith said...Don't you find it odd that most of the posters on the baby threads seem to be new, unknown or make stupid (young) comments?
I know that it isn't uncommon for a fan club to get wind of a site trying to 'diss' their favorite star. A post is made on a message board with a link and before you know it, there is a barrage of 'you suck, the fav star is #1' and "you are just jealous'. Seriously, it isn't uncommon.
So, I think that while most traffic is probably honest blog readers there are many commentors just trying to stick up for their personal favorites.
Then, I am inclined to think that it is much easier for people to comment on celebrity posts than actual 'thinky' posts. How hard is it to have an opinion on Angelina Jolie's parenting or Britney's husband? I think it is much harder to come up with a comment on adoption when you haven't adopted yourself or take sides in an abortion debate or human rights article.
What it comes down to? It is EASIER to post on a celebrity thread. It calls none of my skills as a parent into question.
Besides, we all know that sometimes, it is just fun to judge.
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3-02-2006 @ 6:26PM
Ms Sisyphus said...I agree with Meredith's assessment to a point.
I think some groups of people have agendas, and they monitor the web to find opprotunities to push those agendas.
But from what I've seen of the threads Larissa mentioned, there was a lot more, "let's pile on Britney/Angelina and bash her!" on the one, and flat out homophobia and gaybashing on the other. While I find the moralizing on "Brangelina" annoying and the constant slagging of Britney sad from a mommywars perspective, the hatred and vitriol spewed inthe Heath Ledger comments was infuriating, disgusting, and tragic.
It's really distrubing to watch, actually.
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3-02-2006 @ 6:47PM
Missy said...I have one word for you:
SCHADENFREUDE.
Reply
3-02-2006 @ 7:19PM
ann adams said...Ms. Sisyphus got here first. The Heath Ledger post had climbed to around 170, many of them duplications. (just to make a point?)
Very few of the comments had anthing to do with the orignal topic of SAHD's. They came out of nowhere and left the same way. I've seen it here before; fortunately not often and not usually that hateful.
I'm sure there are people who do nothing but watch for key words and then attack. In this case the key word probably wasn't Heath Ledger, it was the title of the film. I didn't even try to read all of them.
As for the celebrity posts, BB has a little something to offer everyone. I usually glance and then skip over them but many people enjoy them. They don't bother me; there's much more to read here than the latest doings of Brittany and Jessica (or whoever). I didn't even remember the Heath Ledger post until another commenter emailed me and then I backtracked to find out what was going on.
I like what Meredith said too but I may be the exception. I never have any problem running my mouth on "controversial" topics. I always have an opinion and it's consistent.
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