Different Celebrity Mom Styles of Being

It’s so interesting to see the different “accepted” celebrity mom “selves” to wear in the world.

Today, reports from Us Magazine show us two current celebrity mom “styles.”

There’s the been-there-done-that and just-like-normal-moms self that Charlize Theron is rocking when she says "A lot of people have sent me these children's books, and there's this amazing book, a best-seller called Go the F-ck to Sleep," she said. "This book was good for me because it made me realize that I don't need to judge myself right now."

Yes, even Theron knows the anguish of trying to get a crying baby to sleep.

Switching mommy styles, we see the always lovable and sparkly I’m-going-to-make-this-baby-girl-a-princess stance.

Kourtney Kardashian’s baby shower was a sea of pink—we’re talking flamingos and cotton candy pink!

And trying to define the baby girl before she’s even born is sister Khloe: "I have bought Kourt's daughter so many tutus. All I want to do is dip my niece in glitter and put a tutu on her!"

With an aunt like that, how could things go wrong?

How do Celebrity Moms Feel About Gay Comic Book Characters?

I am very open-minded and liberal and have no problems with what anyone chooses for their own lives as long as it does no harm to others.

But I still felt unsure where I stood on introducing gay characters into comics when I first read Perez Hilton's report on the issue in his blog entry: One Million (Annoying) Moms Are Against Gay Superheroes. Hilton thinks these mothers are “incredibly angry women.”

“After threatening to boycott JCPenney for hiring Ellen DeGeneres as its spokesperson and then going after our main man Archie for its depiction of a gay interracial wedding, the group of are out for more blood.

When Marvel revealed its first openly gay superhero - Northstar - was marrying his long time boyfriend in the next issue, the super pissy moms wrote an open letter to anyone who would listen.

Here's what they said:

"As a parent and a member of OneMillionMoms.com, I am extremely disappointed that you would use a children's superhero character to help endorse same-sex marriage and glorify the homosexual lifestyle. It is disgusting that your company would participate in introducing sexual orientation to children when they are not equipped to understand what sexual preferences involve. Unfortunately, children are now being exposed to same-sex marriage and the gay lifestyle choice in your comic books. Gay adults do not need superheroes as role models. Your company is damaging impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. As a Christian, I know that homosexuality is a sin. The Bible states this clearly in Romans 1:26-27. A comic book is the last place a parent would expect to be confronted with questions from their children on topics that are too complicated for them to understand. Issues of this nature are being introduced too early and too soon, which is extremely unnecessary. Please do the right thing and reverse your decision to have sexual orientation displayed to young readers. My decision to support your company and parent company depends on it. I look forward to hearing from you regarding my concern."

I was thinking that it’s true that sexual orientation is not something my kids are aware of yet, but then I realized that that isn’t true.

My children see representations of heterosexual couples all the time. That is a norm that they are raised with. My daughter who is eight is old enough to understand issues I point out sometimes like, “Oh, you know so-and-so has two moms.” Or sometimes I’ll find ways to bring up, “There’s no problem with whom people choose to have a relationship with. Usually we see a mom and a dad, but there can be two dads, etc.”

And my daughter just is like, okay. Whatever. And that has been my method of introducing concepts she can understand.

I suppose if my children saw more of a “romance” of two men in a comic book it would raise some questions, but I don’t think that would be a bad thing. It would be a teaching opportunity.

But of course, that is because I myself am fine with homosexuality. I can see how people who believe homosexuality is a “sin” would not see this as a teaching moment.

I am curious if any celebrity moms may speak out on the issue.

How do you feel about gay characters in comics as a mother?

Sarah Burge's Anderson Cooper Interview

Why couldn’t I have been on this Anderson Cooper show?!

Anderson Cooper cut an interview short with 'Human Barbie' Sarah Burge, who I’ve written about before.

Cooper explains that he doesn’t like to be rude to guests, but he felt Burge just wasn’t trying to have an honest conversation about her behaviors, which include giving her seven-year-old daughter cosmetic surgery vouchers, encouraging her to dance on a stripper pole, and giving her older daughter Botox to stop her from sweating on her forehead.

These are the mothers that the world pays attention to and that’s why she gets onto talk shows in the first place.

What if we mothers demanded to see inspiring mothers, women who have overcome obstacles and come out on the other side to help others, in the media?

Moms Posing Nude

People reports: Jenny McCarthy Speaks Out About Posing Nude at Age 39.

Bravo for McCarthy being brave enough to strip down after having a child. The last time she posed for Playboy was nineteen years ago.

"Why should only 20 yr olds be considered sexy?" McCarthy says. "Let's (hear) it for the MILFs."

I think it’s great to celebrate women’s bodies of all ages and sizes. I have a feeling though that McCarthy’s body will be quite perfect looking in the “accustomed” way.

What I’d like to really see are some mothers posing nude who don’t have perfect bodies. Some “real” Mommy bodies with wrinkly bellies and stretch marks. You know what? Those bodies can be sexy, too…

Snookie's Got the Parenting Skills!

Thank you Today Moms for bringing us Lela Davidson’s fun take on celebrity pregnancy: 5 reasons Snooki will be a great mother.

Instead of joining in on all the Snooki-as-mom bashing, Davidson explains why Polizzi may be a great mom with points like how she’s already used to being sprayed by vomit during her wilder days. And multitasking? Polizzi’s got it down!

My favorite point made by Davidson though has to be about questioning ourselves and what we would come across like if we’d had our early twenties filmed by a reality television crew.

Goodness. Not many of us would ever have been deemed fit enough to bear human life.

What Makes a Good Reality TV Family?

Celebrity Baby Scoop brings us the unexpected celebrity mom news of, wait for it…good news!

Former reality television star Kate Gosselin reports that things are going well between her and her ex-husband Jon and that the kids notice it and are so happy.

Gosselin also says that the kids are missing the whole TV thing and that the family might have some projects up their many sleeves.

It just makes me think more about families and reality television. What makes one family more interesting to watch than another? Just having a large brood does not make a necessarily interesting family.

"We're hoping to move forward and do more projects," she reveals. "Fans are begging [to see more]. 'They've grown up, they turned eight. What are you doing [now]?'"

"Everyone is excelling school across the board," the proud mom gushes. "We've had a great school year."

I’d like to see some reality television show all about different families and how they live. We could probably learn a lot about parenting by watching an overview of different parenting styles.

Attachment Parenting Dialogue

Celebrity moms are weighing in on attachment parenting after Time magazine’s controversial breastfeeding photo cover.

Us magazine reports that Alanis Morisette appeared on The Billy Bush Show and said, "I'll breastfeed and I'll be breastfeeding until my son is finished and he weans. I think it affords the child, when he grows up, to have a lot less therapy to go to. For me, I protect his safety and his well-being and his attachment. That stage of development is a very important stage."

So the Time cover has definitely opened up the conversation amongst mothers, but is it just about moms getting their opinions on the matter out without working toward an open dialogue?

"Time, no! You missed the mark! You're supposed to be making it easier for breastfeeding moms," Alyssa Milano tweeted. "Your cover is exploitive & extreme."

I’m interested in how this cover can be seen as exploitive and for whom? Perhaps for the boy who really has no conscious choice in whether he wants to be always remembered as the toddler nursing for America?

Is the cover helpful in any other ways? Do nursing moms feel more comfortable now nursing their toddlers?

How Dare Aishwarya Rai Not Lose Weight Fast Enough for Her Fans?

I never thought I would say that I would take the American media coverage over another country’s, but I am now.

Aishwarya Rai is a famous Bollywood actress and a former Miss World considered by many in India as being the most beautiful woman in the world. Well, until she gave birth that is.

Rai gave birth a mere six-months ago, but apparently she should have snapped back into shape already. It’s her duty as a beautiful person.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald a commenter said, "She is a Bollywood actress and it is her duty to look good and fit.”

Another added: "She needs to learn from people like Victoria Beckham who are back to size zero weeks after their delivery."

It seems that in India there are very strong opinions about the roles women should play and how they should look.

"There is a glorification of motherhood in India and Indian cinema," said cinema professor Shohini Ghosh. "But people are confused because they don't know whether to glorify Aishwarya in her new motherhood or lament that she is not looking like a runway model."

This seems to be an issue that many people are confused by when they don’t look at women as people but rather as vessels to carry out certain roles in society that fulfill their needs.

It is not a woman’s responsibility to look a certain way to please others. Until we all get that sunk into our brains in a very deep way we will be battling this issue.

How do we reach people trapped in an old world mentality that who we are as people is what matters, not what we look like?

Jessica Alba Feels Like One Sexy Mom

iVillage’s CelebVillage reports: Jessica Alba: I Feel Sexier Since Becoming a Mom.

Alba writes on her blog that motherhood makes her “feel more confident and secure than I ever did in my 20s.” 

I find her thoughts to be extremely empowering and so motivating. She expresses the feelings I long to truly have about my self. I don’t think I’m quite there yet though.

“It’s really amazing how your perspective shifts and your definition of sexy evolves once you become a mother. Before having Honor and Haven, I was super-critical of my looks and worried more about inevitable changes to my body. I couldn’t even say the word “sexy” to describe myself without feeling funny and awkward.

But becoming a mom has definitely made me feel more confident and secure than I ever did in my 20s. Even though I can’t ever get down to my pre-baby weight before having Honor, my jeans don’t zip up the same way, and things just hang differently (all moms know how that goes!), I feel completely comfortable in my skin and my idea of perfection has changed. I don’t really care about my body image anymore because it just doesn’t matter now that I have children. Instead, I focus on my health, feeling strong, and making sure I’m up and running so I can spend that all-important time with the girls.

Having babies also helped me embrace my sexuality. Up until then, I was quite shy about it. But once I experienced how incredible and amazing it was to create a life, it was empowering. Now, I feel freer to express myself and just be me. Through motherhood I really came into my own and, for me, feeling sexy is all about this type of comfort, confidence, and true happiness.”

I can definitely agree that I feel much better about my body image since becoming a mother. I do feel better about how I look regardless of how I actually look.

I love the idea of allowing “having babies” to be used to “embrace” our sexual selves. For me, it has been more of a struggle of seeing myself as sexy and really feeling it now that my biggest role is mother.

I’m often so overwhelmed and tired that I don’t have time to feel sexy. I’ve got to try focusing on the whole empowerment-of-birth angle and see what happens!

Jessica Simpson to Launch Maternity Line...What Will YOU Do?

New celebrity moms are busy falling in love with their newborns and planning their next dynasty!

Jessica Simpson just gave birth to her daughter Maxwell Drew and will already be delving into the world of maternity fashion this fall according to Us magazine.

"I'm so excited to partner with Destination Maternity to design a collection of fashionable styles that make you look and feel great!" Simpson said in a statement released Monday. "You want to wear clothes that are flattering to your baby bump; you want to show your bump off."

Set to launch this fall, Jessica Simpson Maternity will be sold across the nation at Motherhood Maternity, Destination Maternity and Macy's. The pieces, which will include vintage-print tops, form-fitting jersey knit dresses and chunky realized sweaters, will start at $36.

It’s really amazing the opportunities a celebrity mom can have open to her with each new interest in her life. Having a baby? Ah! The need for beautiful maternity wear. Gained weight? Ah! The chance to endorse a weight loss program.

How awesome would it be if everyday women could get an idea for creating something new and cool and just be able to start it up just like that?

Perhaps we can. Yes, it won’t be so easy for us to reach the masses, but we can always start on a small scale.

Anything you’ve been dying to do and introduce to the world? How can you make it happen now, Mom?! What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Celebrity Moms Setting What Kind of Example?

Clearly there’s some misunderstanding amongst celebrity moms.

Instead of putting down other moms, we should be helping each other out.

Nadya Suleman felt the need to point her finger at another mom, Patricia Krentcil, the mom accused of bringing her daughter into a tanning booth.

According to TMZ, “Octo, fully clothed, said she doesn't feel that Patricia Krentcil should lose her kids, but she does feel Child Protective Services should step in to give Krentcil some parenting tips.”

Of course, TMZ does not help by shortening Nadya Suleman’s already questionable nickname to simply “Octo,” but is Suleman just joining the naming party?

And if what Krentcil says is true, that she would never take her fair-skinned daughter tanning, then does what she does (or overdoes) to her own body have anything to do with what kind of mother she is?

Just as I would ask, does what Suleman does to put food on the table have anything to do with her parenting abilities?

Is there a way for mothers to lend support to each other without the need of tearing other mothers down?