The History Of Mom-Shaming Celebrities Is Already Too Long

Being a mom isn't easy. Whether you're a working mom, a stay-at-home mom, or even a celebrity mom, all moms are sadly subject to the mind-boggling phenomenon of "mom-shaming." It crops up when you least expect it, too. For instance, remember when Flip or Flop star Christina El Moussa was criticized for letting her daughter wear a bikini? Or when Chrissy Teigen was shamed for literally going out to dinner after baby Luna was born? Or when badass mom Pink was shamed for sitting too close to a microwave while she was pregnant with her son? Yeah, the history of mom-shaming celebrities is pretty intense and is nothing short of a sexist, tiresome practice that seriously needs to stop.

In the day and age of constant over-sharing, it's pretty much a given that anyone and everyone will, at some point, give their opinions on something. Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but when did it become commonplace to share those thoughts with the world, especially if they're in the realm of shame?

Enter: mom-shaming. In the deep, dark holes of the internet, it seems as though everyone feels qualified to put in their own two cents about other moms' decisions — and perhaps even more so when the subject is a celebrity mom.

Indeed, being a celebrity comes with many, many ups and downs. The fame and the fortune might seem desirable, but there's also a lack of privacy and the fact that your life is constantly being dissected by people who don't even know you. Think about it: any time a celebrity parent so much as posts a photo of their child eating Nutella or wearing a certain kind of swimsuit, the mom-shamers come out in full force. And with social media being such a prominent way for celebrities to connect with their fans, it's no surprise that celebrity mom-shaming has been on the rise as well.

While there's no exact date in history for when it became expected that celeb moms would be shamed for their parenting decisions — because let's face it, it's sadly just not that shocking when it happens nowadays — it definitely all started to pick up with the rise of the internet and social media, starting in about 2002 with Friendster (yeah, remember that?).

But people probably started taking notice back in 2012, when Instagram wasn't as popular as it is today, but celebrity moms were still being shamed for a variety of reasons — some of which targeted body-shaming. For example, when Jessica Simpson had just given birth to her first child, daughter Maxwell Drew Johnson, in the summer of 2012, tabloids and fans alike were shaming her for not losing her baby weigh fast enough. And now, with mom-shaming as easy as clicking a "comment" button, things have only gotten worse.

Celebrity moms, like Kourtney Kardashian, will now post photos like the one above, and entire articles will be written because people said she's a neglectful parent for letting her child sit on a car. And she's not alone.

Ahem, remember when her sister Kim Kardashian got a similar dose of criticism over the summer with a photo of her son Saint in a car seat? It also happened with Pink when she let her unborn child near a microwave while she sipped decaf coffee (the horror!) And then Reese Witherspoon was also shamed for giving her kids a sugary breakfast, because that's clearly something to worry about.

By now, countless photos of celebrities' children have garnered countless anonymous (or not-so anonymous) comments from trolls shaming these famous moms for the most batsh*t reasons. It's so prevalent that there's literally been research done to prove that being a mom in today's age comes with a lot more judgement than before. According to a study, published in Families Relationships and Society earlier this year, moms today definitely face more scrutiny both during and after pregnancy — and the clearly includes celebrities, too.

"These days, the mothers said it was very different," one of the researchers, Aimee Grant, told Parents of the study. "They were often having inputs from friends and family and sometimes even strangers into what they were doing."

What's more, according to findings from C.S. Mott Children’s HospitalNational Poll on Children’s Health, "6 in 10 mothers have been criticized about parenting their young child," and that number is far too high.

While intentions might just be wanting the best for someone and their child, it's never OK to shame another mother. Considering the fact that being a mom is already pretty darn difficult, should fans and fellow parents really be making it any harder on each other? No.

And when it does happen, celebrity moms often find themselves defending the post in question and often come to each other's rescue when the mom-shamers were out in full force. For example, Chrissy Teigen has stood up for Kristen Cavallari for allegedly not feeding her children enough. "I loathe these sh*thead commenters," she wrote in a series of tweets in July 2016. "Who would want to make someone feel horrible for fun?"

The number of mom-shaming incidents sadly could go on and on, but really, the fact remains that the history of celebrity mom-shaming is already too long. Why should it matter what a celebrity feeds their children, how they dress them, or what they do in their free time? They're entitled to their own opinions and schools of thought — and a little slack — just like the rest of us.

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