Michelle Duggar of the popular TLC reality television show “19 Kids and Counting” just announced yesterday that she is pregnant with her 20th child at 45-years-old. Since then, Duggar has been featured on the TODAY show as well as every major news outlet both online and on television with her big news.
As Duggar discusses her trimesters and maternity clothes, one must wonder what American media has come to. How has the public eye deemed it appropriate, nay, necessary that Duggar fill a headline next to new news of stroke prevention surgery and court rulings about federal health care?
First, Kim Kardashian gets married and the world stops, resuming rotation only briefly before her subsequent hasty divorce. Gossip forums are fraught with completely serious arguments about Kim Kardashian’s personal morality and the logistics of Michelle Duggar’s 20th pregnancy. It is as though the media harbors an unhealthy obsession with the bizarre, and so society’s anomalies become pillars of culture and news interest, rising out of the crumbled ruins of stories with integrity. Gone are the days of people rising to fame for their achievements or inherent social value. We have now entered an era in which displays of overindulgence or poor decision-making are lauded as newsworthy and even given their own TV shows.
At least as far as the Kardashian marriage is concerned, the wedding and split consisted of two adults making a spectacle of themselves. On “19 Kids and Counting,” the lives of innocent children are endlessly exploited for the sake of sensationalism and high ratings. The Duggar children are not famous for their talents or abilities, but rather for the unnatural circumstances of their family life. The media has defined them through it, and because of this label, it is all they can ever be.
Moreover, it goes without saying that Duggar is putting herself and her unborn child at incredible risk. It lies beyond the realm of normality to be pregnant with one’s 20th child, and as such it is markedly dangerous for the health of both the baby and the mother.
The media frenzy surrounding the Duggars and others like them is a sad testament to the low standards of journalism and popular interest in our culture today. Duggar can have as many children as she so desires, and Kardashian can get divorced just as many times, but their stories have no place among the headlines.
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You have not done your homework. Calling pregnancy and childbearing unnatural and unhealthy to mother and child is an exceedingly ignorant statement. It is actually the most natural state for a woman of child bearing age – even if it is her 20th child. On the contrary, breast cancer, birth defects and many other health problems to mother and child are directly linked to to many menstrual cycles/ovulations during child bearing years. The more years of a woman’s life she spends pregnant (assuming she is otherwise healthy) the longer she is likely to live and not suffer from various cancers and other diseases.
So please do not make up “facts” to validate your disapproval of the Duggar’s generosity and family size.