While I agree that the pregnant body is perceived as less human in society (thus the sheer amount of punitive laws, judgement, entitlement to control behavior, medical care, homicide rate, etc) this study and its methodology isn’t sitting well with me.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Cover Up That “Baby Bump”: Displaying the Pregnant Body Undermines Women’s Perceived Humanness - Sex Roles
Today, famous and everyday pregnant women can be found posing on social media with their “baby bumps” exposed, a phenomenon meant to reflect and advance body positivity. But do such acts impact how women are perceived? We examine this question in the context of research showing that when women’s sexual and reproductive features are revealed, others objectify them, perceiving them as less human. In three studies, we examined perceptions of humanness (i.e., warmth, competence, and morality) when a pregnant famous Black woman (Rihanna, Study 1) and an unknown White woman (Studies 2 and 3) were depicted posing with their bare pregnant belly on display, compared to their pregnant belly covered. In all three studies, the woman revealing her pregnant belly was lower in perceived humanness, and in the final study, these perceptions contributed to the belief that she would be an unfit mother and should be denied financial support. Our work suggests that while women’s displays of their pregnant bodies may be motivated by body positivity, reactions to such displays echo responses to revealing menstrual status or public breastfeeding and may ultimately reinforce a cultural milieu that subtly punishes women for making visible the realities of their reproductive bodies.
