Eva Longoria Forced To Deny She's Pregnant (Because The Media Never Learns, Apparently) | HuffPost Life

Seriously guys?

By

Life Editor at HuffPost UK

Once again, certain elements of the media deemed it acceptable to speculate on whether or not a woman was pregnant based on her figure.

This time, it was Eva Longoria in the firing line, after photos of her on a boat emerged online earlier this week.

The 42-year-old has since responded to the rumours by confirming that no, she isn’t pregnant and funnily enough “everybody gets bloated” from time to time.

But we’re wondering why Longoria had to interrupt her holiday to make the statement in the first place.

As numerous women, including Jennifer Aniston, have pointed out, scrutinising a woman’s body for possible signs of pregnancy is not only rude, it’s sexist.

Jerod Harris via Getty Images

In a Snapchat video, posted on Thursday, Longoria told her fans: “I saw some pictures of myself [looking] really fat on a boat. I have to tell you, all I did was eat cheese.

“So that’s the news of the day. I’m not pregnant, just eating a lot of cheese, a lot of wine, a lot of pancakes.”

She went on to say she spoke out about the rumours because the public speculation had caused confusion among her family.

“I just had to share because my whole family is calling me asking if I’m pregnant. Yes, I look pregnant, but it was just a ball of cheese, a ball of cheese in my stomach,” she said.

“But seriously, I look so fat but you know what, that happens to people. Everybody gets bloated. I’m not bloated today but this is pre-pancake. I’m about to go eat a pancake.”

The actress may have reacted with humour to the pregnancy rumours - adding a mouse Snapchat filter to her cheese-related video - but this kind of speculation is no laughing matter.

As Jennifer Aniston pointed out in a exclusive HuffPost blog last year, women in the spotlight are deemed “either ‘pregnant’ or ‘fat’” every time they fancy a burger for lunch - and it’s a reflection of how women are viewed in wider society.

“The stalking and objectification I’ve experienced first-hand, going on decades now, reflects the warped way we calculate a woman’s worth,” she said.

“The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant (for the bajillionth time... but who’s counting) points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they’re not married with children.

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies.”

We couldn’t agree with her more, so guys, can we stop with the pregnancy rumours now?

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