I edited a page (Hand on Womb) a while ago and added a link to this trope, figuring I knew what it meant. Looking more closely, I don't understand it, and not because I'm missing something. For something with "obvious" in the title, its meaning isn't.
I can read many things it could be about, but find none it definitely is; the examples and Playing With iterations are significantly inconsistent. What's more, most of the potential interpretations I can see are ones I object to. Let me try to show what I mean: here are some clearer explanations of what this trope (as currently written) suggests, and why I don't much like them:
Sometimes when a character is pregnant, it's easy to tell at a glance, because she has a great big belly. Yes, that is undeniably true. Some of these examples simply acknowledge that a character is visibly pregnant. However, I am pretty sure it is Not a Trope, just a fact that gets reflected in media. And if she is feeling strain or fatigue, she can relax by sitting on a chair.
She gets large much sooner than would be normal. Like literally, In-Universe? As if she skips straight over the early stages of pregnancy? How alarming! This mother will probably anxiously seek medical attention, worried some problem or abnormality is causing the fetus' accelerated growth. However, this is not the context of most of these examples. And when is is, already better-covered by another trope: Express Delivery. If this literally happens, the example should go there instead.
It's not literally abnormal in-context, but she still looks bigger than she should. According to whom? Did you consult a qualified obstetrician? I'm no expert myself, but know every pregnancy is different, and every person carries differently depending on their size/shape/build. Why cast such a judgement, except to point at a pregnant person and tell them They Are Fat? I don't mean to scold any authors, because surely body-shaming (even of fictional characters) was not their intention. Still it seems (inadvertently) too close to it to be tasteful.
But the creators clearly didn't put in much effort to make this realistic. Maybe they didn't. Is that interesting? Is it a relevant choice on their part? If the exact appearance of pregnancy is not important to the characterization, themes, or story — and it likely isn't — the detail is not prioritized. If the Artistic Licence – Anatomy is really distracting or laughable, it qualifies as Pregnancy Does Not Work That Way, but otherwise does not seem like more than a subjective case of Off-Model. note Even understandable in live action. Making the character look pregnant may require inconvenient costume modification or padding that the actor and crew have limited attention or resources for. Or it may not, because the performer is also pregnant, meaning they don't have a choice about how they look. Maybe the context is trivia, but I again suspect it's Not a Trope.
To my thinking, pregnancy is a stage of life that is important, unusual, but not abnormal. Thus "Obvious Pregnancy" makes about as much sense as "Obvious Tree" note a trope for when an object is definitely, unmistakeably a tree. What do you think? I don't see a theme that unifies all these examples.
Edited by epoxy
I edited a page (Hand on Womb) a while ago and added a link to this trope, figuring I knew what it meant. Looking more closely, I don't understand it, and not because I'm missing something. For something with "obvious" in the title, its meaning isn't. I can read many things it could be about, but find none it definitely is; the examples and Playing With iterations are significantly inconsistent. What's more, most of the potential interpretations I can see are ones I object to. Let me try to show what I mean: here are some clearer explanations of what this trope (as currently written) suggests, and why I don't much like them:
- Sometimes when a character is pregnant, it's easy to tell at a glance, because she has a great big belly. Yes, that is undeniably true. Some of these examples simply acknowledge that a character is visibly pregnant. However, I am pretty sure it is Not a Trope, just a fact that gets reflected in media. And if she is feeling strain or fatigue, she can relax by sitting on a chair.
- She gets large much sooner than would be normal. Like literally, In-Universe? As if she skips straight over the early stages of pregnancy? How alarming! This mother will probably anxiously seek medical attention, worried some problem or abnormality is causing the fetus' accelerated growth. However, this is not the context of most of these examples. And when is is, already better-covered by another trope: Express Delivery. If this literally happens, the example should go there instead.
- It's not literally abnormal in-context, but she still looks bigger than she should. According to whom? Did you consult a qualified obstetrician? I'm no expert myself, but know every pregnancy is different, and every person carries differently depending on their size/shape/build. Why cast such a judgement, except to point at a pregnant person and tell them They Are Fat? I don't mean to scold any authors, because surely body-shaming (even of fictional characters) was not their intention. Still it seems (inadvertently) too close to it to be tasteful.
- But the creators clearly didn't put in much effort to make this realistic. Maybe they didn't. Is that interesting? Is it a relevant choice on their part? If the exact appearance of pregnancy is not important to the characterization, themes, or story — and it likely isn't — the detail is not prioritized. If the Artistic Licence – Anatomy is really distracting or laughable, it qualifies as Pregnancy Does Not Work That Way, but otherwise does not seem like more than a subjective case of Off-Model. note Maybe the context is trivia, but I again suspect it's Not a Trope.
To my thinking, pregnancy is a stage of life that is important, unusual, but not abnormal. Thus "Obvious Pregnancy" makes about as much sense as "Obvious Tree" note . What do you think? I don't see a theme that unifies all these examples. Edited by epoxy