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 Not so long ago, an unmarried mommy would've encountered a whole heap of trouble, whether she was a household name or not. (WENN.com) |
Matthew McConaughey's model girlfriend did it.
So did Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Nicole Richie and, very soon, the one-time mistress turned full-time girlfriend of Mel Gibson will be joining the hot mama club.
Here's the clincher -- none of then tied the knot before embracing motherhood.
Not so long ago, an unmarried mommy would've encountered a whole heap of trouble, whether she was a household name or not.
She might've been marched right off to the local convent or, if she dared stick around, be brandished the mom of a bastard child.
Indeed, a ring-free starlet spotted with a baby bump would've been dragged through the headline-making mud, becoming the main sensationalized fodder for trashy supermarket tabloids.
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But breathe. The times have changed.
Sasha Pasulka, writer of Evil Beet Gossip (featured on the U.S.-based site Film.com), has witnessed the shift firsthand.
"You have celebrities having babies out of wedlock left and right," Pasulka says, noting that the wagging index fingers have since been replaced by "excitement."
"I think the tide really turned with Angelina," says Pasulka.
"She had this bad-girl image and suddenly she was this earth mother ... She did such a good job and then you saw things fall into place for her."
Indeed, the actress got the happy Hollywood ending, albeit in reverse, first becoming a single mom by adopting, then hooking up with Brad Pitt, and later expanding their family together. The couple, however, has yet to walk down the aisle.
However, this too may spell danger.
"It does seem to send the message that babies are a hot new accessory," Pasulka warns.
"It certainly sends the message to young women that motherhood isn't as hard as it is," Pasulka adds.
"It's much easier when you have 24-hour nannies."
According to a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unmarried motherhood is on the rise in both Canada and the U.S.
The trend follows in the footsteps of several northern European countries where having children sans marriage has long been the norm. Accounting for the highest rate is Iceland, where about 66% of babies are born out of wedlock, followed by Sweden at 55%, and Norway at 54%.
In the U.S. about 40% of children are born to unmarried women, compared with 30% in Canada.
Certainly the changing tide of social acceptance is shaping the marriage-free baby boom, but so are other factors.
For some, the reality of paying for overpriced wedding halls, multi-tiered cakes and professional photographers is being viewed as an unnecessary indulgence, particularly so during shaky economic times.
A new survey by the U.S. site FindLaw.com found that nearly 21% of those between 18 and 34 are postponing marriage because of economic concerns.
Meanwhile, more women are delaying marriage in favour of pursuing their careers and, in some cases, the institution itself doesn't hold a lot of appeal.
For one 31-year-old mother of a 10-month-old boy, the piece of paper doesn't mean much.
She's never fantasized about having a wedding and neither has her common-law partner.
But being marriage-free doesn't always go over well with others.
"We're considered big sinners," she explains.
"We're the black sheep of the family and having a child just makes it worse."
The pressure also comes from friends and colleagues, regardless of the fact that she's been in a relationship with the father of her child for the past 10 years.
"If the topic comes up, I'll get the heat I'd say 70% of the time, usually from people who are married with kids," she says.
"If I felt like the next level was missing, then I'd do it. Some people want that, they grow up with their princess wedding fantasy, but I didn't."
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In Quebec, 62% of children born in 2007 were born out of wedlock, twice the rate compared to the rest of Canada, according to the Quebec Institute of Statistics.
50% of births in France are born out of wedlock, 46% in Denmark, and 44% in the U.K.
Countries with the lowest number of children born out of wedlock include Ireland at 33%, Canada and Germany both at 30%, Spain at 28%, Italy at 21% and Japan at just 2%.
In the U.S., women in their 20s account for the highest rate unmarried moms. The lowest is among girls under the age of 18.
TANYA.ENBERG@SUNMEDIA.CA