ABSTRACT
Pregnancy remains a complex cultural phenomenon, and the life of the foetus remains surrounded by uncertainty. Demi Moore made history when she appeared naked and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair. This picture defied such distinctions and stated boldly that she was both mother and sex symbol. The idea of pregnancy, the possibility of it, conditions the self understanding of women from the first menstruation onwards. The reality of the foetus remains inaccessible in principle because its existence can only be observed indirectly via the mother's expanding belly. The ultrasound image served as proof, of the foetus existence. Feminist scholars have typically focused on women's religious practices and on the conceptualization of womanhood in sacred texts. Simone de Beauvoir treated pregnancy and motherhood as a political challenge rather than as a bodily experience and an emotional relationship. She embraced gender equality and sexual emancipation, but regarded pregnancy as an abomination because of the social implications it entailed for women.
