Narcissism is statistically on the rise in America. A 2008 study led by Jean M. Twenge found a significant rise in narcissistic tendencies between 1979 and 2006, as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Further, between 2014 and 2025, there was an increase in neurotic traits such as “emotional fragility and self-preoccupation,” according to a study published in the Financial Times.
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It must have been, at least in part, narcissism that motivated the actress Hilary Swank to become pregnant at age 52. Swank, apparently most famous for starring in the film Million Dollar Baby, announced the news of her pregnancy last week.
Hilary Swank most definitely used IVF to get pregnant, given that natural pregnancy at her age is impossible. IVF, which creates humans in a lab, in the vast majority of circumstances involves abortion, as it usually consists of making more human embryos than are given the chance to be born, and destroying — or infinitely freezing — the rest. A typical IVF cycle results in the creation of about eight human beings. If just one cycle of IVF is used, therefore, seven human beings are killed to give one the chance to be born. Usually, there is more than one cycle, meaning it is common for people to create and discard (kill) dozens of their own children in order for one child to be born.
Hilary Swank most likely cast aside human embryos who were not useful to her in her quest to have a child. As eggs from a 52-year-old are not viable, she would have had to have frozen eggs or embryos when she was younger. Alternatively, she may have used another woman’s eggs. (RELATED: AOC Freezes Her Eggs: A Political Calculation or Cultural Symptom?)
Swank wants us to think this is empowering, but this is pure selfishness.
Swank went on a media tour of sorts to announce her pregnancy. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show, she said, “There’s a lot of backlash women get for having children older but not men. Which is interesting.” Swank, who also had twins at the age of 48, then went on to recount how a woman (oh-so-horribly, supposedly) once told her, “How dare you?” about her decision to have children as old as she did.
It is, of course, unnatural for a woman to have a baby at 52. A middle-aged woman in her 50s and 60s is not intended to mother young children. Moreover, the medical dangers for the child are off the charts for a pregnancy at this age, not to mention for the mother. In 2013, an article in the American Journal of Perinatology said of IVF over age 50: “[T]here must remain a question of what death rate would make it unethical for doctors to perform an elective request procedure.”
Swank’s pregnancy is as clear an example as ever that IVF involves the commodification of children into products to be bought and sold, without regard for their well-being. For Hilary Swank, this is all about herself. These children’s best interests (including those of the ones who potentially will be/were killed) are the last priority. (RELATED: When Parenthood Becomes a Purchase)
Sadly, among celebrities, Swank is far from alone in her narcissistic projects. Khloé Kardashian, who has two children born by IVF, including one “via surrogate,” recently spoke about how she “own[s]” the remaining embryos.
“I own the embryo outright,” Kardashian, age 42, said on a podcast last week. “Don’t even need to tell Tristan [her ex] this is happening, ’cause I own them. They’re my embryos.”
She went on to explain: “When we broke up, I had him sign that I could have it. And it’s legally done, yada, yada. So it’s my embryo. But I don’t know if I have the bandwidth to have another baby.”
Abigail Anthony of National Review astutely pointed out that Kardashian, after declaring that she “own[s]” her unborn daughter, went on to affirm her daughter’s humanity. “Khloé is admitting that the frozen embryo is a human being,” Anthony explained.
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In Kardashian’s podcast appearance, as recounted by Anthony, she says: “I was on the phone, and I was talking to the doctor, and I said out loud, like, something about, there’s … she has a sister in the freezer, or something like that. And so now True [Khloé’s daughter] is like laser-focused on that she has a sister in the freezer.”
“The sister has a name,” Kardashian said. “I actually love the name, so I think I want to use this name, if I ever do it.”
She then revealed that her daughter’s name is Tyla.
Anthony wrote, “[R]eferring to the frozen embryo as a ‘sister’ and ‘daughter’ with the name ‘Tyla’ concedes that she is a human being.”
It is a sad point we have reached as a society that Kardashian, a famous celebrity, feels empowered to speak about how she “owns” her daughter — and plans to probably kill her.
Swank’s decision to have a baby via IVF at 52 and Kardashian’s unabashed “ownership” of her daughter speak to this crisis of narcissism. These women treat their own children like garbage they can throw out at will in their search for acclamation and fame.
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The pair really are not far removed from the activities of Selma Blair. Earlier this month, Blair had an absolute meltdown on a Delta flight from Los Angeles to New York City. In a crazed fit, she banged her head on the plane’s bulkhead before biting one flight attendant and slugging another. One flight attendant was later taken to a hospital for treatment. Blair was strapped down on the flight due to her crazed violent fit, and she then went on to viciously kick a police officer, Maria Suarez, who was helping secure her to a stretcher. According to an affidavit, Blair “removed her leg from the stretcher straps and kicked Officer Suarez repeatedly about the face, neck and chest.” The officer “suffered swelling” and “substantial pain to her face, neck and chest.” Blair wasn’t done. Upon arrival at the hospital, she allegedly kicked a nurse in the chest.
Last week, Blair pleaded not guilty to two assault charges, and she also faces an investigation by the FBI. Blair and her agents claim none of this was her fault and that this all just happened because of her medical conditions.
Her representative, Jill Fritzo, said Blair “experienced a medical emergency on the flight” and that she “did not intend to harm anyone.”
“There is much more to this story than has been reported, and we ask to consider the entirety of the facts before rushing to judgment, whether in the courtroom or in the court of public opinion,” said the statement. It was, the statement suggested, all the fault of other people. Blair has a service dog “who doesn’t leave her side, and the authorities took her dog from her,” it explained.
Something is very amiss when Hilary Swank, Khloe Kardashian, and Selma Blair, all narcissistic lunatics, are our celebrities. But of course, celebrity breeds narcissism.
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