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How Common is Gestational Surrogacy?

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrive at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York (The Huffington Post)

FILE PHOTO – Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arrive at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, U.S., August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo

Last month, reality TV personality Kim Kardashian West and her husband Kanye West announced the birth of their third child. The couple’s daughter Chicago was carried via a gestational surrogate. She was created from a fertilized egg taken from Kardashian West, and had no genetic tie to the surrogate.

How common is gestational surrogacy?

It’s not that common, but it’s difficult to nail down exact numbers. The Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) reported 1.5K+ babies born from gestational surrogates in 2011, up from 1.3K+ babies born via the method in 2009. Another source reports 1.4K+ babies born via gestational surrogacy.

It’s difficult to pin down an actual number, because some cases of gestational surrogacy may not reported. It’s also difficult to tell when the sample size is so small.

As the procedure becomes more widely available, we’ll be able to see how common gestational surrogacy really is.

User Engagement for Beyonce’s Pregnancy Announcement: By The Numbers

Beyonce’s Instagram pregnancy announcement, 2017 (Time)

OK, we all know that Beyonce is PREGNANT with TWINS, right? (And if that’s the first time you’re hearing this, OMG!!) The music icon announced her pregnancy on February 1st via an Instagram post on her personal account. (Later, she released an entire pregnancy photoshoot that was shot by Awol Erizku.)

As much fuss was made about Kim Kardashian breaking the Internet in 2014, Beyonce actually *did* the damn thing. Beyonce now has the most-liked photo on Instagram.

Here are some numbers to put this fact in context:

Likes on Beyonce’s 2017 Pregnancy Instagram Announcement (#): 10,468,451

Beyonce’s Instagram Followers (#): 94.8M

Pregnancy Announcement User Engagement (# of likes/# of followers): 11.04%

Number of Likes the Pregnancy Announcement Received within 30 minutes of posting: 1.2M+

Number of Likes the Pregnancy Announcement Received within 1 hour of posting: 2.4M+

Amount of time it took for the pregnancy announcement to become Instagram’s most-liked photo: Less than 8 hours

Number of Likes the Pregnancy Announcement got to become Instagram’s most-liked photo: 6.33M

Second most-liked Instagram photo of all time: Selena Gomez sipping a Coke

Number of Likes for second-most-liked Instagram photo of all time: 6.4M

Trends: Custom Emoji

Kim Kardashian West’s Kimoji (Fushion)

Everyone loves emoji. That’s just a fact. Recently, emoji have grown and expanded. Where there used to be just one brand of emoji, now there are several types.

Distribution company Focus Features came up with custom emoji to promote their recent film “Loving.” The film details the history of the 1967 landmark Supreme Court case which struck down miscegenation statues across the United States. The emoji were created to show the range of love between people, and so users could relate to the film in a modern way.

Releasing custom emoji has hit disparate industries and public figures. Professional golfer Bubba Watson released his “Bubbamoji” in April 2016. Stand-up comic and actor Kevin Hart has his line of “Kevmoji,” all modeled after the comedian’s very expressive face. The “Kevmoji” hit #1 on iTunes downloads immediately after its release in September 2016.

But nobody’s dominated the custom emoji space better than America’s most polarizing reality TV family: the Kardashian/Jenners. Members of the family have taken to designing custom emoji for their fans to communicate with like-minded souls. Kim Kardashian West (who’s turned out to be quite the technology and new media mogul) debuted her “Kimoji” in December 2015, and was an immediate hit.

Not to be outdone, Rob Kardashian’s fiancee (and mother of his daughter Dream) Blac Chyna has also released her own line of emoji. But, like anything dealing with the Kardashian/Jenner clan, this has not been without drama: One of the “Chymoji” depicts Chyna slapping a brunette woman presumed to be Kardashian West’s stepsister Kylie Jenner. (If you don’t know why this is a foul, brush up on the history of the feud between the two.)

Another person in the Kardashian Extended Universe (KEU, for short) is feminist activist Amber Rose. (Rose is one of Kanye West’s former paramours. West is now, of course, married to Kim Kardashian West.) Rose dropped her “MuvaMoji” in March 2016, where it earned around $4M. That number includes $2M on release day alone.

It’s clear that launching a set of custom emoji is becoming a necessary step in engaging with fans. So who’ll be next to launch a set?

#ThrowbackThursday: Kim Kardashian West’s Kimoji Launch, 2015

Kim Kardashian West’s Kimoji, 2015 (Kim Kardashian West)

Kim Kardashian West’s set of custom emoji, dubbed “Kimoji,” launched on December 21, 2015. Nearly a year later, they continue to be a hit, and paved the way for other celebrities to launch their own custom emoji lines.

Kardashian West’s Kimoji references notable things about her which both hardcore and casual fans would recognize: her waist trainer corset, posing in her white swimsuit, and her notorious crying face.

The Cost of Kim Kardashian West’s Social Media Blackout: By The Numbers

Kim Kardashian and her ring (TMZ)

In light of getting robbed in Paris last week (losing $11M-worth of jewelry), Kim Kardashian West has decided to take a break from social media for a month to reassess her online presence. Prior to now, Kardashian West has had a far-reaching social media presence on various platforms. She’s reconsidering her use of social media to document her life because the Paris thieves were after the $4M ring gifted to her by husband Kanye West. How did the thieves know about the ring? Kardashian West had shown it off on Snapchat.

But Kardashian West also uses social media as an extension of her business: being a Kardashian. And she’s paid well to do so. But it’s estimated that her month-long social media hiatus could cost her.

Here are the projected numbers behind Kim Kardashian West’s self-imposed social media blackout:

Amount Kardashian West’s special event appearances make: $20-$30K

Amount Kardashian West’s personal posts are worth to her brand: $200-$300K

Amount Kardashian West makes on social media in a given month: $1M

Kardashian West’s estimated yearly salary: $50M

Kardashian West’s estimated net worth: $150M

#ThrowbackThursday: Kim Kardashian West, “Paper” Magazine, 2014

Kim Kardashian West, ‘Paper’ magazine 2014 (People)

Remember when Kim Kardashian West broke the Internet? This was (not so far) back in 2014. She posed for Paper magazine. Cover shot: see above. Inside, the magazine featured shots of Kardashian West imitating a more famous photo and posing completely nude save for strands of her pearl choker (not a sexual metaphor).

Kardashian West didn’t get paid for her Paper photo shoot.

Though this wasn’t the first time Kardashian West posed nude, it was the time that everyone couldn’t stop talking about.

Trends: Latex Dresses

Beyoncé, Met Ball 2016 (US Magazine)

The 2016 Met Ball (that is, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit’s annual swanky party) took place this past Monday, and all eyes were on the stars to see who wore what. The theme “Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology” ensured that attendees and fashion obsessives would see some futuristic outfits.

And what could be more futuristic than latex?

Beyoncé wore a light-pink long-sleeved beaded latex dress. Model Bella Hadid wore a tight black spaghetti-strap bustier and pencil skirt, designed by custom latex couturier Atsuko Kudo, to the after party.

The latex dress trend isn’t limited to real life. Taylor Swift wore a white two-piece latex outfit in her “Bad Blood” video, and the aforementioned Beyoncé has a bright red minidress as one of her current “Formation” tour costumes. Both of these were Kudo pieces.

But neither of the aforementioned ladies started this trend. That honor goes to Kim Kardashian back in 2014. She wore a peachy-pink Kudo creation (can you tell he’s got the custom latex market on lock?) to the Australian launch of her fragrance. Incidentally, her outfit was the identical forerunner of Hadid’s (though Kardashian has also worn the black version of the outfit).

Bella Hadid and Kim Kardashian (Wetpaint)

Why is latex having a moment right now?

It’s possible that this is part of the long-range ripple effect from “Fifty Shades of Grey” that began ramping up last year. Everybody remembers (and was intrigued/titillated by) the playroom scenes, whether they read the book(s), saw the movie or both.

The book and movie’s success can be traced to many women’s hidden desires to be more sexually daring. However, in real life, some women may not feel comfortable completely putting themselves out there, sexually-speaking, in all their freak-flag glory. Donning a latex dress (or any fetishwear) can feel liberating, as if a woman is letting her “bad” side out to play. But it’s also safe in that the wearer can take it off at the end of the night (or session).

“Fashion Police” co-host Tim Gunn (also of “Project Runway” fame) hit the nail on the head when critiquing Beyoncé’s Met Gala look: “It has S&M written all over it.”

Well, yes. That’s sort of the point.

#ThrowbackThursday: Kim Kardashian’s Latex Dresses, 2014 and 2015

$Kim Kardashian's latex dresses (E! Online)$

Kim Kardashian’s latex dresses (E! Online)

Kim Kardashian always knows how to leave an impression. In 2014, Kardashian attended a couple of events wearing dresses made from latex. You wouldn’t normally think of latex as eveningwear material, but Kardashian pulled it off – twice. She attended the Australian launch of her fragrance while wearing the pink dress, and her husband Kanye West’s concert while wearing the black version.

Both dresses were designed by Atsuko Kudo, who specializes in “couture latex design.”

How Common are Transgender Siblings?

Lana Wachowski (Slate)

The Wachowski brothers are now the Wachowski sisters.

The directing duo, known for 1999’s “The Matrix” and 2015’s “Jupiter Ascending, have each gone through their own transitions to become transwomen. Lana (formerly known as Larry) began her transition in 2012, and Lilly (formerly known as Andy) was recently reported to have been transitioning.

This high-profile occurrence begs the question: How common are transgender siblings?

I wasn’t able to find any hard data on this. My guess is that it’s pretty rare, so there probably haven’t been any studies devoted to it. There are some numbers around twins transitioning (both identical and fraternal pairs), but that wouldn’t apply to the Wachowskis. But when and/or if the scientific community gets around to studying this phenomenon, I’ll be curious to see the numbers.

Lilly Wachowski Comes Out as a Transwoman

Lilly Wachowski (Slashfilm)

Earlier this month, another transwoman made her debut: Lilly Wachowski, formerly known as Andy Wachowski. Her debut comes four years after her brother Larry (now known as Lana) began her transition.

The Wachowskis are high-profile directors who debuted with “The Matrix” in 1999.

Sex & Stats: Where Numbers Come to Bang

Statistics. Economics. Sex.