From all the T.V. shows, movies, and books being written about teen pregnancy, you start to feel like this is becoming a bigger issue in today’s society. Because of all these new media entertainments that focus on this topic, many people are starting to stereotype teenagers into the category of being irresponsible, sexually dependant beings. While there are a lot of teenagers that can be put into this category, it is important to note that there are many teenagers who are far from fitting into this stereotype. The media is also starting to paint a picture for generations of what a “typical” background a pregnant teen comes from. You see that a lot of the times in the media, the pregnant teens are very rebellious to their parents, they are not strong in their faith, they come from poor families, and they were naïve enough to believe they could defeat the chance of becoming pregnant despite their increase in sexual activity (Teen).
One of the famous shows that take a look at some of these teen pregnancies is Teen Mom. The first season of Teen Mom told a story about a single teen mom, Farrah, and her daughter, Sophia. At the beginning of the show you see Farrah living with her parents who give her a ton of support despite her careless actions at getting pregnant. There are many nights a week where Farrah leaves Sophia with her mom so Farrah can go out to parties, hang out with friends, and find a new guy. Farrah being horribly irresponsible just assumes that each time her mom will be there to help her out when she wants to have her free time. The sad fact is that Farrah needs to realize that Sophia should be her number one priority right now, because it was her decision to be irresponsible in her sexual actions. Even though Farrah gets continual help from her parents, she chews them out when they are not willing drop what they have going on so Farrah can go out.
Because of Farrah’s story, and so many like hers, everyone starts to see teen pregnancy as mom’s who were not ready to face the reality of having a baby. The way Farrah acts after having Sophia just proves to the watchers that teenagers are irresponsible and have trouble accepting the consequences of their actions. After watching Farrah’s story, it seems as though teens would see the reality in having a baby and decide to become safer or stop their sexual activities. Instead of thinking this, it seems as though many girls think, “She’s a spoiled brat, and I would be different.” In an article I read it states that Thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 -- about 820,000 a year. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79 percent are to unmarried teens (Teen). This statistic is very high and it seems like the contributing factor would be words, “I love you.” Every girl wants to be loved, and in order to feel that way, she feels like she has to satisfy their man sexually before those words will come out.
In the assigned reading written by Susan Bordo, she talks about how images on the media can inspire young girls to be like those actresses being starred (Bordo 456). This holds true for Teen Mom as well. T.V. shows are making these teen moms popular by bringing them money, fame, and it’s saying, “It’s okay to get pregnant, because then well make you famous.” There are many young girls who watch this show and see all the publicity they get just from becoming pregnant. The girls who see this and who want to be on T.V. may see getting pregnant as a way into their dreams and out of reality. Watching teens try and become pregnant to go on a T.V. show is irresponsible and just helps prove to all the negative stereotypes that teenagers think with their wants, not with their needs. These girls are the ones that help us get the finger pointed at us saying we are irresponsible and we don’t think about our actions.
Bordo, Susan. “Never Just Pictures.” Twilight Zones: The hidden life of cultural images from Plato to O.J. (1997): 454-466.
“Teen Pregnancy Stats, Facts, and Prevention.” Family First Aid 13 Feb. 2011 <http://www.familyfirstaid.org/teen-pregnancy.html>.
I agree that teens are being portrayed as sexually active and rebellious, but I find that these shows are more of a bit of a birth control than an inspiration to have kids. Especially when you see people like Kailyn Lowry from the most recent show Teen Mom 2. Kailyn is trying to juggle work, school, a child, and an ex boyfriends family. Kailyn busts her ass everyday to do work and she has no time to spend with her friends, family, or just for herself. In the last episode, we saw that she got kicked out of her ex boyfriend Joe’s house and is struggling where to live. If she needs to find a new place to live and pay rent, she will no longer have time for school and instead will have to replace that time with working to make more money. I don’t know about you, but watching these teens struggle makes me was to use as much protection as possible so I don’t have to ruin what I have going for myself like some of these teens have done.
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ReplyDeleteI personally think this show has dual effects. Though I haven't watched many of the Teen Mom 2 episodes, I am familiar with the first installment. I think by seeing a case like Farrah's, young girls aren't fully taking in the fact that without her parents she would not be able to survive on her own. Then if you take a case like Catelynn's I believe she shows how she knew she and Tyler weren't ready and weren't able to provide a stable home for their daughter. From this they showed that having a child isn't for everyone and shows the hardship that can come with a baby.
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