Stop The 'Trash' Talk: How To Change Stereotypes Around Pregnant Teens
Earlier this week USA Today reported on a recent study of teen parents that found most are not living in poverty or from single-parent homes. The statistics from the article:
- 39% [of teens who report having a baby or fathering a child] lived with both biological parents; 19% reported living with one biological and one step-parent.
- 28% lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty line.
It got me to thinking about a criticism of the MTV docudrama “16 and Pregnant” Anastasia included back when she posted on the show after the first episode. Here’s the comment:
Don’t get me wrong, it could just be the commercial they’re showing that make all pregnant 16 year olds look like scum, but I bet that’s not the case nation wide…MTV: don’t mask it – just because slummy 16 year olds get pregnant does NOT mean it doesn’t happen in our ritzier areas either…quit profiling and report on the truth.
Although this admittedly harsh and judgmental impression was based on commercials and not from watching the entire series, which featured girls of slightly different backgrounds that ranged mostly from middle to lower-middle class, it does raise the question of how prevalent the “trashy” stereotype remains — a label that gets stuck even to celebrity teen moms like Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin. It also brings up the question of how the media can challenge that stigmatizing label across class barriers and broach the discussion of preventing teen pregnancy to a wider audience without being accused of glamorizing the issue.
The November cover of Teen Vogue recently brought this debate to a head by featuring pregnant teen supermodel Jourdan Dunn. At the time of the shoot the magazine was reportedly unaware of the pregnancy and Jourdan sports no visible “baby bump,” but she does reveal and discuss the hardships of her situation in the article’s profile with quotes like, “All I could think about was what my mom was going to say, my agency, my boyfriend.” While some critics have come out saying the smiling photographs and glamorous model lifestyle undermine the cautionary message, advocates have pointed to the article as an access point for Teen Vogue readers and parents to start discussions about sex and consequences. Although I do think that the magazine (even if they were caught off guard) could have done a better job of highlighting proper resources in the piece, I feel like Jourdan’s quote about her concerns with the impact on her boyfriend, job and family actually do start to illustrate how disruptive having a baby will be. Overall, I see this as a positive step towards a more inclusive approach and I’m glad Teen Vogue didn’t pull Jourdan from the cover. With the recent up tick in unplanned teen pregnancies, I don’t think we can afford to exclude any teens, especially those with a potentially valuable platform, from the conversation.
Ypulse readers, what are your thoughts? Share your opinion in the comments.