When I opened up my Yahoo! homepage, the article “High school dealing with 90 pregnancies” caught my eye. I clicked on the video to find out more. After watching and reading the article from Yahoo!, out of interest, I further researched the issue. I was shocked that within this school year, so far, 90 girls have gotten pregnant or had a baby at Frayser High School in Memphis, Tennessee. (To see the teen birth rates across the US, click on this map).
The article goes on to say that while Memphis already has a pretty high teen pregnancy rate (15-20%), at this particular school, the rate is 26%.
While there are many factors to take into account on why more and more teens are getting pregnant, Deborah Hester Harrison, the executive direct of Memphis’ Girls, Inc., partly blames the media.
“It’s no surprise that Harrison places at least part of the blame on the media, such as the popular MTV shows ‘16 and Pregnant’ and ‘Teen Mom.’”
While I haven’t seen enough episodes to make a complete judgement, from what I have, these shows seem to glamorize teen pregnancy. In fact, recently I have noticed that more and more articles in "Us Weekly" are about "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom". Here is just one mom’s response to the media.“Farrah. Maci. Catelynn. Amber. We know these teens by name. We see them not only on TV but also on the covers of magazines, entertainment blogs and pretty much everywhere we look. Their celebrity status rivals that of any rock star. The bad decisions these teens made have been rewarded with fame and attention. There’s a concern that impressionable young girls will want to emulate these pretty girls who get as much exposure as Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato and Angelina Jolie.”
That mom argues that these teenagers are getting so much attention over a controversial topic. Do you believe it is morally right to give such attention to these girls?
While I think that giving the "Teen Moms" any more media coverage past the shows is wrong, I do think that the shows do not glamorize teen pregnancy. In a report released by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, "82 percent of the teens who watch [16 and Pregnant] say the show helps them better understand the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood – and why they should avoid it." Personally I would be part of the 82 percent. In some of the episodes, the girls really do struggle.
ReplyDeleteBrooks--great post! I read that article too when I saw it because it stopped me in my tracks.
ReplyDeleteAlex- I agree that maybe the show doesn't "glamorize" teen pregnancy, but there is fame involved. Like the mom's response in Brooks' post, the teen moms on the show get so much attention, and also they get paid for being on the show. 82% understand the consequences, but the shows also make it seem as if there is an upside. Not all pregnant 16 year olds will be on the show, but they don't really make that clear. The upsides shown, are fame and money, which many teen moms don't receive. Also, though 82% saw the consequences, what about the other 18%?
Dani you make a great point and I completely agree that these girls do get fame because of this show and I think completely ruins the good message of the show. I wish the only publicity that the teen moms got was just starring in the show and nothing else. Because as seen by the publicity Amber Portwood has been getting, the show starts to create a deceiving image for girls. It really becomes a disappointment.
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