Dear society,
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?!
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| Photo By: Arna Gudmundsdottir |
Back in the olden days when dinosaurs and your grandparents roamed the earth, a situation like that was something to be ashamed of and not anything to be proud of. However, this is where I am baffled beyond all belief. Shows like Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant on MTV are glorifying teen pregnancy! It is ridiculous, and I am so ashamed that I even know of those shows.
As I am writing this, I am all fired up and slightly annoyed as hell. Of all the girls that I (knew on a personal level) went to junior high and high school with (totaling about 20)... Of that 20, there are 11 girls who are pregnant or already mothers into their second or third or fourth year. That is not okay, I'm only 20 (technically almost 21) and it is NOT okay when half of the people my age or younger are already mothers. Oh and I went to a nice Catholic school in Calgary for anyone who is wondering, so it isn't like I grew up in a hick town or anything.
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| Photo By: Heike Geisler |
It's garbage television shows like 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom that makes me so angry. It's as if this generation of teens aren't already stupid enough with their drugs and alcohol and sex, they have to throw babies into the mix! What happened to educational television shows like Barney and Friends or Sesame Street?? 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom is almost promoting teen pregnancy; the girls on that show get so much media attention. Little girls who don't understand what contraception or the morning after pill is are probably jumping up and down giddy as fuck.
I can just see it now... "mom! MOM!!! I'm pregnant!! Call MTV!!!" I'm just kidding I didn't make that up I saw it on a meme comic somewhere on Facebook. But dear God in heaven, please for the love of all that is holy... gift these girls with some common sense and appreciation for their futures. Oh and while you are at it... Please strike the MTV show producers dead... PLEASE. This is not okay for them to continue to make seasons after seasons of this rubbish.
P.s. I am not religious, I was baptized Catholic, but I am a self proclaimed Atheist. Please don't refer to me as the religious nut, that is all.
Yours Spitefully,
Fiona Ho.
I must admit I agree that the amount of teen pregnancies these days seems startling. I do not necessarily agree that MTV shows like 16 & Pregnant glorify pregnancy though, they make a disclaimer at both the beginning and the end of the show encouraging birth control. I also think the show demonstrates how difficult it really is to have a baby at a young age. Not to mention, almost always there is huge relationship strain put on the teenage mother and father.
ReplyDeleteOverall I do agree with your post, but I don't necessarily agree that these shows are all bad. I think they create a fairly accurate portrayal (16 & Pregnant more so than Teen Mom) of what it is like to be a pregnant teen, including being ostracized from peers at school, and having to make difficult life decisions regarding school etc. I think it would be interesting to view some statistics on maternal age birth rate statistics to solidify the point you are making.
Great post, very thought provoking.
Yes, I admit the show is not directly saying, "have babies at 16 and be on our show!! Do it! Do it NOW!" But it does seem to leave that message on viewers. They make having a kid at 16 seem a lot more... socially acceptable than it should be... Even if they do show the stuggles that the mothers have to go through, at the end of the day that's not the message that I am receiving.
ReplyDeleteThat show is mindless garbage and even if they aren't point blank saying, "having a kid at 16 is cool," that is still what I feel is subconsciously being put into little girls' head. You definetly made some valid points too though.
I agree with your statement. I am 25 I have graduated High school, went to SAIT (Technical College) and now here at MRU. I cannot even begin to imagine myself with a child! I don't see how I would have time with school and work. I know many of my friends who are having children and for the most part they are around my age and ARE married. However, a large number of the people I went to High school with have 2-3 kids! And only have a high school education! I do not see how that is wise in any way shape of form.
ReplyDeleteAs for the TV shoes and seem to endorse pregnancy, I don’t think they MEAN to endorse it but I feel like they are. They are making it seem like if you screw up at 16 that it is ok! It is not! It is hard work, and yes I have watched a few episodes of Teen Mom and the show does at least depict that parenting is hard at that age. It is the fact that these teenagers are seen as some sort of C-list celebrity that gets to me. Messing up as a child should not be rewarded. Hard work should be rewarded.
So yes I agree with you I think these shoes give the wrong message and I feel that the age of having children has gone back to what it was years ago when we would just find a nice man marry and have children at 18.
I totally agree with you Fiona! I've watched Teen Mom and it makes me feel sick. I can accept Lindsay's point about the show accurately portraying the real-life experience of being a pregnant teen, which maybe scares some young girls enough to think about what they're doing. But I also agree that many young people might take the show in the wrong context. All the girls on Teen Mom are in the tabloids and getting boob jobs for God's sake, what kind of message is THAT sending?
ReplyDeleteI personally feel like these shows should be taken off the air, and real sexual education should be given in its place. Some schools in republican states don't even allow sex-ed in schools! This is so wrong to me I don't even know where to begin. But the fact that young teens aren't properly informed AND they are watching shows like 16 & Pregnant just seems like a recipe for disaster!
Shantelle: That is exactlt what I think!! I mean I know they obviously don't mean to endorse it, but the do!! If these girls are getting fame and fortune from being pregnant... sorta sends the wrong idea across to impressionable teen aged girls.
ReplyDeleteLauren: Exactly, the shows may not be telling people that teen pregnancy is okay, but the mothers on that show are. What you said is true, they are getting all this attention and body changes because of the show. Because they feel like they can, I mean... isn't that what all the other celebrities are doing now?
Also, I don't think it is a smart idea to deny teens sex-ed... I mean ignorance isn't bliss. Teens need to be educated or the society is F-cked.
I completely agree with you, I have been watching 16 & Pregnant as well as Teen Mom for a while now, and while watching i'm shocked to see what has happened to teenage girls these days. I mean 16 is a really young age, I couldn't possibly see how these girls can do this. I look at my sister who is also 16 and sometimes image exactly how young that really is. I mean coming from a very religious and strict family, if I had every came up to my mom and told her I was pregnant at such a young age and not even married yet, I would be permanently kicked out of my house with no support what so ever. And on the show these parents have no issues with them being pregnant is crazy.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, but I still think that getting pregnant at such a young is totally wrong. And the fact that they keep making season after season on Teen Mom is beyond me. It's just showing girls that if you can get pregnant at 16 you have a chance of being on television for everyone to see. These kinds of shows should definitely be canceled.
i totally agree with the sex ed- people need to know not just about getting progo, but also about other things like STD(s)(STIs?). kids/young people should be taught that pulling out is not a way to prevent pregnancy. Educating girls on things like birth-control and how it helps in other ways other than preventing pregnancy is also a good idea,it helps with brake outs and acne, pimples kind of sucks. Parents also need to talk about sex, I had that talk with my mom. I also watched a movie of a women giving birth in gr 7 sex ed class, I think that was one of the strongest teen pregnancy prevention methods that I have come across. Education, communication, and a realistic outlook is the key. Teens (not all) have sex that’s just the reality these days, and people need to be prepared for it, there a chance that girls and boys could get more than just a baby out of a one night stand.
ReplyDeleteI never got the birds and the bees talk with my mom... they're Asian... haha. But I turned out fine... I think it has more to do with having common sense and not being an idiot and being influenced by the things around you.
ReplyDeleteSchool should for sure teach about sex though, and the consequences of sex.