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| {Image via Flickr ... of adults, just FYI.} |
Recently though, I've been hearing a lot of debate about whether or not this show is good for teen girls. Since I'm only seven years out of my teenage years, I've given this a lot of thought. Entertainment value (or lack thereof) aside I think that the show might be good for teen girls. This comes down, as so many things do, to a question of balance. The reason I've heard bandied around for why the show is bad for teen girls is that apparently there are teenage girls out there who have tried to or have gotten pregnant for the purpose of ending up on the show. This is horrifying, obviously. However I have to wonder if the show actually prevents a lot of teenage pregnancies. The show is super popular (and I mean super: the popularity of the names Maci and Bentley, names of a teen mom and her son from the show, have skyrocketed in the last year) and teen girls are watching it. Though I find that it takes a more conservative viewpoint than I'd like, it does push the issue of teen pregnancy into the spotlight. Most importantly I think Teen Mom shows other teens just how hard being a teen parent is. (As in if you get pregnant the likelihood is that you won't be able to afford baby clothes at Wal Mart, you'll have to give up your love of dance/cheerleading/marching band and your significant other, while he or she sticks around, won't help you as much as they should and then they'll leave you.) Also, the show seems to make the words condom and birth control pill less taboo and even shows alternative forms of birth control (the Depo shot and the IUD being the most prevalent amongst the girls to prevent a second pregnancy). I also think that it's a great case study into what abstinence only sex education has done for America. We're not perfect in Canada either (though we don't only teach abstinence), but the States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world.
Speaking of sex education, I have to go to the feminist part of this discussion, of course. The thing that I see over and over again on the show is that many of the teen fathers don't take enough responsibility in the lives of or even production of their children, which is, needless to say, really irritating. They seem to all think that the baby is more the girl's problem than theirs. What's more irritating is that most of the press around the show concentrates on the girls' choices and not the boys who are half at fault for the situation. Take for example the Dr. Oz Show (ya, ya, we've already established that I watch bad TV). He interviewed a few of the girls on his show this year. I was so angry at his portrayal of the girls that I almost couldn't watch. Though his track record for going into anything useful in detail when it comes to female-specific controversial topics is pretty poor, this one was really bad. The subtext of Dr. Oz's show was that these girls had made poor life decisions and that abstinence was the only form of birth control. At no time did he talk about the boys having anything to do with the pregnancies and he raked all the girls over the coals for their choices.
I'm not advocating teen sex here. All I'm saying is if we really want to solve the problem of teen pregnancy, let's take the morality out of it and talk about empowering girls instead of shaming them. Let's teach all of our teens about birth control, NOT JUST abstinence. I know the conservative old guys want girls to remain virgins until their wedding night (but not boys ... do THAT math) but giving girls knowledge and confidence is the best way to solve this social problem. (Because we do have some conservative old guys in charge of our little country right now.) Shame will just result in more pregnant kids and one thing we can all agree on is that kids having kids is not good for anyone.
(Speaking of shame, I can't believe that I just admitted that I watch The Bachelorette on the internet. Amazing what getting pissed off will make you share. But seriously, Bentley's an actor right? He can't be a real contestant? I digress.)
For those of you who have gotten to this point, thanks for reading the longest post on my blog so far! I'd love to hear what you think in the comments section. Also, if you'd like to watch some bad TV, here is the link to Teen Mom. And for good measure, here is a link to Planned Parenthood ... just in case. XO
Kate, I share your shameless love for Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Sadly, after having been in the States for the last few months and getting a feel for the american mentality, I have a hard time believing that american teens have the critical thinking capabilities required to register the caveats of teen pregancy. More likely, the take-home message for these girls is that getting pregant might be a ticket out of a small town. Not only are the girls featured on these shows ON television, but they also grace the covers of numerous magazines and gossip websites. The reality is that, due to an education system that doesn't foster independent thought and an irresponsible nation-wide menality of 'it's not my fault' (as in: it's not my fault that I'm in debt, I just HAD to have a 42'' flat screen TV bought on credit that I didn't earn and don't deserve), the likelihood that teen pregancy rates will decline are slim.
ReplyDeleteShows like this could be excellent platforms for discussion of this issue, but both the producers of the shows and the culture surrounding them ensure that what girls learn is less about the struggles of parenthood and relationships and more about how to lose the baby weight for the MTV photo shoots that will end up on US weekly.
We (this includes our social group from teenage-hood) had the fortunate upbringing of strong women role models and smart teachers who instilled in us the confidence and intelligence to make 'smart' life choices. We had the knowledge and support systems (not to mention the expectation of post-secondary education) that many young people in the US and Canada do not have. I'm sorry to say this but: this discussion just does not exist for many young people. It is hard to be optimistic about this, at least until the education of young american people improves.
Ab - I think you are probably right. Sometimes it's easy to forget that we had a lot of good people around us to get us to where we are (sans teenage pregnancy). Education and teaching respect for other people is what we really need.
ReplyDeleteI also don't think for a second that MTV produced this show as education. They produced it to make money.
Great points!
Kate- awesome post!! I can also admit to watching teen mom, though I've missed several due to Sean shaming me. Lol so I completely agree with alot of the stuff you've said. I think the benefits of having teens watch the show and see how rough it is on the young mothers probably out weighs the downside being young ladies getting wrapped up in the MTV fame aspect of it. Having a baby seemed to be a trend for a while there in Hollywood, but the show sure takes the glam out of it. I can tell you one thing, if I ever teach hichschool sex Ed I'll probably lose my job due to the honesty I'll be ready to dish.
ReplyDeletePs: Due to Bentley I now think she's lame and am cringing to watch the rest... Whaaaa whaaa. Lol
Can I just say that after teaching Sex Ed to 16 year olds... they definetly do NOT get a realistic education from Teen Mom. When we had some young teen mothers come in to talk to us in CALM, the expenses they were quoting were way above what is portrayed on Teen Mom. The people in TLC and MTV shows get paid to be there... as a real teen parent you may get paid by the government if you go to school... maybe.
ReplyDeleteWhile shows like that might take the glamour out of being a teen parent, unfortunatly most 16 year olds still need a role model and educator to provide them with the platform to discuss this sort of thing... Most do not make the connection that it could very easily be them in that situation - the teen mind is wired into that "it can't happen to me" even more now than it was when we were younger.
I like your post too Kate. I guess part of the picture is having someone to love at an age when some teens aren't feeling very sure of love in their own lives. Apparently this is a motivation sometimes too. Or, just not having a sense of their own future. Living for now - sort of driven by immediate needs/gratification. BC takes planning ahead/thinking ahead. One has to be contemplating a future to do that.
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