16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Life of the American Teenager
are all shows in media today showing teenagers in high school who had sex and
whether they used protection or did not got pregnant. The shows show the ups
and downs of being a pregnant teen but are they encouraging teen pregnancy? Do
they discuss safe sex?
According
to our book, in 1950 the teen pregnancy rate was much higher than it is today.
This fact comes as a surprise to many today, including myself. The book also
states that this fact is partially due to the fact that abortion was illegal at
this point in the United States and it was much more common for teens to be
married at this point in time. I feel that this really contributed as to why
teen pregnancy was so much higher at this time, it was more socially
acceptable. It was more of a cultural norm at that point in our country.
When I
was a senior in high school just two short years ago there were at least eight
girls that were pregnant in my school. They faced many stares and judgmental
looks. By the end of their pregnancies, not one girl had their father’s baby in
the picture. These girls were then forced to raise their babies alone, some
even without the help of their families. According to our textbook, eighty
percent of the pregnant females are not married. I have seen this first hand at
my high school. A large percent of the male figures leave the picture and only
contribute through child support or maybe not even at all.
I
believe that there are so many to blame for teen pregnancy, most of all the
teens themselves. Others to blame may be the teens parents, the media and
schools. Many schools only teach abstinence. In my opinion this is so wrong.
Schools need to educate. This is their main job. To educate students, in
whatever subject is needed, including contraceptives. Some people believe that
if a school teaches their students about contraceptives then their targeted
audience, the students, will feel that is it okay to have sex. This is not the
case. Students will do what they want to do, but if they are educated they can
make better decisions. If students are not educated they do not seem to have a
choice but to not use any contraceptives.
When it
comes to the media, are they glorifying teen pregnancy? I have watched the shows that I listed and I am
not so sure. These shows show how hard it is to get along with their partner,
care for the baby and more of all finish school. Many of the girls at the end
of the show say that they do not regret having their child but they really wish
that they would have waited. Almost all of the stories on these shows show the
teen parents struggling with money, each other and the stress of bringing a new
life into the world.
The
biggest thing that I feel Americans should take from this is to educate. Not
just contraceptives but also options that females have once they do get
pregnant.http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/04/30/the-u-s-still-spends-way-more-on-teen-pregnancy-than-family-planning/
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications450
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