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The Christianity Today women's blog provides news and analysis from the perspective of evangelical women. We cover news stories and books related to international justice and evangelism, pregnancy and sexual ethics, marriage, parenting, and celibacy, pop culture, health and body image, raising girls, and women in the church and parachurch.

Her.meneutics is edited by associate editor Katelyn Beaty and online editor Sarah Pulliam Bailey.

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July 30, 2010

The Glamorous Life of the Pregnant Teenager

Do pop culture's portrayals of teen pregnancy harm young women?

Laura Leonard

When fast-fashion chain Forever 21 announced this month that they were rolling out a maternity line in five states — three of which have the highest teen pregnancy rates in the country — they were accused of what has become a common charge: glamorizing teen pregnancy. Like Juno, Jamie Lynn Spears, and Katherine Heigl’s character in Knocked Up before them, Bristol Palin, 16 and Pregnant, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager have all faced criticism for promoting a deceptively attractive view of teenage motherhood. Have the baby, their implicit argument seems to go, and you can still look cute, have a career, and maybe even marry the father of your child.

love-21-maternity-line-forever-21.jpg

Certainly reasonable arguments could be made that each of these pop culture icons have contributed to a softened, normalized view of teenage pregnancy. Kendall Jenner, the Kardashian half-sister and the face of Forever 21, is only 14. And the store’s omnipresence in malls across the country, along with its trendy, low-priced fashions and frustratingly small sizes, certainly targets teenage girls. But as a 24-year-old, I confess that I still shop there, as do most of my friends — many of whom are going through their first (or second) pregnancies and love cheap maternity clothes that don’t sacrifice style. Forever 21 already has a plus-size line as well as a “contemporary” line geared toward young professionals. Diversifying their offerings seems more like a good business strategy than a plot to convince U.S. teens to accessorize their pregnancies.

Is it true that young women see examples of young moms and decide they might want the same for their own lives? True, Bristol Palin has parlayed her high-profile pregnancy into tabloid covers, a lucrative job as spokeswoman for the Candie's Foundation, and even an acting gig on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, an ABC Family show slammed by The New York Times as “didactic and soulless cheerleading for anti-abortion sentiments.” But surely girls can recognize the unusual circumstances of Bristol’s life, as well as her own admission that being a teen mom “kind of sucks.”

juno.jpg

So what would the alternative look like? The recent depiction of a 15-year-old’s decision to have an abortion on Friday Night Lights, a show about a West Texas football town, was praised for offering what New York magazine called “the best and most honest portrayal of the heartrending decision to end a teenage pregnancy that we’ve ever seen.” The episode, titled “I Can’t,” seemed to offer the antidote to the seemingly endless stream of affirming portrayals of girls who chose to keep their babies and actually addressed the complexities that surround the decision. Implicit in the critical praise of the episode is that an honest confrontation of the difficult realities surrounding an unwanted pregnancy will result in an abortion. Unfortunately, the show portrayed the Christian perspective, embodied by the father’s parents, as out of touch: the boy’s mom encouraged him by explaining that Joseph and Mary, too, found themselves in a difficult situation. “[We] are not Mary and Joseph,” he replied.

After the success of Juno, a 2007 movie whose main character chose to carry her unplanned pregnancy to term and offer the baby up for adoption, many theorized about the potential of “The Juno Effect”: Positive portrayals of teenage pregnancies would result in an upswing of actual teenage pregnancies. But figures released earlier this year show that the rate actually decreased by 2 percent between 2007-2008, causing Salon’s Broadsheet blog to declare “Death to ‘the ‘Juno’ Efffect’.” “Turns out, depicting teen parents may not glamorize them, so much as humanize them,” writes Amy Benfer.

And this should be the goal: to show that, behind all the numbers and campaigns on both sides of the abortion debate are real girls who are facing very difficult realities. It seems inevitable that in this highly politicized age, every depiction of unplanned pregnancies will be dissected to reveal its agenda. But sometimes, a dress is just a dress, a garment to be worn by a woman or girl. One girl’s story is just that — her story. The more stories we tell, the more the issue becomes one about people, about individuals making choices — sometimes choices we agree with, sometimes vehemently not. But that is what will move the conversation forward. When we address such an intensely personal issue like abortion as exactly that, we can portray the real, whole truth of an intensely important issue.

What do you think? How do pop culture portrayals of teen pregnancy shape behaviors? Are these examples dangerously glamorizing a much more difficult reality? Or are they humanizing the options available? How could we do a better job of discussing teen pregnancy?




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Posted by Katelyn Beaty on July 30, 2010 10:27 AM

Comments

"The more stories we tell, the more the issue becomes one about people, about individuals making choices — sometimes choices we agree with, sometimes vehemently not. But that is what will move the conversation forward. When we address such an intensely personal issue like abortion as exactly that, we can portray the real, whole truth of an intensely important issue."

I second, third, and fourth that sentiment. This is why I've chosen to focus on stories in my work in reproductive ethics. Stories are what transform "issues" into human interactions that actually have the potential to change hearts and minds. Acknowledging and incorporating people's stories in ethical conversations can make the conversations more complex, but they are also more worthwhile.

Posted By: Ellen | July 30, 2010 1:12 PM

What a difficult and confusing topic! I love Ellen's comment about telling all the stories we can. I have two daughters; the oldest one is 8 years old. Next week, we have a mother / daughter date for "Secret Keeper Girls" fashion show and night out. This ministry teaches young tweens about purity, modesty, and living the life God has for you. The girls have a fashion show to showcase non-sexualized clothing for girls. Maybe this is a start for our family.

Posted By: LivewithFlair | July 30, 2010 3:36 PM

I saw an episode of a show called "16 and pregnant"; in this particular episode, the teen parents gave their baby up for adoption. I remember the tears streaming down the birth parents' faces as the adoptive parents drove away with the baby. "She's gone, she's really gone," the girl kept saying.

It wasn't easy to watch a young woman and man wrestle with such grief. I think the raw emotions, portrayed with such honesty, showed how difficult this decision was. It put a face on the phrase "birth mom" and "adoption", which are often theoretical and abstract to me. (I'm not adopted, haven't adopted a child, nor have I ever given a child to someone else to raise, so the reality is sometimes hard for me to imagine.)

Personally, I think an episode like this, a movie like Juno, the abortion episode on Friday Night Lights, and Bristol Palin's situation are all good ways to kick off discussions about this difficult subject.

Stories--whether about fictional (but realistic) characters and true people--often open the gate to meaningful discussion better than long philosophical/theoretical/etc. writings. It helps me to see how I might very easily be in that other woman's shoes.

Posted By: Laura K. Droege | July 30, 2010 4:59 PM

I wonder how many teen pregnancies occur because of a glamourous perception or any perception at all about becoming a mom? (Did Bristol Palin plan her pregnancy??)

It's probably more a case of a culture that has glamourized sex outside of marriage. There are countless television shows and movies that have been doing that for years.

The kids coming up now, even Christian kids, don't have much chance of having a different view unless they have a mom like "LivewithFlair" who seems to be doing her best to counteract that aspect of popular culture. Good for you and good for your daughters! They are blessed!

Posted By: Suzy | July 30, 2010 6:37 PM

Some of those people criticizing are making some incorrect presumptions: there are people who shop at stores like Forever 21 who are not unwed pregnant teens. They may very well be married (and yes teenaged 16 or over), they may be married and over 21...but they happen to wear junior sizes vs misses or plus sizes. Some of those folks wouldn't be caught dead in JC Penney or Sears or KMart. So it makes sense for them to shop at a store that caters to their fashion tastes. Folks shouldn't be so quick to judge with so little facts. Besides, even if the shopper is pregnant and in their teens, does it mean they have to dress in sackcloth and ashes as "punishment" for their sin of pregnancy outside of wedlock? Come on, a little mercy goes a long way here people.

Posted By: Sabrina | July 31, 2010 2:12 PM

@Sabrina - I'm not sure where you're seeing criticisms? I'm actually really encouraged by this whole conversation. Both the post and the responses have been very positive. And Laura said right in her post that she and some of her friends, including some pregnant ones, shop at Forever 21 because they like inexpensive, fashionable clothes. And then she concluded that the stores's carrying of maternity clothes is less about glamourizing teen pregnancy than making good business decisions. I see very little judgment here, in the post or the comments. Perhaps I'm not seeing something that you are?

Posted By: Ellen | July 31, 2010 6:14 PM

I don't watch much Mtv, but I do watch 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom. I think it shows a glaringly realistic portrayal of the challenges of teen pregnancy. If you watch the show, it is anything but glamourizing. In fact, the editing makes sure to point out what the girls are missing out on, the lack of understanding by the fathers and friends, the difficulties with the teens own parents. It is a humbling and very necessary show, I'm glad to see that educators are using the show in health classes to spark discussion on the topic. The only drawback is sometimes this show airs next to Jersey Shore, which revels in the type of behavior that 16 & Pregnant is working against.

Posted By: SJ | July 31, 2010 8:25 PM

How ironic. I'm reading this with my four year old granddaughter on my lap. Her mother conceived her at the tender age of 15. We know in this household that there is nothing glamorous about teen pregnancy.

My own mother, who is of THAT generation, suggested to me about six weeks before my daughter was due to deliver that I should not allow her to have an epidural or any pain medication so she would be sure "not to forget this experience" I assume in an effort to make her think that she could just get pregnant every year.

I was aghast. But in her day, I suppose the way to reduce teen pregnancy was to make sure the girl was completely shamed, left to suffer alone and away from all supports.

I agree. We need to tell the real stories. The unvarnished painful stories but also the stories of hope and redemption.

Posted By: Tami M | August 2, 2010 10:53 AM


The painful truth is that when the teen girls have no father in the home, the illegitimate pregnancy rate rises, dramatically.

There are many forces that are devaluing fatherhood, and repeating the cycle for the next generation will not bring improvement.

The church has fallen far behind in helping men and women to maintain a healthy home, and have allowed the fast spreading infection of 'give-up-itis' to spread through church just as quickly as among the heathen.

Posted By: home building | August 3, 2010 2:08 PM

I've been reading a book by Cloud and Townsend lately that this article made me think of- basically they say that truth is our friend and however uncomfortable it may be since we can't grow unless we are living and dealing in truth. I think the reality of teen pregnancy needs to be talked about in love otherwise, nothing will ever change. That being said, I was actually really excited to see forever 21 open up a maternity line since even though I am 27, I still shop there since their clothes are cute and affordable. After two pregnancies of trying to find cute clothes that didn't make me feel like I could have a circus under my tent, I think this is a good business decision and probably nothing but! BTW, my husband and I are looking at adopting too- adoption is near and dear to my heart!

-Olivia Grace
adventuresofaneverydaygirl.blogspot.com

Posted By: Olivia Grace | August 3, 2010 2:21 PM

As a former teen mom, and a single mom of now 3 children, there is no glamour in it! I'm now in my 20s, and unlike my peers who are concerned about beginning careers, getting engaged and planning their weddings, I'm more concerned with schooling, stretching a budget to include healthy meals, sleepless nights and dead-end jobs.

When I first discovered my pregnancy, as a teenager, I was left completely on my own. My own family didn't support me, and the father of my child abandoned me. And yes, I've made some really foolish choices, and I am paying for them. However, my children are gorgeous and I adore them, and I'm truly doing my best, in spite of the difficulties.

I don't regret my children, but I wish I had known what I was giving up when I chose to give up my virginity. I wish I had known how to follow God's plan practically, not just mouthing the words. I wish someone had taken the time to teach me what it really meant, and not just assumed I knew because I'd been exposed to it..

Posted By: Sarah | August 9, 2010 11:26 AM

I teach a High School Class on Sunday mornings. These kids are bombarded with sexual movies, TV shows and music as well as schools that don't care about there spiritual health. As Christian leaders we must teach the Biblical sexual standards as well as live them ourselves. We also need to have these ideas preached and taught in our Sunday morning services and to the adults too.

Posted By: Perry Sumner | August 9, 2010 9:33 PM

Personally, I see this as a good thing. Why make a pregnancy more uncomfortable for a young mom than it already is. She can now be fashionable and dress like her peers rather than like her own mother.

As for the teen issue: I can't imagine it encouraging teens to become pregnant. They're not stupid! They know their not ready for that even if their actions betray that fact. But it's the already-pregnant teens who'll benefit. They'll feel less self-conscious about their situation rather than feeling like social outcasts. If they're more comfortable, then they're less likely to seek an abortion.

Posted By: Jenny | August 26, 2010 10:15 AM

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