Teenage Pregnancy is Cool! Thanks MTV!

The other day I was watching 16 and Pregnant with my bestie and we had a discussion about this fascination and glorification of teen pregnancy. Thanks to MTV, Bristol Palin and Jamie Lynn Spears and countless other factors, teenage pregnancy has kind of become acceptable and for some foolish teenagers, a cool thing.

For anyone that's watched the show, you know its not all fun and games. The producers make sure you see the teenage girls and boy struggling with their pregnancies, labor and bundles of joy. There's yelling, fighting, breaking up, and even some violence (as we've seen in recent weeks, outside of the show). MTV even puts up a disclaimer about how teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable. But the underlying thing; the thing about it that still makes it "cool" is the fact that its on television. It's on MTV! No matter what happens with these girls, they're still getting their time to shine, their names in magazines, they're faces in the news and their names out of the mouths of household names. And call me crazy but I think that the "fame" that comes after being on this show will be motivation enough for young impressionable girls to go out get pregnant in hopes that they'll become the next 16 and Pregnant star.

I get it though; its kind of a double edged sword. Awareness of teenage pregnancy should be raised to help prevent it but after that happens, I think its the media's responsibility to stop rewarding these girls with any further attention. These girls should NOT be on the cover of magazines and in entertainment news shows. End of story!

Thanks for reading!