These shows are extreme. Not in subject matter (though that can be debated) but in their focus children vs. mother. Often the mother has given up her youth (Teen Mom), or body (Duggars) for her child. The focus is on the change they will have to make in order to provide for the child. This is great, but why hasn't anything been done to prevent this? Because we view young pregnant girls are irresponsible instead of misguided. Many of the girls didn't know there were preventative measures, and a lot of them didn't have access to birth control. This is where law and educational services can swoop in. It costs money to hire people to teach students about sexual health, but it costs more to have a child and provide for them. If there were more laws focused on making sure everyone has the proper education rather than restricting abortions, the conversation would look a lot different. Also, funding birth control so that it can be more readily accessible is also a solution that has to happen on a large scale, not just town by town.
Why isn't more done for women? Because women can be so irresponsible that they don't even know they are pregnant! (sarcasm) The emphases is on the wrongs of women, on their lack of knowledge, instead of the reform that needs to happen in health care, education system and laws. What other solutions can we come up with?
I agree that education is a major step in preventing unwanted pregnancies. I think abstinence only programs are ridiculous, and should definitely not be the only thing taught in schools. I think that sex education is an extremely necessary route for prevention because it can supply accurate information.
ReplyDeleteI think the way these shows exploit pregnant women is also an issue. I think that sometimes the shows glorify unplanned pregnancies, and where I feel that if you want to have a child when you are young, it is your own prerogative, but when it is undesired and there is a camera following you around, it can cause extreme amounts of stress. I think rather than having these shows like the duggars, and I didn’t know I was pregnant that add a sense of freakery to pregnancy, we should have more shows that glorify sex education, and protection.
The exploitation of pregnant women is definitely an issue that feeds into the way we treat mothers today. It's certainly not helping an issue when mothers who have newborns or are expecting watch a show where all they see is drama surrounding a newly arrived baby. Would a pregnant teenager feel any hope when she watches Teen Mom? The scenarios are set up to seem so negative that it almost seems like MTV is trying to scare girls from getting pregnant. While some may argue that this is a good thing, it probably just makes real teen moms feel bad.
ReplyDeleteA solution to this issue would start within the core of our TV themes right now. If networks could actually show some helpful information to women rather than just the dramatized aftereffects of absent or faulty birth control, women would be more educated in ways to protect themselves if they don't want kids. This education technique also needs to be implemented in sex education classes and there has to be easier access to birth control for women in poverty or areas with little access to health care.
I believe an overall revaluing of women as people capable of rational thinking needs to happen and this is inherent in all the above suggestions. If women are not considered able to make the "right" choices for themselves then their reproductive options will be limited by structures in our society. For example, government will outlaw distribution of information on birth control as they did with "Comstock Laws" in the 19th century. And the government will try to outlaw abortion by discrediting a woman's abilities to come to the "right" decision on what is best to do with her pregnancy.The Pro-Choice movement which believes women should have access to safe and legal abortions firmly believe that women are rational beings able to make logical decisions and thus proclaim that anti-abortion advocates are wishing to take away woman's right to chose.
ReplyDeletePerhaps more Women's Studies or social justice classes that try to tackle gendered stereotypes that have managed to hurt women, and particularly black women, in reproductive areas need to be integrated into public school systems. This again is education, but here the focus is on affecting the minds of prejudiced individuals to presume that females can make reasonable decisions for themselves in terms of reproduction, whereas sex education focuses on expanding the knowledge base of females that might have to make those decisions (i.e. information about preventive measures like birth control). This takes the onus off individual women to change how they are perceived. This approach would make sense since individual women are not responsible, nor can they change, the historical stereotypes, deeply ingrained on the human psyche that demean the intellects and capabilities of women. This psychological approach may be difficult and may take time since it attempts to change a ideology. But ultimately, this overall cultural change in thought needs to occur if women are to be given subjectivity.