<http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy6.noblenet.org/ic/ovic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Journals&disableHighlighting=true&search_within_results=&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA281790318&userGroupName=mlin_n_danvers&jsid=2b36d311b40886c5eb6e058374710975>.
In this article, Kelley Vlahos argues that MTV showcases pregnant teenage girls who are famous for being pregnant and are on television but go through their everyday normal lives. She also says that these teens are willingly choosing the glamorous life of a celebrity rather than continuing on with their normal lives. Vlahos' argument is valid in relation to other people in the world who feel the same way about these girls being famous for something that is too risky to be played with. The article is somewhat useful because it shows how affective shows like this can be to teens that don't have children, because it is like they should have a baby to be cast into fame. 4.2 Commonweal, and Barbara D. Whitehead. "And Baby Makes Two: Why Teen Pregnancy Is on the Rise.” 10 Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
<http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy6.noblenet.org/ic/ovic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Journals&disableHighlighting=true&search_within_results=&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA187641234&userGroupName=mlin_n_danvers&jsid=cdde38b597174fa3877226638770c0f5>.
Whitehead begins her article saying that, teenage pregnancy is rising because of changes in the behavior of young women from the past until now. Girls today are taking the role that a 25-year-old would take in the early 1900’s. The Republican Party feels that teen pregnancy is immoral. This belief is a bit contradictive when Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant out of wedlock. After that, the Republican Party started to view teenage pregnancy as just another obstacle of obstacles in the middle-class family life. This article uses another real life story that happened in Massachusetts to support its points and views. In this case, high school girls got pregnant all at the same time. It is very helpful because of the pros and cons that are listed to the sides of sex education. 4.3 Smith, William A., and National Academy of Sciences. "Reducing Teen Pregnancy." Ic.galegroup.com. Gale Group, Summer 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
<http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy6.noblenet.org/ic/ovic/AcademicJournalsDetailsPage/AcademicJournalsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Journals&disableHighlighting=true&search_within_results=&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CA187641234&userGroupName=mlin_n_danvers&jsid=cdde38b597174fa3877226638770c0f5>.
Smith discusses how he feels that the divide between abstinence-only and those that push for safer sex and contraception are both options of preventing teen pregnancy that can be embraced. Smith also adds that teenage pregnancy needs attention from many people all over the world. Smith's tone is sympathetic to those who do go through teenage pregnancy. The article is very helpful because it gives the open minded point of view towards teenagers making the decision to have sex, and discusses programs that help teens prevent pregnancy. 4.4 Ventura, Stephanie. "Teenage Pregnancy." Ic.galegroup.com. Gale Group, 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. <
In this article, Stephanie Ventura discusses that the cost of funding for teenage pregnancy is going down annually from1991 to 2005. She also talks about how rates have been going up and down from 1991 to 2010 and how the U.S. still has the highest teenage pregnancy rates. Ventura’s points are suitable and educational and often have facts and statistics from other sources. The article is useful in its talk about outcomes of teenage pregnancy, causes of teenage pregnancy rates, behavioral changes, decline of attitude towards STDs, and the effect of policy changes. 4.5 Boonstra, Heather. "Abstinence-Only Sex Education Programs Are Ineffective." Gale Group. Http://www.ic.galegroup.com, Fall 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
<http://ic.galegroup.com.proxy6.noblenet.org/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Viewpoints&disableHighlighting=false&search_within_results=&prodId=OVIC&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CEJ3010166270&userGroupName=mlin_n_danvers&jsid=fc941692e57dba70de5298dd9d72010c>.
In this article, Heather Boonstra talks about how funding for the abstinence-only programs was debated over. Boonstra also talks about the rise of abstinence-only programs as well as how these programs have inaccurate medical information. Boonstra’s argument is well put and relevant. She defends her views with relevant facts. The usefulness of this article is limited because it only supports one side/ view about teenage pregnancy programs and their effectiveness. 4. Hypothesis: People who have socioeconomic disadvantages and/or do not like school are more likely to become pregnant in their teen years and therefore do not receive the attention and education they deserve. 5. Research Method: The method I chose to conduct research based on my hypothesis would be using secondary analysis and unobtrusive measures. Secondary analysis is “analyzing data that others have collected” (130, Henslin). I would choose this method because the existing data could have information that could greatly impact my supporting details, and I am able to look at the data in a different way. I would also choose unobtrusive measures because although I have already experienced teen pregnancy second-hand, this method would allow me to have a better understanding of why people are not looking at teenage pregnancy as an obstacle. I also feel that they should be more open-minded to women who go through it. 6. Personal Reaction: The materials I found respond to the implicit question in my problem statements and thesis. I have learned a lot of facts that give me a precise perspective of the problem of teenage pregnancy in our society. These materials give me the causes of teenage pregnancy as well as the effects and the related-consequences that Boonstra, Smith, Vlahos, Ventura and Whitehead all point out. As Smith points out “When the issues of sexual activity and use of contraceptives are addressed, the worst possible picture is painted.” (Smith, 1). This goes back to how people are judgmental of pregnant teenage women and are skeptical without knowing any facts.
I believe the source that responded to my question was Smith’s “Reducing Teen Pregnancy” article. This article is the most relevant source because it includes the sides of people who are for and against sex education for teenagers with the example of how many states really evaluate the effectiveness of their programs. Right now “eleven states have conducted these evaluations” (Smith, 1) and every one of these states feel that these programs aren’t changing the attitude of the teenagers’ behaviors. These behaviors will not change because of all of the judgment that is passed around all over the world. Teenage pregnancy will go down in every country, just as long as people can be a bit more understand as to why it happens.
The most important thing I learned is to keep up with the data and the sources I read. I also learned that teenage pregnancy has an abundant amount of causes that I did not know could even occur. Experiencing teenage pregnancy second-hand gave me such an advantage for this paper because I can understand the hardships that these young women go through. I also could relate to the articles because of this advantage, it made writing the research paper better for me.
The hardest part about doing the research paper was not getting too deep into almost every reason why people just happen to judge these young women. There are many reasons why these people react this way, but what I feel is that they should be able to do some research of their own and understand that teenage pregnancy is global; it happens everywhere. It happens to the young women that probably thought it would never happen to them. Another part that was hard about this research paper was summarizing for the annotated bibliography.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In July of 2009, MTV aired a new reality show on their network, 16 and Pregnant. The concept of the show was to tape the journey of pregnant teenagers throughout their pregnancy and the first few months of being a teen mom. They wanted to show viewers the struggles and hardships these girls faced. The show got such good ratings that they produced a spinoff, Teen Mom. Teen Mom follows four of the girls from 16 and Pregnant as they embark on motherhood. MTV aimed for this show to bring awareness of how hard it is to be a teen mom and the struggles the teens and their babies have to face. The real question is does 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom correctly get the message across or do these shows glamorize teen pregnancy?…
- 300 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Just by airing the show, MTV is assimilating new ideas of teen pregnancy into American society. Historically, there has always been some sort of unspoken Christian tradition that has governed American women’s birth rights; that one should not get pregnant out-of-wedlock. Today, however, teenage pregnancy is so rampant that families are forced to deal with the situation in a positive manner, often honoring the…
- 1570 Words
- 7 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 2007. Print.…
- 1751 Words
- 8 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Teens didn’t even want people in their schools to know, let alone the entire country. Today, when a teen becomes pregnant, instead of running to her room to hide, she might run to cameras with hope of becoming the next television star” (Stewart). In other words, Stewart believes that reality TV shows like ’16 and Pregnant’ are not helping teenagers see the real struggle of being a teenage parent. Rather than helping the shows are promoting teen pregnancy and causing teenage girls to get pregnant because they think they will get their own reality TV show and become instantly famous. In which many cases that hardly ever happens and the teen parents are left with a huge responsibility on…
- 1650 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Sundstrand, David. "The Crucible." Masterplots, Fourth Edition (2010): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 24 Jan. 2013.…
- 1705 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
The Black Codes were laws passed on the state and local level in the United States to limit the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks. Even though the U.S. constitution originally discriminated against blacks (as "other persons") and both Northern and Southern states had passed discriminatory legislation from the early 19th century, the term Black Codes is used most often to refer to legislation passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War to control the labor, migration and other activities of newly-freed slaves.In Texas, the Eleventh Legislature produced these codes in 1866. The intent of the legislation was to reaffirm the inferior position that slaves and free blacks had held in antebellum Texas and to regulate black labor. The codes reflected the unwillingness of white Texans to accept blacks as equals and also their fears that freedmen would not work unless coerced. Thus the codes continued legal discrimination between whites and blacks. The legislature, when it amended the 1856 penal code, emphasized the continuing line between whites and blacks by defining all individuals with one-eighth or more African blood as persons of color, subject to special provisions in the law.…
- 358 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
If acceptance is achieved through similarity, then is the road to acceptance worth getting lost on; is acceptance worth losing ourselves? A person’s individuality is what makes them who they are, but what about those who aren’t happy with who they are? If a transition between permanent happiness and cheap bursts of it exists, then what compels people to sacrifice their identity for the identity of someone, or something they’re not? Amy Tan’s essay “Fish Cheeks” explains the difficulty of deciphering where the determinant lies between fitting in and forgetting who we are. The main question is: “Is fitting in worth it?”…
- 650 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Teen Mom has been an innovative show in the reality show industry because it has opened up to society what a teenage mother goes through as she raises her first child. These girls have matured a long way throughout their Childs birth and their upbringing. The show presents four Teenage girls, now eighteen, struggling with money, school, and dating as well as dealing with insecurities, their parents, the father of their children and for a couple and a mother and daughter, domestic violence. While society usually judges girls who get pregnant at any early age, this reality show has bought into terms the reflection of these four women and how they stand in or stand out of the teen pregnancy statistics. Teen Moms huge success and its continuity on MTV where it had premiered for a few almost two seasons have been very controversial to many viewers. The criticism of making paying these girls to let people into their lives and see how they live is…
- 966 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
On April 19, 1995, at 9:02 a.m., the United States of America was reminded that the worst horror often comes from within. Within a matter of days Americans were forced to realize that this terrible tragedy may have been caused by citizens who call themselves patriots. Until the Oklahoma City bombing, Americans generally though of terrorism as a foreign problem that could not invade the walls of this nation. Many Americans had given little thought to what these patriots sought to do. Militia and patriot groups were considered to be fairly harmless groups who enjoyed stirring people up. The vast majority of Americans did not realize how serious or how dangerous these groups actually were. Very few people could understand why a fellow countryman would wreak such havoc on them. When it was learned that the accused suspects in the Oklahoma City bombing allegedly had ties to political extremist groups, citizens started to give these groups a second, closer look. Very slowly, and over several decades, these fundamental extremist groups and backyard political patriots have evolved into the most dangerous enemy this country has ever faced.…
- 3483 Words
- 14 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Nicole Martins states in her article that the 16 & Pregnant series portrays teen mothers as being well off financially and having supportive friends, families, and fathers of their children. To elaborate, viewers are believed to think the teenage girls with children have easy access to childcare, are able to finish schooling with ease, and have money to fulfill all their needs. It is understandable why the opposition argues that the show portrays the teen mothers as having a glamorous lifestyle when, as Susie Kroll addressed, their faces are all over magazine covers much like celebrities. Although the girls have taken on a celebrity amed status, 16 & Pregnant does not focus the show around their stardom. Though it is a valid point because the girls do live a celebrity-inspired lifestyle now, 16 & Pregnant still discourages teen pregnancy by focusing on the hardships a teen mother faces. The show brought this fame to the young mothers, but it does not make that a point to recognize in the show itself. The glamorization of teen pregnancy is not the only argument critics make when proclaiming that shows such as 16 & Pregnant promote teen pregnancy; many will also make the argument that the MTV network is not possibly capable of airing a television series that portrays actual…
- 1298 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Many years ago, youths were ashamed if they ended up pregnant, and most of the time changed schools to prevent the embarrassment. If a person was to walk down the hallways of any local high school, their chances of seeing a pregnant teen is about nine about of ten. Shows such as, ‘Teen Mom’, and ‘16 and Pregnant’, showcase teen pregnancy as if it is the new trend. In the three seasons that ‘16 and Pregnant’ has been running, they have shown roughly thirty five teens dealing with the “struggles” of being pregnant at a young age. Most of the episodes deal with the same issues for example, non-approving parents, boyfriends not wanting to be fathers, etc. Displaying the hardships these girls go through is supposed to stop other teens from going through with their pregnancies; however it seems to be having the opposite effect. Magazines such as ‘People’, ‘OK!’, and ‘In Touch Weekly’, aren’t helping the situation either, by displaying these random teen moms on their covers as if they are modern day celebrities. Who made these girls role models for other naive girls?…
- 731 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
III. Relating to the Audience: While most of you are probably not teenage parents, I bet many of you know either a couple girls who got pregnant at a young age or a few guys who got girls pregnant at a young age. Teenage pregnancy is something that affects all of us in some way, either in our homes and neighborhoods or on our televisions and computer screens.…
- 1246 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
Media, specifically television has taken the issue of teen pregnancy to a whole other level. The shows 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager document the lives of young teenage girls facing the issue of being a pregnant teenager. Originally created to show the controversial subject of teen pregnancy, all of these shows soon began to change. As the seasons continued in all three of these shows, the controversial subject of teen pregnancy soon became a glorifying concept. What was first viewed as just a fantasy is now becoming a reality for many teenagers. Viewers of these shows are now seeing that teen pregnancy isn’t all that bad; it may even be considered normal according to MTV and ABC Family. The “teenage celebrities” on these shows are making it through life just fine; portraying that anyone else can too. Yes, these teenagers may have faced hard times in the beginning, but at the end of the day, their lives are unrealistically viewed as ordinary. Both MTV and ABC Family depict the lifestyle of being a pregnant teenager to be somewhat glamorizing.…
- 1343 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
These days the media exposes in great detail the lives of celebrities. Every aspect of celebrity lifestyle is exposed from whom is in rehab, which celebrities have eating disorders, love scandals, and the most recent craze; who is becoming a mother. There are several magazines dedicated to celebrity dirt, and the past year these magazines have dedicated their pages to expectant celebrity mothers and their newly born children. Celebrity fads and crazes are known to spread like wild fire, and much of the population is influenced by these celebrity habits. But how much of an influence do celebrities really have on society namely teenage society? Teenage girls obsess over the latest trends and fashions, and the latest trend is motherhood.…
- 2255 Words
- 10 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Controversy erupted because of the amount of sexual activity and the way it is shown on prime time TV. Critics contend that there is too much skin shown in most daytime TV. They are also concerned that the exposure of sex might send the wrong message to its teenage viewers. Most channels such as: MTV, WB, and VH1 show a number of shows sending out the message it is ok to have sex. Critics are also very quick to point out that these shows don't discuss or show safe sex techniques. Sex in popular entertainment is sex without consequences or emotional impact, but teenager viewers do not see behind the lights and the cameras. Teenagers are having sex at younger ages and teen pregnancy is becoming a huge problem in the United States. Our society has become very dependent…
- 1174 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays