This is a screen shot of the Teen Mom 2 Facebook page, it displays an old cover of the magazine Ok. The cover portrays former child star, Jamie Lynn Spears joyfully displaying her newborn baby girl. The upbeat cover reading “Being a mother is the best feeling in the world!” seems to be nothing out of the ordinary except that the young woman on the cover was only 16 at the time.
1. What does this cover do to falsely portray teen pregnancy? How does it glamorize the normally difficult and extremely trying time in a young woman’s life? How are the young mother and baby presented? What does the upbeat and colorful tone of the cover lead you to conclude about this young mother? Does this magazine cover truly portray what teen parenthood is like?
2. How does this magazine cover relate to our theme Private vs. Public? (Consider the subject matter and the young woman being displayed, and the money she most likely made to do this cover.)
This cover makes being a teenage mother seem blissful, easy, and wonderful. While I'm sure any parent is grateful for their kids, teenage parents, especially mothers are faced with so many more difficulties than average adults. This cover completely ignores the fact that Jamie is a teenager still, and doesn't address what actual teenage parenthood is like, and how it can negatively affect the parents, and the child. I think the colors in the shoot make her look angelic, pure, and innocent. She looks like she's living a very comfortable, happy life, which is not always the case for less fortunate teen mothers. This public article makes her look like motherhood while being a teenager is a dream, when privately she could be struggling with the same problems other teen moms are facing. There are a lot of teen moms who face hatred toward them, or are shamed for having a baby at such a young age, and this cover doesn't show that side of teen pregnancy. The glamorization of the cover manipulates teens to think that they too can have children and have a worry-free lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteThough I definitely agree with you Haley, I also think that this magazine does not necessarily manipulate many teens into thinking having a baby at an early age would be worry-free and easy. Personally as a teenage girl, I don't look at this magazine and think, "man, having a baby looks FUN!" Most teenagers don't intend on getting pregnant, yet it seems to be happening more and more but only in the public eye. According to CCN, teenage pregnancy rates are the lowest they've ever been in the last two decades, but people are unaware of that because of how much we see it in the media now. This magazine represents how our view of teen pregnancy has changed over the years. It used to be taken much more seriously and was a private matter. Many girls used to leave home to have their baby and give it up for adoption so that no one would know. People have become less ashamed of teen pregnancy and therefore it's been made more public which in the end actually warns teens of the risks that take when in engaging in unprotected sex.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Melanie and Hayley on how cover makes teen pregnancy look glamorous and easy. I would like to add something to the private and public issue on teen pregnancy. Pregnancy should be a private matter, but the media makes a big deal and becomes a public matter. When celebrities are pregnant, there are always pictures in magazines and gossips that arise. The cover of the magazine tries to publicized Jamie and her baby, by making her daughter’s name the biggest bold words on the magazine. Money definitely plays a big role when it comes to public vs. public. I recently found out that cast the show “Teen Mom” makes $60,000 per season, and she doesn’t have to do anything except let a camera follow her.
ReplyDeleteBeing part of this blog group i definitely think you guys get the just of what is being shown, but think about this, how does this picture contrast with the PSA above it. It seems that Jaime Spears is being praised for having a baby. Why do you think this instance is glorifying teen pregnancy while the PSA makes it look like teen pregnancy is a burden?. While you are trying to answer that think also the role that race plays. Is there a reason why hispanics are shown teen pregnancy is a bad thing while with a caucasian it seems ok?
ReplyDeleteI think the only reason the students in the PSA are hispanic was because it was made for spanish speaking students and thats why the script was in spanish. There was probably a very similar video made in English to warn english speaking students about the burdens of teen pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteMelanie, i love the insight from CCN that there's been a decline in teen pregnancy over the past two decades. Just really shows the effect that the media has on us. In response to Greg's post and question I believe that Jaime Spears is being praised in order to make money, and solely to make money. The publisher's goal is not to influence teen pregnancy, its to make MONEY. Its just unfortunate that there is this underlying message of glorifying teen moms. And I agree with Melanie that the reason for Hispanic teens depicted in the PSA is just cause it was made for a Mexican audience. There isn't one race that is more at fault than another.
ReplyDeleteI agree Luke that it is sad to glorify teen pregnancy and that the only reason they're doing it is for money. Look at Teen Mom on MTV, its ratings I'm sure are through the roof. But the whole race issue, I think that the creators of this PSA were pushing at something that might have been underlying. I would like to see statistics about it, but I think teen pregnancy is more prevalent in South America, and Mexico too, because of poverty lines. I feel the more poverty struck an area is, the more prone it is to teen pregnancy. I feel like they are targeting the hispanic population in the purposely because they possibly have a higher rate. I know when I lived in Brazil I saw many young women that were pregnant, and I feel the poorer the area I was in, the worse it got.
DeleteI definitely agree with Melanie about the PSA video, when watching it I actually didn't even think of the race to be a sign that hispanic teenagers were most likely to get pregnant. I thought more about what the PSA's message was about teen pregnancy, and how easily it can happen.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone that this cover shows teenage parenting as easy and fun. This cover is definitely using vibrant colors to support my previous statement. This cover doesn't even begin to come close to how difficult it is to be a parent. A teenage parent has even more obstacles to overcome than an older parent who has a job and money to support a child. I do think that this cover sends the wrong message to teens because it does nothing to show the harder side of raising a kid. I think it would have sent a better message if they hadn't shown a famous teen parent on the cover because she has a lot more money to support a child than an average(average economically) teen parent.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the consensus that the image on the magazine cover glorifies teen pregnancy. There is no sign of struggle on the young girl's face, only the joy and happiness of having a newborn child. She seems comfortable and relaxed in her home setting, one she most likely did not make for herself. She also appears mature and independent. As most of us know, at sixteen, most teenagers are far from mature and she still probably lives with and depends on her parents. I think it is also important to look above the magazine cover of another teen mom. She seems to portray the attitude we would expect a teen mom to have: exhaustion, frustration, and anxiety. By looking at these two girls, we are presented with two very different portrayals of teen pregnancy. A magazine would not want the image of a tired and frustrated girl to be on their cover. Happiness, even if it is just for the cameras, sells better. Since this young girl is a celebrity, she is obviously making money by selling her story. Because our society has evolved so much, people are no longer hiding their private mistakes, but displaying them on magazine covers.
ReplyDeleteAs one of the "administrators" from blog group one, my question to all of you is, do you agree with thoughts that Melanie brought up, regarding the acceptance or lack of shame of teen parenthood in our society? Is it losing some if its negative connotation? Is this a positive or negative thing? I'm also going to go back to our theme, how does this relate to private vs. public?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was an interesting fact that Melanie brought up about how teen pregnancy has been decreasing in the last to decades. This made me realize that even though it is decreasing, the media plays such a big impact in our everyday life. It had never crossed my mind that teen pregnancy could be decreasing. I also thought of this past summer when I met a guy in China, one of the first things he asked me was how many boyfriends I had had. When I asked him if I looked like someone who has had a lot of boyfriends, he just said oh well you are from America and I heard all American girls are wild. This just made me realize that the media has not only affected how we view ourselves, but also how the rest of the world views us. Teen mom is only one of the show that has contributed to this negative image other people have about us.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that caught my eye first the fact that this page has almost 6 million likes. I find this interesting because this is not a site for showing support to teen moms, but it is in fact a TV show. And in my previous post I mentioned how media has affected the way we and the way the world views us. It is interesting to see that not only do a lot of Americans not care about teen pregnancy they are actually, in a way, promoting it. Everyone knows that having a child, at an age where you don't even have a stable income, is extremely difficult. We have these reality tv shows, like Teen Mom, where it shows how difficult it is to have a child and yet on their Facebook page they have a picture of Jamie Lynn saying "Being a mom is the best feeling in the world!":D. Also I would like to point out the fact that Jamie Lynn use to be on Zoey 101, which was a tv show that aired on Nickelodeon for teenagers just like her. She is suppose to be a role model, but then she has to suddenly quit the show because she was pregnant. Although we may not look at Jamie Lynn and suddenly have an urge to get pregnant, the other teenagers who may not have the education we had, may think otherwise. We may be too smart to be tricked by the media, but others may not be. Going back to our course theme of private vs public, I feel like for these girls to reveal their private lives to the public, it is in turn affecting our private lives. In my previous post I talked about how someone I met thought all American girls were wild and even though it was a very small matter, it did affect my private life and I was not happy with how being American makes me wild. Also, I would like point out again that because we are the thirty percent of students who graduate and go on to college, our mindset and reaction cannot represent the other seventy percent. There will be people out there who views having babies at a young age fun and interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIm glad Shelly pointed out the fact that the facebook page has almost 6 million 'likes'. Those 6 million people might have pushed the 'like' button for different reasons (most just because they like the show, some because they do support teen pregnancy, or maybe they just saw how many other people liked it, or any other reasons.) but by liking it they're sending one message. Teen pregnancy is popular. As Cam said above me, "People have a bizzare fascination with the negative side of society...". As a member of blog group one, my question is do you guys think that by watching and 'liking' this show and buying these ads in our private lives, we're supporting the topics stay in the public? Do you think this an accurate portrayal of what people want?
ReplyDeleteThis cover, in my opinion, shows a disturbing direction that people like Jamie Spears may be leading today's youth. As we all know, most girls this age do not have the same financial status as Jamie Spears, but this aspect of the situation is probably not addressed in any article. The glorification of becoming a mother at this age is not only morally appalling, but also misleading. Jamie Spears, with her large financial advantage to others her age, will probably actually think that being a mother isn't very difficult because she can always leave the child with a nanny while she carries on with her life. Other mothers that age do not have that luxury. This means that the time of their lives that should be focused on education and socialization will actually be focused on care for their child.
ReplyDeleteNick, I think you hit the nail square on the head! The first thing I thought when I saw this magazine cover was, “Well yea its awesome being a mom at 16 when you are worth Millions of dollars! How much of a negative impact will having a child this early on your life when you can just put the kid in the care of a nanny when you want to go do whatever you want!” Having a child is not that simple for the rest of Middle America. I am 25, my wife is a Physician’s Assistant with a steady job and a good salary. We don’t have hardly any of the same struggles this teen mom’s face and we are just barely getting by being new parents. Something else to think about…. What is this magazine trying to do? They are trying to sell as many copies as they can. If they print something trying to take some sort of moral high ground, and saying that Spears made some sort of mistake, they would be crucified in the media. So, what do they do? They put an inspirational quote on the cover, a picture of a proud new mommy who is all smiles, and three other stories on the cover. (So, if you don’t care about Brittney Spears’ little sister’s new baby, but you like to hear about Tom and Katy, you will still pick up a copy.) This magazine is all about one thing….. $$$$
DeleteThis magazine cover makes teen pregnancy look ok when it actually isn't. Jaime and her baby are presented with bright colors, Jaime has a smile on her face, and there are exclamation points all over the page about how exciting this is. This relates to our course theme because Jaime is being paid a lot of money to put her private life all over a public magazine where normally being a teen mother usually isn't something to be proud of.
ReplyDeleteLike Shelly, one of the first things I noticed that almost 6 million people like this page on Facebook. Although everyone's reason may be different, there are still a lot of people that find teen pregnancy "entertaining" in a way. This magazine shows Jamie Spears, a former star on Nickelodeon, with her new baby. It is definitely glamorized, especially with the quote, "Being a mom is the best thing in the world." This statement makes teen pregnancy seem OK, when in reality, it's a very serious issue.
ReplyDeleteThis magazine cover displays our theme of "Private vs Public" because pregnancy, which was once supposed to be a private issue, has now become public, especially with celebrities.
I think that teen pregnancy is actually overrated. A couple of my friends did in fact get pregnant soon after or before graduation. They love their kids but the struggle is still very apparent. I think the media tries to put a positive spin on the whole idea.
ReplyDeleteI mean look at MTV. Seriously? Teen Mom and Sixteen and Pregnant... Those shows are just ridiculous.
As for our theme, I think that this is a violation of privacy. As a celebrity, private is (for lack of better words) crap. The personal life of Spears is exposed to the public. I would think that this adds to the stress of being a parent.