{journal one}

So, I have a guilty pleasure.  I watch Teen Mom, every. single. week.  Yes, I am a well educated woman, but I need a little trash-like television to wind down at the end of a long day, don't judge me.  As much as some of the content on the show makes me cringe, I think some of it is a good representation of how a) having a child changes a girl/woman's life (more so than the father of that child) and b) how it is possible for teenage mothers to go on to lead fulfilling and successful lives.

One thing that really bothers me about the show is the PSA that always comes on halfway through.  The PSA is of Bristal Palin and her baby.  The overall message of the PSA is that she would have a really hard time raising her child if she wasn't rich/famous and have people to help her.  The end result is her in a dirty, empty room, wearing ratty clothes while her baby walks around aimlessly.  I feel this produces the message that without a lot of money and a famous mom, teenagers/young women will live in awful conditions and live miserable lives if they end up having a child.  I've added the PSA for your viewing pleasure.

I just feel that playing this PSA during this particular show is counter productive to the show's message.  Not one of the girls on the show has it easy, like Bristol Palin does.  Granted, some are smarter, work harder and are better mothers than others on the show, but they all struggle for what they have.

I also find it interesting that while the show does promote using contraceptives such as condoms and birth control, the PSA promotes no such thing.  It's motto is simply "pause before you play," which leads me to believe this is an abstinence only promotion.

And in case you haven't ever seen Teen Mom, here's a little montage of the previous season: