MTV and Teen Pregnancy: Critical Essays on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom

278 Pages·2013·3.357 MB·English

by  Letizia Guglielmo (editor)

MTV and Teen Pregnancy
Critical Essays on 16 and Pregnant and
Teen Mom
Edited by
Letizia Guglielmo
THESCARECROWPRESS,INC.
Lanham•Toronto•Plymouth,UK
2013
PublishedbyScarecrowPress,Inc.
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MTVandteenpregnancy:criticalessayson16andpregnantandTeenmom/editedbyLetizia
Guglielmo.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8108-9169-2(cloth:alk.paper)—ISBN978-0-8108-9170-8(ebook)1.Teenagemoth-
ers.2.Teenagepregnancy.3.16andpregnant(Televisionprogram)4.Teenmom(Television
program)5.Realitytelevisionprograms—Socialaspects.6.Massmediaandteenagegirls.I.Gugliel-
mo,Letizia,1977–
HQ759.4.M782013
306.874'3—dc23
2013004949
TMThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardforInformationSciencesPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSI/NISOZ39.48-1992.
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Contents
Acknowledgments v
Introduction:TeenMomsandBabyDaddies:Interruptingthe
ConversationonTeenPregnancy vii
LetiziaGuglielmo
PartI:FeministInterventionsorTiredNarratives? 1
1 TeenMomismonMTV:PostfeministSubjectivitiesin16and
Pregnant 3
CarynMurphy
2 16andPregnantandthe“Unvarnished”TruthaboutTeen
Pregnancy 19
LetiziaGuglielmoandKimberlyWallaceStewart
3 TeenMomsNegotiateDesire:The(Re)Productionof
PatriarchalMotherhoodinMTV’sTeenMom 35
AnastasiaTodd
4 OtheringtheMothering:PostfeministConstructsinTeenMom 49
JenniferA.Fallas
PartII:“ThePersonalIsPolitical”:TeenPregnancyandHegemony 65
5 “100%Preventable”:TeenMotherhood,Morality,andtheMyth
ofChoice 67
MayFriedman
6 TeenSex:AnEqualOpportunityMenace:MulticulturalPolitics
in16andPregnant 79
ClareDaniel
iii
iv Contents
7 SensationalizingtheSentimental:NationalCultureandFuturity 93
MelanieAnneStewart
8 PathologicalMotherhood,ParentalRelationships,Expert
Counseling,andHeteronormativity:AFrameworkofAnxiety
andReassurancethroughMTV’sTeenMom 109
MartinaThomas
PartIII:MakingRoomforDaddy:ImagesofTeenFatherhood 123
9 16andPregnant,Masculinity,andTeenFatherhood:
ReconcilingorReinforcingStereotypes? 125
JenniferBeggsWeberandEnidSchatz
10 TeenageFathers:TheDisruptionandPromotionofthe
HeterosexualImaginary 141
AndreaM.McClanahan
11 What’saBabyDaddytoDo?:FathersontheFringeinMTV’s
16andPregnant 161
LauraTropp
PartIV:IsThisRealLife?MediatingtheWholeStoryofTeen
PregnancyandMotherhood 177
12 “HavinganAbortionIsNotUncommon,butTalkingaboutIt
PubliclyIs”:ExploringthePotentialforPositive,Feminist,Pro-
ChoicePortrayalsofYoungWomen’sExperienceswith
AbortioninMassMediathroughMTV’s“NoEasyDecision” 179
JoAnneGordon
13 “I’llSeeYouinCourt”:TheCollisionofLegalDramaFrames
andPublicPolicy 193
AlisonN.NovakandIndiaJ.McGhee
14 TheYoungandthePregnant:Edutainment,RealityTelevision,
andtheQuestionofTeenPregnancyPreventionon16and
PregnantandTeenMom 207
MargaretTally
15 IsolatedandStruggling:AReal-Life“SixteenandPregnant”
Narrative 219
AllisonBass
EpisodeBibliography 235
Bibliography 239
Index 255
AbouttheEditorandContributors 261
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the collection’s contributors for their dedication to the
project,theirmanyinsightsandthoughtfulreflectionsthroughoutthewriting
andrevisionprocess,andtheirwillingnesstoaddtheirvoicestothisconver-
sation.IoffermysincerethankstoKimberlyWallaceStewart,whoseinterest
in and commitment to research in gender and women’s studies helped to
generatetheseedsforthisprojectaswellasatrulyrewardingcollaboration.
Andfinally, enormousthanksto Johnforwatchingcountless episodesof 16
andPregnant,TeenMom,andTeenMom2,forlisteningtoongoinganalysis
throughouttheproject,andforofferingunendingsupport.
v

Introduction: Teen Moms and
Baby Daddies
Interrupting the Conversation on Teen Pregnancy
Letizia Guglielmo
The September 2008 announcement of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy, teen
daughter of then vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, propelled the topic
of teen pregnancy to the forefront of mainstream news media reports,
prompting discussion on abstinence-only programs, conservative “family
values,” and the fiercely pro-life politics of the Republican vice presidential
candidate. Although by 2008 teen pregnancy rates within the United States
had been on the decline since the early 1990s,1 this “problem” generated
renewed interest and media attention. With the premiers of the film Juno in
2007,thetelevisionseriesTheSecretLifeoftheAmericanTeenagerin2008,
and the very public pregnancies of Bristol Palin and teen idol Jamie Lynn
Spearsbeforeher,onemightarguethat“[teen]pregnancyisnolongerinthe
shadows”2andthat,unlikeyoungwomenfacingunplannedpregnanciesfor-
tyorfiftyyearsearlier,PalinandSpearswerefortunatetohavethechoiceto
raise their children and speak publicly about their pregnancies.3 Framed as
“teachable moments,” however, these public discussions of teen pregnancy
camewithaclearmessageforyoungwomen:don’tletthishappentoyou.In
themonthsfollowingthebirthofherson,BristolPalinbecameaspokesper-
son for abstinence just as Jamie Lynn Spears had announced, “It’s better to
wait,”4andthisunveilingofteenpregnancydidlittletodisruptassumptions
aboutyoungwomen,teensexuality,orreproductivechoice.
As government funding for comprehensive sex education has continued
to decrease since the 1980s, entertainment media has played an increasing
role “in educating the public about significant health issues,” including teen
vii
viii Introduction:TeenMomsandBabyDaddies
pregnancy.5 In 2000, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey
revealedthata“majorityofviewers(52%)reportpickinguphealthinforma-
tion that they trust to be accurate from prime time TV shows, and 1 in 4
(26%) say that these shows are among their top three sources for health
information.”6By2004,apartnershipbetweentheKaiserFamilyFoundation
and MTV, for example, resulted in nineteen programs of varying formats
“designed to entertain and educate audiences . . . of over 95 million view-
ers.”7 In 2009, MTV again partnered with the Kaiser Family Foundation as
wellastheNationalCampaigntoPreventTeenandUnplannedPregnancyto
createadocumentary-styleseriesonteenpregnancy:16andPregnant.
Sinceitspremiere,16andPregnanthasreceivedongoingmediaattention
fortheextenttowhichitcontributestotheconversationonteenpregnancyin
the United States as a potential factor in reducing the number of teen preg-
nancies at one extreme and as culpable for exploiting young women and
glamorizing teen pregnancy at another. Although the program and its spin-
offs, Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2, have been cited for their high ratings
amongteenviewers,resultinginakindofcelebritystatusfortheteenmoms
and suggesting that 16 and Pregnant does potentially fill a niche, the pro-
gramcontent—specifically,themessagessharedwiththeaudience—remains
largely unexplored. Although feminists such as Jessica Valenti have ques-
tionedtheabsenceofthewholestoryofteenpregnancyintheseprograms—
namely, the omission of any sustained discussion of abortion as a viable
choice for teens facing an unplanned pregnancy—of significant concern are
questions of authenticvoiceandmeaningfulinterventionin thenational dis-
cussion surrounding teen pregnancy, representations of teen sexuality and
motherhood, and the place of the programs (and teen moms) within popular
culture. Furthermore, what are viewers—particularly, teenagers—learning
about contraception, reproductive rights, poverty, social systems of support,
genderroles,relationships,domesticviolence,andeducation?Giventhepro-
grams’ focus on teen pregnancy and, by default, young women, scholars in
gender and women’s studies, media studies, motherhood studies, sexuality
education, and adolescent development, among other fields, have both an
opportunity and an obligation to approach the programs critically and help
young people interrogate the social and cultural norms in which these mes-
sages are grounded. To that end, the chapters in this collection offer critical
interdisciplinary thought on the programs and, where applicable, their com-
panionspacesonline.
Multivocalinnature,thiscollectionprovidesscholarlyworkgroundedin
theory and, in some cases, personal narrative to expand the national discus-
sion on teen pregnancy and teen sexuality with critical lenses that have the
potential to foster social change. Divided into four parts, the volume is in-
formed by the varied backgrounds and disciplinary expertise of its authors,
yeteachchapter callsforanapproachto 16andPregnant,Teen Mom,Teen