• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · News

Real Talk: Are We Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy?

Do you think TV shows featuring pregnant teens is glamorizing teen pregnancy?
Real Talk: Are We Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy?
By · Updated October 28, 2020
Yesterday, BET’s “106 & Park” ran a special edition of its video countdown show titled “Young, Single and Parenting,” which explored the challenges teen parents face. The episode also included in-studio testimonials from teen parents, plus guest appearances by rapper-actor Tray Chaney (“Poot” from “The Wire”) and artist Don Trip, who discussed their experiences as teenagers raising children.
 
BET is clearly following in the footsteps of MTV’s “16 & Pregnant” and  “Teen Mom,” both of which have been huge successes for the network. Beyond the ratings, though, it’s a topic of extraordinary relevance: The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world, according to a recent report by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention — and Black women have the highest teen pregnancy rates among all American groups.
 
But even before it aired, the special BET episode was coming under fire, facing familiar claims it would glamorize teen pregnancy. This is a regular complaint against MTV’s similar hit series, especially because some of the girls featured have become “reality stars” with enough fame (and histories of bad behavior) to nab the covers of tabloid magazines like OK! and In Touch.
 
Despite the popularity of these young moms on TV, I’ve never bought into the argument that teen pregnancy was being “glamorized.” Exploited? Maybe. (But that’s a different conversation.) I don’t watch the teen-mom shows with much regularity, only because it they’re just so… sad, really. The girls are, unsurprisingly, immature, and yet they are preparing to take on the most responsible project a woman can face: motherhood.
 
Sure, there are cameras rolling, but I’ve found little glamour in their lives. The few episodes I’ve seen portray the girls and their partners as woefully unprepared to handle the responsibilities of adulthood. And while these young women have the attention of the audience, they seem to be missing it from the people they want it from most — like boyfriends who don’t have free time to spend because they had to work (or look for work) to support their child. Or worse, guys who escape into video games or loafing with their boys to avoid their upcoming responsibilities. The girls seem to be ostracized by their friends, whose lives have continued on with typical teenage fare, and when they do meet up with them, often there is a vast awkwardness as they struggle to find common ground. Watching the girls look for work is equally pitiful, as they find there is very little they are qualified to do, and what they do qualify for pays next to nothing. Where’s the glamour in that?
 
I realize, though, that I’m looking at these situations through thirty-something eyes. As tumultuous as these teenage moms’ lives may be, they are still lives on television. For some girls, that may be glamorous enough, despite the sad quality of life that is being shown. “Reality Star” is a bona fide occupation these days, a gig that can make people celebrities despite the fact that they haven’t done anything worth celebrating. Some young women will want the glitter even if it is not gold.
 
Do you think these TV shows and specials glamorize teen pregnancy?
 
 
Demetria L. Lucas is the author of “A Belle in Brooklyn: The Go-to Girl for Advice on Living Your Best Single Life” (Atria) in stores now. Follow her on Twitter @abelleinbk
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now