My Neighbour wants to apply for MTV's Teen Mom 2
Today as I was waiting for the light to change I bumped into the daughter of an old neighbour. I had always been impressed with her as she told me that she wanted to go to college. She was one of the only ones I had ever heard say she needed to get out of the neighbourhood. Six months had passed since I had last seen her and apparently things had changed.
Standing before me was no longer a young lady but now a very pregnant young woman. I think you could have pushed me over with a feather as I felt her hard belly when I hugged her.
I looked at her in disbelief and all I could muster out of my mouth were two words.
“You’re pregnant!”
She nodded and told me she had gotten in over her head during her last relationship. Now she was with child and of course the father had disappeared.
Her eyes brightened however and she smiled as she spoke,
“It’s all good now; I am going to send in an application to MTV!”
Somehow the show “My Sweet Sixteen” flashed before my eyes and I knew I was heading up the wrong alley. This girl was probably talking about the show I refuse to watch anymore called "16 and Pregnant."
I asked her if that particular program was the one she was talking about and she nodded affirmatively. I knew her chances of getting on that show would be like me being in a cheerleader contest. I hugged her again and felt really badly for her. I think I watched it three times and when I saw the antics of one teen mom called Farrah Abraham; I had enough. She was nothing but a self centered spiteful girl. I desperately hoped she would not pass on these traits to her child.
From what I read on the internet this week she has gifted herself with a new set of boobs. Seeing she had been complaining she could not make ends meet I wondered if she had her priorities straight. Of course she has! She is probably contemplating her Playboy pictorial after her MTV fame runs out.
I thought about my days in high school in the 60’s where things like this were completely different. If somehow you found yourself pregnant it was almost a personal crime. I knew one senior that had gotten herself in the family way and the principal told her she must leave school immediately. It was her final year but they did allow her to come back to take her last exams.
The day she returned she was 8.5 months pregnant and I think the whole school watched out of the windows to see the driver help her down from the school bus. It had been the talk of the town for months and everyone agreed she probably never took health class films seriously.
So now we have a teen mom with no immediate future, no father, and she is all geared up to apply to MTV's "Teen Mom 2". What is wrong with this picture? I honestly think it is awful to turn pregnant teens into celebrities.
Amber Portwood age 20 who was among the first teens on that program now faces possible criminal charges for domestic battery. Yet, there she was posing with her daughter while the MTV cameras rolled at Walt Disney World in December.
First there was the “My Sweet Sixteen” program where it taught the girls of America that when you turn sixteen you must have a party with at least 100 guests. If you do not get some sort of car as a gift from your parents, well you might as well leave home.
Now as the two year “mothering” stint of Abraham and Portwood is over we are on to the next batch of unwed mothers. Did I also mention they get paid $6500 an episode to look like spoiled brats and be “mentors” for our young girls? I swear that all this makes the original MTV show “Real World” look like Masterpiece Theatre now.
So where do we draw the line? Is this not just too much? Seeing this young woman assume everything will be okay if MTV picks her boggles my mind. Our teens now know they can possibly now get 20 minutes of fame for being a chosen pregnant mom or doing something stupid. They watch their parents enjoy programs with 16 kids conceived through in vitro on another station and that is still okay. Where have the good programs like "The Waltons" and "7th Heaven" gone to? Grandpa Walton is probably turning over in his grave right now to see all this garbage on TV.
Maybe I had it all wrong and I should not have worked my derriere off to make something out of myself. Perhaps I should have just gotten pregnant at 17. Of course then I would have been the one getting off the bus that day and accused of not watching the health movies. No, I do not think I would have wanted that televised.
Besides I got an "A" in Health and I knew my facts. For one, you did not need a man to get you pregnant. You just had to be careful what you sat on and watch where you swam in those public swimming pools. I swear to you this is what some of us believed at age 13. Grandpa Walton would have been so proud!
MTV? Not so much!
Text and Images by Linda Seccaspina 2011
Pictures of Linda's beloved weekly US magazine.
Poster on Telephone pole
My Walton's CD (Doesn't everyone have one?)
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Comments
Tell about being in the Mom's womb.
Ay You Play footsie in amniotic fluid.
Swim `bout with no worries inn' awe.
O Miss Mommy teased Miss Moppet.
Miss Moppet trapped one 'lil mouse.
She (L.S.?) D? No! Stuffed in a baggy.
Then the mouse came forth beautiful.
silly
get go
okay
nice
maybe
I buy
socks
Alpaca
put toe
in socks
warmly
footsie
gads o
See Ya
@ MTV
no got a
tee vee a
go leaks a
back porch
:)
Jerry.. I never think or write down notes. I just sit down and write what I feel in my heart. It comes out as it comes out.
Rugrat.. I know you do. It is no Storage Wars that is for sure
'Tis a commentary on what is wrong in this world today.
Hollywood leads so many astray...
Yserba.. Remember the homes for unwed mothers? Shunned is right.
Now the maternity wear is so much for fashionable than regular clothing? That tells you something..Pretty darn sad.
Pretty awful
You too would be swell,
To tell these kids,
That they have fell,
Into a vat of manure.
With their grandiose ideas,
As big as the sea,
It's nothing but me, me and more me.
Go to your porch,
As this is the place,
Where ideas of sanity are born.
They should put you on MTV,
For you have the motions that they need to see.
Belinda.. this would not have happened 20 years ago.. It is shame to see what is the norm now
Sarah.. remember how the Video jocks were adored and yes great videos.
What happened? OOPS it is all about money
Sheila : Wasn't that video something else? I do not remember one like that.. They had one on do's and don'ts of dancing too.. something esle!
R
You can draw the line whenever you want.
You draw the line when you drop your cable subscription.
We haven't had cable for 15 years and I don't miss it a bit. Yes, I might have been the last person on the block to hear about Snookie. We just have to live with that.
This is one lesson we can learn from Republicans, If you don't like the beast, "starve the beast".
If you feed it it will grow.
"Today as I was waiting for the light to change I bumped into the daughter of an old neighbour."
When the cop came, she said, "Butt ossifer, I'm an elderly lady and thought it was the brake pedal".
I love you, Linda;~)
:-0)
During My Super Sweet 16, where the tally was something like $320,000 (not a typo): "she could have done something important with that much money, like started a shelter."
During 16 & PG, she repeatedly says how this show makes her NOT want to be like those girls.
This daughter is not a down to earth hippie chick. She is challenging and somewhat superficial. If these words come out of her mouth wathcing these shows, there really is hope for most of them.
I agree! Nicely written!
Lezlie
Companies love to ally with the Xtian Right, in terms of getting them into office and enacting tax cuts. But when the Xtian Right, feminists, socialists, decent folks criticize them about the shows they put on tv, and the laudatory, propagandizing effect this has on the youth, the Corporatists hypocritically run away into the arms of ACLU Bourgeois liberals and the Democratic Party, which places Corporate Freedoms above the state of youth.
They can't have it both ways
But the corporate powers-that-be came to learn that, while music videos are fun to watch, they don't sufficiently engage the viewer long enough to watch the commercials that pay for said video programming. IOW, videos don't sell product = don't sell airtime = don't make $$.
Sadly, there's so little to watch on TV these days, commercial or cable. About all I watch these days is Investigation Discovery--and even that is pretty sensational. I feel sorry for parents trying to raise kids in this sex-soaked, greed-saturated, self-absorbed times. How do you teach your kids to be wary of the world's dirty wiseness, w/out turning them into total cynics at such a tender age that they miss out on their youthful idealism?
But when 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom premiered, I got the distinct feeling (from reviews and related articles) that the shows were intended as non-glamorous and realistic looks at young girls who found themselves in the situations in question. It would seem that it was the tabloid industry and their various gossip rags that turned these girls into celebrities. Without knowing who owns what (ie - how much control does MTV have over US Weekly?), it may be unfair to blame MTV for offering what was intended to be a serious documentary serious about a serious problem, only to watch the likes of OK swoop in and turn these girls into instant superstars. It seems that's what the tabloids are good at these days, taking something good or at least harmless (Jon and Kate plus 8) and turning them into something very ugly.
Out on a Limb.. isnt this coffin full of nails yet?
I dabbles Another Steve and turned it off. I waste my time on line. Seems like they feed ths culture everywhere sad to say
OE.. NOW you did it!! :) I tied so hard not to mention the child of Palin. I really did.. but I was itching to do it.. Good on you."_
Geezerchick.. I remember those days.. I remember the abortionist that lived above the bus station and the tails that came out there too.:(
I feel for these young girls, just wait until the colic sets in...
Meanwhile in my family, my 23 year old son just took on his third concurrent job and has saved thousands in anticipation of his first child due next summer...not all young Dads disappear, but too many do.
Its not religious, but Marxian, but still very interesting. Its called "The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism," by Daniel Bell.
Its arguments are not based on hypocritical conservative "morality," but, rather, on left-leaning, critical analyses of sociology and economics.
Eve,, again thank you for the Palin mention.. thank you..:)
Litein SO well said although I wonder how much is scripted???
KH3333.. they say this show has brough down teen pregnancy and I want to believe it. I really do. Good on your daughter.
That "My Sweet Sixteen" was something else.
Debby V E... 7th Heaven was the highest rated show on the CW. They took it off because it was too expensive to produce. They took off quality and gave us gutter trash.
Flowerchild..When I see kids in real life turn their noses to affordable clothing it kills me. Bring on the Gucci bags for the 12 year olds. Give me a break. Who taught them that stuff?
Scanner.. who in the end makes the money? Sure is not the participants..
Singlegrlin.. Not too many people make it out of here. So many people think raising a child is a Cinderella story. You did it and you know. They should hire you to speak on it.
Lezlie.. when I saw your excellent post on Snooki today I started to giggle. I figured when I posted my blog we had it all wrapped up today..:)
RW009.. Not going to comment on the politics but I think both sides do the same thing.
Elsma 03.. I never thought of that and if they sell ads I guess they figure the more insane the better
Strawberry girl.. video killed the radio star and reality shows killed good sense..:)
Elsma
Just Thinking .. sad isn' it?
Music is downloaded now.. Videos are on youtube
Your son is an angel.. well look at his mother..:)
Blue.. what about those show 'made'?? Having kids be someone else instead of themselves.
Clear sighted.. this is what I thought.. Lots of test subjects..
Mary way.. thre for Bristol Palin.. can we have a 4th??
Alyza.. I felt the same way until they start publicizing fake boobs and beating someone up is good.
But seriously...It is the responsibility of the parents to teach morality....not TV shows....and whoever sponsors 'Sixteen and Pregnant" should be hung by their thumbs.
R
"I want my MTV" ... taken off the air.
I guess they thought they were doing good but its juse does not seem like it..
Boanerges.. Is Much Music doing any better? Yep they show music..:)
Excellent post. Well written.
Rated.
"America's teen birth rate plummeted in 2009 after rising from 2005 to 2007, and experts say 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom open youths' eyes."
"According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, it may do the reverse (rather than glamorize), as 82 percent of teens say the shows help them understand the challenges of pregnancy and parenthood - and why they should avoid it."
"Entertainment media is one of the nation's favorite punching bags, but it can be and often is a force for good," says group spokesman Bill Albert.
"Some critics say these shows glamorize teen pregnancy, but our survey data shows that's not the case — that not only do they not glamorize it, but teens who have seen it suggest it makes the realities of teen parenthood more real to them."
As a 40 year old woman I am always on the look out for turning into "that person", you know the one that starts using the phrase "These young people today..." and condemns things they dont really understand or take to the time to research. I'm not there yet but I think you are. Oh and I can still rock skinny jeans.
I can't seem to remember any.
Lizw.. I am sure she will and the grandmothers of the world will look after it.
Hayley I agree and he earnings were what? OMG... that is incredible!!
Sometimes I think maybe if shows paid attention to teens volunteering and academic achievements that this might influence teen to do these things instead. Well, what do I know? I am a cat and my job is to sleep on the TV and not watch it.
Best Wishes,
Blittie
I am not bragging my any means because this is very sad having been one of these kids also in life. Not having anyone listen to you young or old is not a good thing.
I did read all about how this program is creating lower pregnancy etc. After listening to kids for years I have to say it is a lot of crap. Exploiting stuff to me is not the way to go. Having parents that listen are. Sad to say both parents have to work long hours to keep up so kids today fend for themselves.
Seeing Abrahams and her mother at each other's throats is not a good example.
Eveyone has their opinions and all the more power to you for you and your skinny jeans. You go girl!
Boanerges.. channel 28 on Rodgers hshshs
Manhattan.. Dr Drew should stop doing these shows on drugs etc. I just do not see valid help coming . Especially when they are celebrities who do not give a rats ass..
Felicia.. Kids today seem to get what they want today. Is it because parents feel guilty because they are both working.
Lunchlady.. They should have teens moms who have gone through it.. That would be scary..
Cranky.. where does it all end??
Olivia.. you are right.. they can;t exploit birth defects anymore.. Hmm what about that show Little People?
Blittie .. I agree..
Heidibeth.. I think it should bother all mothers and they should watch this show with their teens.
Thanks for posting this! What a fascinating look into the sixties.
You have to be careful in everything you do now and think. That is what we used to do. I do not realize why it should be any different now.
Rubbish television at it's worst.
I don't think any of MY students ever watch MTV -- I wonder what they'd think.
I know one thing ... if Ricky Nelson HAD dated me, he certainly wouldn't have gotten ME pregnant!!! Rated (with head scratching) xoxo
Little Kate.. I have aquires tow new words..
RUBBISH TELEVISION..:)
Love it.. HUGGGGG
Heck, I don't remember much about our sex education, mostly coach came in and said, "If you're going to stick it in, wear a rubber!!" and then we were giving an exam,
"If you're going to stick it in, wear a ________!!"
:D I got an A!! Wooooo!!!
Rated.
Very very sad
Here's a surprising stat: 41% of babies born in the US are to unwed moms. Probably the vast majority are in live-in situations. Like my son.