**The following is a debated issue taken from my personal life and experiences. It is in no way meant to say that everyone falls into the categories I have outlined, but is from my own perception of the majority**
Although a debate on an issue in the news is hard to come by, I suppose I should be happy to say that debas from personal perspective are never in short supply. Today I want to address an issue that I come across on a nearly daily basis: younger women getting pregnant.
Surely you've seen many of the bumper stickers, facebook pics, etc. with such slogans as "everyone I know is getting married or pregnant, I'm just getting more awesome" or "eighteen, pregnant and married. what about 21 working and successful?" And in my excursions to the mall, to downtown, or wherever I happen to go, hardly is there a time I do not catch a snippet of conversation along the lines of "She's awful young to be having kids, why can't these girls just keep their legs crossed?"
Let me begin by saying that this ranks pretty high up there as the most obscene double standard of American society. Many of these "awful young to be having young-ins" are at or over the age of eighteen which renders them adults capable of making their own decisions and experiencing their own victories and screw ups. Furthermore, these same people who are judging women for procreation at such an early stage never say anything to the fourteen or fifteen year old that are in fact jobless, homeless, and pregnant or those who have children born into harmful conditions. Yes, it's all well and good when we can turn the other cheek on that, isn't it? I suppose it comes back to the out of sight out of mind mentality.
And may I say how wonderful it is to slander pregnancy in young women while simultaneously hollywood-izing it! Secret Life of the American Teenager which is about a pregnant teen still in high school generates about 3 million viewers a week (cha cha.com), There's the movie Juno which although entertaining does hollywood-ize pregnancy. Don't even get me started on the show's Teen Mom and 16 and pregnant. Yet people have the audacity to turn right around and disapprove of the very thing that in their personal lives they subconsciously promote.
Now, are there young mothers in the world who are irresponsible? Are there young mothers who have children they cannot take care of? Are there young mothers who procreate just for the sake of procreating and don't give a damn about their kids? Absolutely. But need I remind you this is true of not only every age group of mothers, but every conceivable group of mothers period.
What it seems to me many do not realize is that there are also success stories. There are mothers as young as 15 going out and getting jobs on their own without any support system, mothers getting a college education while still finding the time to give tender loving care to their offspring, mothers essentially being exceptional at the task that is mothering.
And if I may be so blunt, I myself am soon to be a young mother. I am 21, I have a part time job, I go to school and plan to return to school in the fall to continue pursuit of my AA and a career in psychology. I am also married. I do not mean to boost my ego here, but I do consider my life a success story. It has changed my own perspective on young mothers greatly and I could not be more thankful.
So the point I am trying to make is this:
Yes, many around you are married and pregnant. And if you feel awesome that you are not, or feel awesome that you are, that's fine. Go be awesome! But to those obnoxious few who insist that there way is THE way, please, take your awesomeness elsewhere, perhaps to TMZ.
