Download or read book MTV and Teen Pregnancy written by Letizia Guglielmo and published by Scarecrow Press. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2009, 16 and Pregnant premiered on MTV, closely followed by the spinoffs Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2. Because of their controversial portrayals of teenage mothers, the shows have received ongoing media attention. While some argue that the programs could play a factor in reducing the number of teen pregnancies, others claim the shows exploit young women and glamorize their situations. Among these debates, there have been surprisingly few in-depth discourses that discuss the roles such shows have on teenage audiences. In MTV and Teen Pregnancy: Critical Essays on 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, contributors from a variety of backgrounds and expertise offer potent essays about these programs. Divided into four parts, the book tackles the controversial representations of teen pregnancy from various disciplines. Part I explores gendered social norms and the shows’ roles as either educational resources or idealized depictions of teenage motherhood. Part II prompts readers to consider the intersections of race, class, gender, and the social and cultural power structures often glossed over in these programs. Part III focuses on teenage fathers, the portrayal of masculinity, and “good” vs. “bad” parents. Part IV draws from TVs representations of reality to discuss the impact of these shows on the viewing audience. This section includes a narrative from a teen mother who argues that the shows do not accurately reflect the life she leads. As the debates about 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom continue, this collection provides a valuable critical discourse to be used both inside and outside the classroom. Those engaged in courses on gender and women’s studies, as well as media studies, social work, and family and childhood development, will find MTV and Teen Pregnancy especially insightful—as will those involved in community outreach programs, not to mention teens and young mothers themselves.

Download or read book Living No Girls Teenage Dream written by Lauren Maas Weinzimmer and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This thesis explores theories of postfeminism and discourses of "can-do" and "at-risk" girlhood as they are enacted in MTV's teen pregnancy franchise, which I define as including 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Teen Mom 2. Specifically, this project examines how MTV frames the young mothers featured across this franchise as what I label "postfeminist failures." Within its teen pregnancy programming, MTV exploits the shortcomings of the featured teen mothers. These failures include broken relationships, prison sentences, and subsequent pregnancy scares and pregnancies. Furthermore, these failures all stem from the teen mothers' initial failure to adequately manage her sexuality, as evidenced by getting pregnant at age sixteen. These failures constitute much of the plot of MTV's docu-dramatic series and have also spilled over into paratexts related to MTV's franchise. I contest in this thesis that the rhetoric of postfeminist failure, first articulated and exploited in 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Teen Mom 2, is then reproduced in the franchise's paratextual materials. These paratexts range from reunion shows hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky to tabloid magazine coverage. I also interrogate the celebrity status of MTV's featured teen mothers, especially those on Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2, and problematize publicity and fame rooted in the failure of these girls to adhere to normative standards of postfeminist womanhood. MTV's teen pregnancy franchise is categorized as reality television, a genre derided by many scholars as lowbrow and devoid of substance. In order to combat these assumptions about reality television, particularly because this teen pregnancy franchise is promoted as educational for its audience, MTV has fostered strategic partnerships with The Kaiser Family Foundation's "It's Your (Sex) Life Campaign" and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Through these partnerships, MTV has infused its reality content with pathways to information-rich websites about contraceptives and pregnancy prevention sponsored by each non-profit. Through analyzing these partnerships and cultural discourses surrounding teen pregnancy, I question the assumption by many proponents and critics of the franchise that the content must either be educational for its viewers or purely entertaining programming.

Download or read book My Teenage Dream Ended written by Farrah Abraham and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2020-12-12 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Farrah Abraham's life has been front-and-center in the entertainment industry for years. Beginning with her debut on the hit series 16 and Pregnant, the young starlet has had her ups and downs splashed in the media. But there is a whole new side to every coin and Farrah's commitment to getting the most out of life for her and her daughter Sophia has made her more than a television icon.The brunette beauty's behind-the-scenes memoir is an expressive and emotional rollercoaster that will leave you commending her strength and dedication to her daughter. Read the debut novel that launched Farrah Abraham into the literary world and won her a spot on the New York Times bestseller list. See the true story behind what they don't tell you on TV. Prologue My teenage dream ended when I was seventeen. All it took was a phone call. One phone call, and my dream was gone forever.Up until that moment, I had it all. I was confident, popular, a cheerleader. Best of all, I was crazy in love. The Real Thing. We were lovers and best friends. When we were together, the rest of the world melted away. Sure we had plenty of drama. We made love, fought and broke up, then made up and made love again.Even when I accidentally got pregnant, I was convinced that everything would work out in the end. We were meant to be together. We wanted to get married and have children. It was just happening sooner than we had planned.Then a friend's voice on the phone changed everything."Derek died in a car wreck last night."Just like that, my teenage dream ended.

Download or read book Conquering Chaos written by Catelynn Lowell and published by Post Hill Press. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra shared their story of teen pregnancy and adoption on the MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, they've been known for their inspiring commitment to growing up right. Between their experience placing their first daughter for adoption, and their struggle to cope with problems in their families, Catelynn and Tyler were challenged in every imaginable way. But against all odds, the childhood sweethearts rose above the dysfunction to become responsible adults whose story has inspired many others. How did two troublemaking kids from the trailer park make it through the storm of family dysfunction, teen pregnancy, and adoption without letting go of each other? What gave them the strength to conquer the chaos of their lives and go on to become people their children could be proud of? And what really happened when the cameras weren't there? Now, in their debut book, Catelynn and Tyler tell the story in their own words...and they leave nothing out. From the wild behavior that went down before MTV to their experiences learning and teaching about adoption, Catelynn and Tyler lay it all out on the table. Open, honest, raw, and real, Conquering Chaos is an incredible look at two young people who beat the odds and used their victories to give hope to others.

Download or read book Bulletproof written by Maci Bookout and published by Post Hill Press. This book was released on 2015-07-21 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *** NOW A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER *** Maci Bookout was just a normal, slightly overachieving high school girl in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But then she got pregnant, and everything turned upside down. Even as she rose to fame on MTV's hit series Teen Mom, Maci was struggling to balance life as a single teen mom with her own hopes and dreams...all while honoring her own sense of independence. This is the true story of how she took charge of the unexpected to build a life for herself and her son Bentley, and managed not to go crazy in the process. Because sometimes growing up is an act of will...and Maci's will is bulletproof.

Download or read book On Becoming a Teen Mom written by Mary Patrice Erdmans and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2015-02-06 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2013, New York City launched a public education campaign with posters of frowning or crying children saying such things as "I’m twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen" and "Honestly, Mom, chances are he won’t stay with you." Campaigns like this support a public narrative that portrays teen mothers as threatening the moral order, bankrupting state coffers, and causing high rates of poverty, incarceration, and school dropout. These efforts demonize teen mothers but tell us nothing about their lives before they became pregnant. In this myth-shattering book, the authors tell the life stories of 108 brown, white, and black teen mothers, exposing the problems in their lives often overlooked in pregnancy prevention campaigns. Some stories are tragic and painful, marked by sexual abuse, partner violence, and school failure. Others depict "girl next door" characters whose unintended pregnancies lay bare insidious gender disparities. Offering a fresh perspective on the links between teen births and social inequalities, this book demonstrates how the intersecting hierarchies of gender, race, and class shape the biographies of young mothers.

Download or read book Hope Grace Faith written by Leah Messer and published by Post Hill Press. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 125 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leah was first thrust under the reality television microscope when her teen pregnancy was documented on MTV’s groundbreaking series, 16 and Pregnant. Since then, fans of Teen Mom 2 have watched her life play out on the small screen—from her struggle to rise to the challenges of motherhood, through her harrowing journey to find a diagnosis for one of her twin girls with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, and the collapse of two marriages. She has learned to live under the harsh glare of media scrutiny, yet there is a truth behind the reality that the cameras have never revealed. In her unflinching and honest memoir, Leah takes readers behind the scenes and shares an intimate, often heartbreaking, portrait of her turbulent childhood in rural West Virginia, the rock bottom that forced her to reevaluate her life, and her triumphant break from toxic relationships and self-destructive cycles to live her life with hope, grace, and faith.

Download or read book Media Influences on Social Outcomes written by Melissa Schettini Kearney and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper explores how specific media images affect adolescent attitudes and outcomes. The specific context examined is the widely viewed MTV franchise, 16 and Pregnant, a series of reality TV shows including the Teen Mom sequels, which follow the lives of pregnant teenagers during the end of their pregnancy and early days of motherhood. We investigate whether the show influenced teens' interest in contraceptive use or abortion, and whether it ultimately altered teen childbearing outcomes. We use data from Google Trends and Twitter to document changes in searches and tweets resulting from the show, Nielsen ratings data to capture geographic variation in viewership, and Vital Statistics birth data to measure changes in teen birth rates. We find that 16 and Pregnant led to more searches and tweets regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction. This accounts for around one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the United States during that period.

Download or read book Conquering Chaos written by Catelynn Lowell and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-12-06 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How did two troublemaking kids from the trailer park make it through the storm of family dysfunction, teen pregnancy, and adoption without letting go of each other? What gave them the strength to conquer the chaos of their lives and go on to become people their children could be proud of? And what really happened when the [16 and pregnant and Teen mom] cameras weren't there?"--Amazon.com.

Download or read book Dealing with Teen Pregnancy written by Kristin Thiel and published by Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2019-07-15 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though teen birth rates have fallen in recent years, the issue of teen pregnancy remains a pressing topic. Each year, more than two hundred thousand babies are born to teen parents. This guide presents an objective and respectful look at both how to prevent teen pregnancy and how to thrive as a teen parent. This book emphasizes making informed health decisions and also demonstrates the importance of a high school and college education for teen parents.

Download or read book Bulletproof written by Maci Bookout and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Maci Bookout was just a normal, slightly overachieving high school girl in Chattanooga, Tennesse. But then she got prergnant, and everything turned upside down. Even as she rose to fame on MTV's hit series Teen Mom, Maci was struggling to balance life as a single teen mom with her own hopes and dreams"--Back cover.

Download or read book Media Influences on Social Outcomes written by Melissa Schettini Kearney and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper explores how specific media images affect adolescent attitudes and outcomes. The specific context examined is the widely viewed MTV franchise, 16 and Pregnant, a series of reality TV shows including the Teen Mom sequels, which follow the lives of pregnant teenagers during the end of their pregnancy and early days of motherhood. We investigate whether the show influenced teens' interest in contraceptive use or abortion, and whether it ultimately altered teen childbearing outcomes. We use data from Google Trends and Twitter to document changes in searches and tweets resulting from the show, Nielsen ratings data to capture geographic variation in viewership, and Vital Statistics birth data to measure changes in teen birth rates. We find that 16 and Pregnant led to more searches and tweets regarding birth control and abortion, and ultimately led to a 5.7 percent reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its introduction. This accounts for around one-third of the overall decline in teen births in the United States during that period.

Download or read book Pregnant Girl written by Nicole Lynn Lewis and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2021-05-04 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NPR BOOKS WE LOVE 2021 Selection “[T]his book is so much more than a memoir . . . . Her prose has the power to undo deep-set cultural biases about poverty and parenthood.”—New York Times Book Review An activist calls for better support of young families so they can thrive and reflects on her experiences as a Black mother and college student fighting for opportunities for herself and her child. Pregnant Girl presents the possibility of a different future for young mothers—one of success and stability—in the midst of the dismal statistics that dominate the national conversation. Along with her own story as a young Black mother, Nicole Lynn Lewis weaves in those of the men and women she’s worked with to share a new perspective on how poverty, classism, and systemic racism impact teen pregnancy and on how effective programs and equitable policies can help teen parents earn college degrees, have increased opportunity, and create a legacy of educational and career achievements in their families. After Nicole became pregnant during her senior year in high school, she was told that college was no longer a reality—a negative outlook often unfairly presented to teen mothers. Nicole left home and experienced periods of homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Despite these obstacles, she enrolled at the College of William & Mary and brought her 3-month-old daughter along. Through her experiences fighting for resources to put herself through college, she discovered her true calling and founded her organization, Generation Hope, to provide support for teen parents and their children so they can thrive in college and kindergarten—driving a 2-generation solution to poverty. Pregnant Girl will inspire young parents faced with similar choices and obstacles that they too can pursue their goals with the right support.

Download or read book Coping with Teen Pregnancy written by Melissa Banigan and published by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. This book was released on 2018-12-15 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dealing with the issues surrounding teen pregnancy can be difficult, especially as there isn't a standardized way of approaching the topic by families and in schools. Providing teens with comprehensive fact-based sexual education can help them make informed choices about their reproductive health and futures. This thoughtful and informative book helps eliminate the stigma associated with teen parenthood, and a Myths and Facts sidebar helps correct common misconceptions about the topic. Chapters discuss teens' rights to sexual health services and the choices they can make if they become pregnant.

Download or read book I Wasn t Born Bulletproof written by Maci Bookout and published by Post Hill Press. This book was released on 2017-06-27 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since catapulting to reality TV stardom on the hit MTV series Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, Maci Bookout has become a mother of three, a successful businesswoman, and a sought-after motivational speaker—all by the tender age of 25. As she traveled across the country, speaking to young people and sharing her inspiring story, the one comment Maci kept hearing over and over was, “You’re so strong. You make it all look so easy.” But Maci was not born “bulletproof.” She taught herself to be strong despite her struggles and to turn adversity into advantages. In I Wasn’t Born Bulletproof, bestselling author Maci shares with readers the truth behind her Teflon exterior and offers fun, inspirational advice for everyone.

Download or read book Teen Mom Confidential written by Sean Daly and published by . This book was released on 2013-04-11 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Think you know everything about Amber Portwood, Jenelle Evans, Kailyn Lowry, Maci Bookout, Farrah Abraham, Catelynn Lowell, Chelsea Houska, Leah Messer and the rest of MTV's famous young moms? Think again! From how the girls of 16 and Pregnant were cast to the Teen Mom stars' outrageous diva demands and the touching letter from Stormie Clark to the granddaughter Farrah won't let her see, these are the true, behind-the-scenes stories of TV's most fascinating and controversial shows. Forget the rumors! Teen Mom Confidential is packed with first hand memories, newly published photos and updated interviews with the cast members everyone is talking about.

Download or read book Generation Unbound written by Isabel V. Sawhill and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over half of all births to young adults in the United States now occur outside of marriage, and many are unplanned. The result is increased poverty and inequality for children. The left argues for more social support for unmarried parents; the right argues for a return to traditional marriage. In Generation Unbound, Isabel V. Sawhill offers a third approach: change "drifters" into "planners." In a well-written and accessible survey of the impact of family structure on child well-being, Sawhill contrasts "planners," who are delaying parenthood until after they marry, with "drifters," who are having unplanned children early and outside of marriage. These two distinct patterns are contributing to an emerging class divide and threatening social mobility in the United States. Sawhill draws on insights from the new field of behavioral economics, showing that it is possible, by changing the default, to move from a culture that accepts a high number of unplanned pregnancies to a culture in which adults only have children when they are ready to be a parent.