Teen Mom like most reality TV shows, have been accused of manipulative editing; which is editing scenes to fit specific story lines. Leah Messer, star of Teen Mom 2 had tweeted about how fake the show was when a personal encounter between her and her ex-husband was edited to gain more viewership (1). It causes us to think as viewers, should we trust these shows? In my opinion, this show had a lot of potential to be appreciated at its time, it was “real world”, relatable, and something that could happen to anyone. Unlike other reality TV shows including; Jersey Shore, Keeping up with the Kardashians, and The Hills.
I was never allowed to watch Teen Mom, or 16 and Pregnant growing up, my mother was against the portrayal of teen mothers due to the fact that she was a teen mother herself. I just recently watched a few episodes of the show for this week’s lecture, and I completely agree with her, the show is demeaning. It displays young girls in a horrible situation, but instead of offering support, the show basically slut-shames the teen mom for having sex. But isn’t that what teenagers are supposed to do? What I don’t get about the
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The way teen moms continually face shame, and judgement on the show, is exactly the same way how they are treated in the real world. Pregnant women cannot walk down the street, without getting judgemental stares from majority of the population. Why? Because teen pregnancy is 100% preventable if we remain abstinent. Which is unrealistic in this time period, as sex is everywhere. Having this show teen mothers as problematic, failures, and irresponsible is an unfair way to warn viewers about teen pregnancy. In my opinion, if society really wants to stop teen pregnancy, we need to have birth control more accessible and affordable for teenagers. What are other ways this show is problematic with the portrayal of teen moms, and as society, how can we end