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| Michelle Hampson, Shannon Pope and Danika Vandersteen respond to the question posed on the cover of Maclean's: Suddenly teen pregnancy is cool?Ā (Nick Pearce Photo) |
So, are babies the new, must-have handbag?
Morgan Abenhaim wrinkles her nose as she considers the question. Itās mid-afternoon, and sheās just rolled out of bed and hopped over from Howe Hall to join three friends for a discussion about teen pregnancy.
āBabies are not handbags,ā she says crossly. āHandbags donāt puke.ā
Sheās offended, indignant and she'sĀ just getting started:Ā āThe whole thing seems so ridiculous to me. I just canāt imagine giving up so much...
āWhen you get pregnant, youāre going to be thinking, āHow do I tell the father?ā Followed by: āMy parents are going to kill me.ā And next, āHoly crap. Iām going to get sooo fat.ā I think weād all rather avoid all that by every means possible.ā
As Ms. Abenhaim talks, her friends are laughing. But they all agree. Theyāre not ready for pregnancy and having babies quite yet.
āItās weird. Thereās a bunch of coincidences happening all at once. So someone makes it seem like itās a bigger deal than it is,ā muses Danika Vandersteen. The 18-year-old NSCAD University student considers the hot-pink cover of Macleanās which shows Ellen Page posing as a pregnant teenager in the movie Juno.
The magazine story inside notes pregnancy is a āpop-culture staple,ā with movies like Juno, Knocked Up and Waitress, storylines on Greyās Anatomy, Gossip Girl and Degrassi: The Next Generation, and celebrity moms including Nicole Richie and Jessica Alba. Britney Spearās 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant and planning on keeping the baby.
āYeah, I donāt think weāre going to get pregnant because Jamie Lynn Spears gets pregnant,ā adds Shannon Pope, a second-year English major at pilipiliĀž». āGive us more credit than that.ā
She adds that itās a different time from when teenage sexuality was whispered about and discouraged. There are supports for teenage moms, including parenting classes and the day-care centre at her Toronto high school. But thereās also a lot of information available about contraception, ābefore it gets to that stage,ā she says. She adds her mother impressed on her to talk to her and get the information she needed before she became sexually active.
āShe practically begged me, āDonāt be afraid to talk to me. I want you to be safe,āā recounts Ms. Pope, 21. āWhen it comes to boys, I definitely trust her to have my best interests at heart.ā
Sheās the only one of the four friends who hasnāt seen Juno; the three who did donāt anticipate the movie will lead to a surge in teenage pregnancy rates. In the movie, Juno calls herself āthe cautionary whale.ā
āI think you can relate to her,ā says Michelle Hampson, 18, an aspiring journalist. āThe script was funny.ā
āShe was really spunky. I liked her,ā adds Ms. Abenhaim.
āI think what struck me was her parentsā reaction,ā says Ms. Vandersteen. āHer parents were all about doing what was right for Juno. They were shocked, yeah, but they made her know that they stood by her and supported her and still loved her.ā