Get Herald RSSSay what you will about our politics - you've really got to hand it to the United States for producing bizarre trends. We are the country that has produced an insatiable lust for Ugg boots, exorbitantly priced coffee drinks and Tila Tequila.
These trends are puzzling, for sure, but occasionally justifiable (I myself will admit to nursing an expensive Frappucino habit.) Yet there is one recent trend that completely boggles me: teen pregnancy.
Yes, teen pregnancy. Perhaps "trend" isn't the right world to describe the proliferation of stories surrounding this topic, but it sure seems like everybody's talking about it these days.
As well as I can trace it, the origins of this recent phenomenon seem to stem from fictional characters, notably, the protagonists in the 2007 films "Juno" and "Knocked Up." Though only Juno featured a pregnant teen, both films featured likeable, human characters along with warm and fuzzy conclusions.
The saga continued when Jamie Lynn Spears, the then-16-year-old star of Nickelodeon's "Zoey 101," announced her pregnancy in December 2007, the word of the moment was "shock." Jamie Lynn declared herself to be "shocked" by the discovery, and her mother, Lynne, echoed similar sentiments (though she was apparently not too shocked to release the story to the press for $1 million).
In an apparent attempt to placate the equally shocked parents of their preteen viewership, Nickelodeon considered broadcasting a special on teen sexual health, but the program never materialized. Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy produced a lot of drama, to the delight of gossip magazine editors, yet she repeatedly received praise from family friends for her strength and supposed motherly qualities.
Then, shortly after the birth of Spears' daughter, came the news of a sudden pregnancy boom in a seemingly ordinary high school. The purported pregnancy pact in a Gloucester, Mass. high school that came to light early this past summer was blamed on a number of causes including Spears, the lack of contraception in Gloucester within a 30-mile radius and even the economic slump plaguing the town. Yet few saw fit to go straight to the source and consider the home life and values of the students themselves.
Enter Sarah Palin, newly minted vice presidential nominee for the Republican Party. Palin has drawn fire for many of her policy talking points, but nothing could be stranger than her views on sex education.
A pro-life Christian, Palin is also a member of Feminists for Life, a group that opposes abortion but supports the use of contraceptives. Yet Palin has repeatedly refused to fund comprehensive sex education programs in Alaskan schools - programs that would endorse the use of contraceptives.
Adding to the ambiguity of Palin's views on teen sexual health is the announcement of her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy. Like Jamie Lynn Spears (who reportedly sent a set of designer burp cloths to her fellow teenage mom-to-be, Bristol Palin has planned to marry the father of her child and carry the baby to term. It's uncertain whether Bristol Palin received comprehensive sex education at her school, and thus far the McCain campaign has for the most part kept silent on this issue.
Yet Bristol Palin's situation raises many questions that need to be asked and answered, both about her mother's political beliefs and about cultural attitudes towards teen pregnancy. Is marriage the only option for pregnant teen couples? Has Sarah Palin's support of abstinence-only sex education changed in light of recent events? What are the true effects of sex education and contraceptive availability? What are the responsibilities that pregnancy entails? And what kind of sexual health programs would Sarah Palin promote as vice president?
Sexual health cannot be effectively dealt with by adopting an inflexible stance or wishing our problems away. Yet Americans - political figures and ordinary citizens alike - repeatedly force the subject back under the radar simply because of its complexity.
Bristol Palin's pregnancy offers many unique opportunities for all Americans - whether they are running for office or deciding just who they'd like to see in office. It offers parents a chance to sit down with their children and discuss the consequences and options of sexual activity. It provides the media and the American public the opportunity to thoroughly question a potential national leader about her beliefs and practices regarding contraception and sex education. And most importantly, it offers the American public another chance to evaluate cultural perceptions of teen pregnancy.
Sex education will most likely not be the issue that decides the election in November, but that doesn't mean it's not an issue worth pondering. If Sarah Palin should end up in Washington this January, her ambiguous views may very well end up forming national policy on sexual health issues. Americans - particularly young Americans - should take this opportunity to discuss this issue - as this is one American trend that seems to show no signs of dying.
Adrienne Langlois '10 urges everyone to practice safe sex and smart voting.
