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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?聽(Nick Pearce Photo) |
So, are babies the new, must-have handbag?
Morgan Abenhaim wrinkles her nose as she considers the question. It鈥檚 mid-afternoon, and she鈥檚 just rolled out of bed and hopped over from Howe Hall to join three friends for a discussion about teen pregnancy.
鈥淏abies are not handbags,鈥� she says crossly. 鈥淗andbags don鈥檛 puke.鈥�
She鈥檚 offended, indignant and she's聽just getting started:聽 鈥淭he whole thing seems so ridiculous to me. I just can鈥檛 imagine giving up so much...
鈥淲hen you get pregnant, you鈥檙e going to be thinking, 鈥楬ow do I tell the father?鈥� Followed by: 鈥楳y parents are going to kill me.鈥� And next, 鈥楬oly crap. I鈥檓 going to get sooo fat.鈥� I think we鈥檇 all rather avoid all that by every means possible.鈥�
As Ms. Abenhaim talks, her friends are laughing. But they all agree. They鈥檙e not ready for pregnancy and having babies quite yet.
鈥淚t鈥檚 weird. There鈥檚 a bunch of coincidences happening all at once. So someone makes it seem like it鈥檚 a bigger deal than it is,鈥� muses Danika Vandersteen. The 18-year-old NSCAD University student considers the hot-pink cover of Maclean鈥檚 which shows Ellen Page posing as a pregnant teenager in the movie Juno.
The magazine story inside notes pregnancy is a 鈥減op-culture staple,鈥� with movies like Juno, Knocked Up and Waitress, storylines on Grey鈥檚 Anatomy, Gossip Girl and Degrassi: The Next Generation, and celebrity moms including Nicole Richie and Jessica Alba. Britney Spear鈥檚 16-year-old sister, Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant and planning on keeping the baby.
鈥淵eah, I don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e going to get pregnant because Jamie Lynn Spears gets pregnant,鈥� adds Shannon Pope, a second-year English major at AV俱乐部. 鈥淕ive us more credit than that.鈥�
She adds that it鈥檚 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 there鈥檚 also a lot of information available about contraception, 鈥渂efore it gets to that stage,鈥� she says. She adds her mother impressed on her to talk to her and get the information she needed before she became sexually active.
鈥淪he practically begged me, 鈥楧on鈥檛 be afraid to talk to me. I want you to be safe,鈥欌�� recounts Ms. Pope, 21. 鈥淲hen it comes to boys, I definitely trust her to have my best interests at heart.鈥�
She鈥檚 the only one of the four friends who hasn鈥檛 seen Juno; the three who did don鈥檛 anticipate the movie will lead to a surge in teenage pregnancy rates. In the movie, Juno calls herself 鈥渢he cautionary whale.鈥�
鈥淚 think you can relate to her,鈥� says Michelle Hampson, 18, an aspiring journalist. 鈥淭he script was funny.鈥�
鈥淪he was really spunky. I liked her,鈥� adds Ms. Abenhaim.
鈥淚 think what struck me was her parents鈥� reaction,鈥� says Ms. Vandersteen. 鈥淗er 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.鈥�