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Are teenage girls growing up too fast?
That’s the question posed in a recent article in Time magazine. It’s not a new question. People are just blaming new TV shows, like “Gossip Girl,” for the supposedly new phenomenon.
“In one generation, girls seem to have moved from Easy Bake to easy virtue,” writes Belinda Luscombe.
I guess that means boys are still playing with GI Joe and Lincoln Logs.
It’s curious how much worrying is done about young girls wearing too much lip gloss and push-up bras. Maybe that’s why so little worrying is left over for boys.
Nobody talks about locking up their sons. It’s always the daughters.
The movie was called “Juno,” named after the teenage title character who unexpectedly finds herself expecting.
The movie could’ve been called “Bleeker,” named after the teenage father who unexpectedly finds his girlfriend expecting.
If it was, would it be blamed for a trend of teenage fathers? Would people wonder if Levi Johnston, the 18-year-old father of Bristol Palin’s bundle of joy, was inspired by the movie?
Nah.
We think of teen pregnancy as a woman’s issue, as evidenced by the number of scarlet letters reserved for young mothers who can’t hide swelling bellies.
From what I remember in my junior high sex education class, conception starts with two people.
But let’s get back to the question. Are teenage girls growing up too fast?
“We’re not ‘Little House on the Prairie’ anymore,’” an MTV producer wisely states in the article.
Things were indeed different back in the days of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Way different. She started teaching when she was 15, married at 17 and had her first child at 19.
Talk about growing up too fast. And that was common in those days.
There was no “Sex & the City” to celebrate the virtues of the single life. An old spinster like me would be the shame of her family.
Teenagers aren’t necessarily growing up too fast. They’re just growing up differently.
They’re doing things and wearing things that make some of us extremely uncomfortable.
We’ve had many cultural shifts, changing what was once considered the norm.
Our expectations aren’t as clearly defined.
Women aren’t getting married as young. Sometimes, they’re just getting pregnant — with the help of a man.
Media coverage of “Juno,” Jamie Lynn Spears and the Gloucester pregnancy spurt doesn’t mean teen pregnancy is on the rise. It has actually been on a downward trend since 1991, with the exception of a minor increase in 2006.
It means we’re talking about it more. And that’s a good thing.
If we’re worried about how our teenagers are growing up, we’re going to have some uncomfortable conversations. We’re going to have to acknowledge that things are different. And we’re going to have to invite the boys to the conversation.
Käri Knutson may be reached at
kknutson@winonadailynews.com or (507) 453-3523.
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