The Secret Life of the American Teenager

I recently wrote a paper about the few episodes I watched of The Secret Life of the American Teenager. But I can never seem to get all of my thoughts into one paper, so here are some other things that really bothered me about the show.

Stats
I get why they did this, but it's still weird... the writers want viewers to have a little background knowledge about teen pregnancy, teen sex, etc. So, they have one super-smart character rattle off a bunch of stats to her in-the-dark friends in order to educate them and the viewers simultaneously. Yes, it gives us the background, but it still seems forced into the script. Why not have a little blurb, like they do at the start of some movies, that give the viewer the information he or she needs to be able to comprehend the story within context? A little bland, but less corny.


Sex Talk
It's been established in my paper and in class discussion that this show is mostly about sex. But what I find odd is the sex talk that seems to exist between parent and child in this show. Grace is a devoutly Christian teenager who was given a promise ring by her parents. A promise ring means she will remain abstinant until marriage. There is a lot of talk in Grace's house about her waiting. It just seems unrealistic. Most teens would squirm in such a situation. But I would have to guess that a family following such a strict and rigid lifestyle would have a more difficult time talking about these things without blushing!

One Direction: Up...

...onto my soap box!

If you have kids (or ears), you may have heard a little song called "What Makes You Beautiful" by the UK boy band One Direction.
This song has been praised by many as highlighting the beauty within a young woman as opposed to her physcial beauty.
I interpret the lyrics differently. Read or listen to the lyrics for yourself. I don't see any reference to her inner beauty at all. The way I see it is that the boy finds the girl beautiful for the simple reason that she doesn't find herself beautiful (i.e. she has low self esteem).
This isn't the only song I've come across in the last few years with this theme. The lyrics in Bruno Mars' song "Just the Way You Are" also describes a young man's love for a confidence-lacking, self-depreciating young woman.
While some may say these boys are trying help boost a girl's self esteem by professing how beautiful she is despite her own doubt, what these songs are really doing is reinforcing the idea that a woman's own self-worth is based on her physical appearance and that she needs validation from a male to believe this for herself.
I find these two songs (and others like them) harmful to girls' perception of what makes them special human beings.
While targeting an more mature audience, Ne Yo's song Miss Independent is the exact opposite of the songs mentioned above. Ne Yo sings of his attraction to a woman who is able to support herself emotionally and financially. Couldn't this theme be translated into high school terms? Why aren't there any songs out there where the boy is professing how much he likes his girlfriend's good grades, performance in the marching band, or volunteer work?

Body Image in Media

I am one of the least fashionable women you will meet. I wish I could be, and I do try sometimes, but the money and effort needed to keep up is just too much for me to be bothered with. But somehow I gave birth to a very fashion-forward little girl. From the time she was about 18 months she started dressing in princess dresses with tiaras and all that. Now that she's almost 5, she's ditched the princess dresses for the most part, and tries to dress as trendy as possible (within the parameters of the wardrobe her father and I have provided her).

I wonder where this comes from... yes she's seen most of the Disney princess movies, and now will watch movies like Ramona and Beezus, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, where there are tweens and teens dressed in the latest trends. At this point, I haven't seen anything objectionable, but I do worry, is she basing her wardrobe on what she sees on Selena Gomez or other actresses? So, what happens when she's confronted with characters in really trashy clothes, or sees ultra-skinny actresses?

I want my daughter to love herself and be confident. I don't want her to waste her life worring about fitting into the next size down. Or buying into some fad that she doesn't even like, just so she can fit in.

I love that Dove has self-esteem programs for girls. The programs start at age 8, and my daughter is not yet 5. Right now she is very confident in herself and I hope she stays that way. Whenever she gets dressed to go somewhere, she asks us how she looks, we always respond, "You always look beautiful," so she know that it's not the clothing we're basing that compliment on. I want to protect her from bony models and Victoria's Secret ads, but I can't do it forever... So I am so happy that Dove has something out there in the media saying, yes you are beautiful just the way you are.

Perception of Culture in Media

In our first class we discussed our perception of other cultures based on what we've learned through media, and how other cultures view Americans. I couldn't think of an experience I had of this at the time, but eventually one popped into my head.

In 2010, I was in Goias, Brazil visiting my husband's family. His niece (about 20 years old) had a pop magazine and was reading about Amy Winehouse. She mistakenly thought that Winehouse was American. She very seriously asked my husband if all girls in the United States were like Winehouse (i.e. drink heavily, use drugs). He translated for me, and I was very quick to assure her that Winehouse was not American, and (while I've never been to Britain) most likely not representative of most of the young women there.

Reviving My Blog

My poor neglected blog has not been touched for over a year. Hmm...perhaps it has something to do with that new baby...and the accompanying sleep deprivation. Anyhow, I have just started a course at Fairfield University called (MD433) Critical Viewing and Children's Safety on Mass Media and the Internet. One of my assignments is to keep a blog, so instead of starting a whole new one, I'm just going to pick this one up.

I'm looking forward to blogging again. Yay!