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!