I’m not quite sure I follow the logic of Mike Males’ argument. I agree that the media has an overly-negative view of teenagers, and neglects to cover stories on good things that teenagers are doing. However, I do not necessarily think it is “teen bashing” when newspapers and magazine report on the number of teen pregnancies. Males is disturbed by the term “teen pregnancy” because he argues that most of the fathers are in fact not teenagers. I think this is a moot point; it doesn’t matter what you call it there are still teenage girls who are having babies regardless of how old the father is. I think that the media has a right to make a big deal about this because teenagers are not capable of financially supporting a child, let alone themselves. There are of course many adults who could barely support a child, but teenagers almost certainly could not. I think there needs to be more education about this topic, because it is often people of lower class that have teen pregnancies which further puts them into poverty because it disrupts their education. I will agree with Males’ argument that “teen problems” are often issues that are more accurately due to poverty than to age. I feel as though Males’ disagrees with the term “teen issues” because these same issues are prevalent among adults. I don’t see the problem of terming them as teen issues because there should be a distinction made because teens are less apt to deal with such issues, whether it be emotionally or financially.
The article about beauty pageants could have been written about kids in general not just girls when it comes to domineering parents. Many parents, fathers in particular, push their kids to be super athletes that it becomes stressful for kids. I believe that the point of youth activities, whether it be pageants or sports, is to be fun even if there is competition involved. There is nothing wrong with competition, but when adults are the ones pushing their kids past the limit the competition aspect becomes too stressful for kids. There are these unreal expectations that parents put on their kids. To me this is absolutely a form of child abuse. Again I have no problem with competition, to a limited extent, in youth activities but the focus should be on promoting healthy activities, fun activities, and something that is a stress reliever not a cause of stress for children
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I have to agree with your comments regarding the article on beauty pageants. There was too much focus on the girls affected by parents pushing them too hard to win, not to mention fitting a standard that is unrealistic and appauling. I didn't even think about the fathers that push their kids to be "super athletes", yet I can recall my past experiences with various physical activities and the fathers who coached, and it was so upsetting how we were treated when we made a mistake (yet their daughters got off easy, and usually made more mistakes). I have had my good experiences, but the negative ones stick out more. Even some of the teachers that coach the sports teams fall victim to this, and it really ruins what should be gained from participating and working with a team in a sport. As to the unrealistic expectations parents and adults are putting on their children and others, the only reason I think they are doing it is because they are living their regrets through these children, and that is a horrible way for them to grow up. And you're right, there is nothing wrong with a little competition, but the overall focus should be on teaching health, fun, stress relievers, and an overall sense of well being within each child so they can feel good about themselves after a game.
ReplyDeleteI somewhat agree with your comment, "Males is disturbed by the term “teen pregnancy” because he argues that most of the fathers are in fact not teenagers...it doesn’t matter what you call it there are still teenage girls who are having babies regardless of how old the father is". I agree that the media has to do something about it, but I think he was trying to stress the point that the father demographic is inaccurate. He wants the public to know that not every youth pregnancy is caused by youths. Rather, "71 percent of all teenage parents have adult partners over the age of 20"(males 122). This is a huge statistic, and it seems to be ignored.
ReplyDeleteYep, I agree with Stuart about the statistic on fathers of babies born to teen mothers. I think Males and Giroux's points are similar in this way in that we tend to ignore why there is such a drive to eroticize young girls. We need to hold these men responsible not just for impregnating teens, but committing statutory rape to impregnate children. Instead, we tend to blame the girls for the pregnancy. I'm not saying they don't bare any responsibility for it. But, when we are talking about men in their twenties and incidences of girls in their early teens, we need to think about recognizing at least some mutual culpability.
ReplyDeleteI think you make a good point about parents over-pressuring their kids to succeed/win/whatever in competitive activities. I'd go a bit further though, and question just why it is that parents feel the need to do that (for the most part, I'd say it stems from a need to vicariously achieve success through children when it cannot be achieved by other means, but I'm sure there are other reasons). And there's something else wrong there, and it's not just with parents. Competitive activities have become so stressed in schools (and American society) that a few of them have started to overshadow even academic achievement (to the point that academic achievement itself is trying to become a competitive activity, if you follow me). Remember that kid who got into a better college than you because he could throw a ball really far or run really fast? Something's wrong there.
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