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Lisa Miele
CAS 137H
Dr. Robin Kramer

Originally Submitted: October 30, 2013
Resubmitted: November 22, 2013
Edited: May 4, 2014

The Secret Life of the New American Teenager

According to modern television, teenagers today have secret lives where they have unprotected
sex, get pregnant, and creatively figure out how to hide their baby bumps in prom pictures. Teen
pregnancy in television has grown rapidly since the late 1990s and forcefully into the 2000s when
television networks like the CW, ABC Family, and MTV started implementing these types of characters
into many of their shows. The characters of shows such as 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and The Secret
Life of the American Teenager bring light to the complications that teen pregnancy can cause. This is a
stark contrast from shows in the 1990s, which sugarcoated the relationships of its teenage characters by
removing the sexual element of their relationships, therefore refusing to acknowledge the existence of
teenagers having sex. The evolution of teenage characters in shows that aired in the 1990s to the pregnant
teenage characters that are in television shows today illustrates societys shift in its openness to discussing
more explicit topics.
In the late 1980s into the 1990s shows generally disregarded the thought of teenagers being
pregnant. In contrary to what the media portrayed, in the year 1990, 116.9 pregnancies occurred for every
1,000 teen girls in America (Office of Adolescent Health). In the hit teenage drama Saved by the Bell,
which aired from 1989 to 1993, (Epguides.com) the teachers were pregnant, not the students. The
pregnancy of Mrs. Belding, the wife of principal Belding, represented the common societal idea that sex
was only for married adults. In the series, Zach Morris, the charming conspirator who knew how to talk to
the ladies, had his eyes glued to his love interest and on-again, off-again girlfriend, Kelly Kapowski
(Saved by the Bell: Episode Guide). Kellys All-American Girl beauty and clean reputation represented
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the decency of television programs at that time. Zach and Kellys relationship throughout the series was
wholesome and never focused on the activities in the bedroom. Reference to their sex life would have
been too risqu for the halls of Bayside High School and the television screens of young American
teenagers in the 1990s.
The wholesome relationships of the 1990s were inaccurate examples of over half the teenage
relationships of the day. According to the Institute of Youth Development, in 1990, 55% of girls, ages 15-
19, were sexually active (Erickson, Kimberly). The plot of 90s kid favorite, Boy Meets World airing from
1993 to 2000, was centered around the relationship between characters, Cory and Topanga, as they
learned what it took to be in love and to care about another person (Epguides.com). Even though faced
with societal pressures, they maintained true to their morals and abstained from sexual activity until
season six when they were in college and married (Boy Meets World- Season 6). The context that Cory
and Topanga were together for so long but were never seen having sex or discussing sex makes this
relationship somewhat deceptive to what could have been occurring. The couple demonstrates the general
absence of teenage pregnancy in 1990s television and the way media chose to ignore that sex was a
common activity for over half the teenage girls. By not talking about teenage sex in the media, society
was able to conceal its existence. Cory and Topanga promoted abstinence; a character trait that became
obsolete on television as shows transitioned into the 2000s.
In the early 2000s there was a slow introduction of pregnant teenage characters in television that
did a better job representing the truth about the consequences of teenage pregnancies. From 2000-2007
the WB television network (currently known as the CW) aired the hit sitcom Gilmore Girls, which
documented the relationship between mother, Lorelai, and her teenage daughter, Rory (Epguides.com).
Unlike television shows in later years, this show did not directly document the pregnancy of the teenager
(in this case Rory), but instead it showed the results of Lorelais teenage pregnancy. Regardless of the
situation, Lorelai was still able to provide Rory with highest quality of life sending her to attend the
prestigious Chilton Preparatory high school and eventually Harvard University ("EpisodeGuides: Gilmore
Girls Detailed Episode Guide.") The successful life that Lorelai was able to provide to her daughter was
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an unrealistic representation of many teenage pregnancies because, most teen mothers are unable to
adequately provide for the child in the way Lorelai did. About 60% of all teen pregnancies result from
low income situations (Teen Pregnancy The Numbers). Even though this show did fabricate the results of
teenage pregnancy and was not directly about a teen that was currently pregnant, it did introduce the topic
of pregnancy at a young age. This show was ranked a 7.7 out of 10 by IMDb.com and aired for 7 years
("Gilmore Girls). These relatively high rankings demonstrated societys openness to shows that
acknowledged teenage pregnancy, and its support to discussing topics that were becoming less
controversial.
Remaining somewhat consistent to the sugarcoating of teenage pregnancies done in the early
2000s, the pregnancies of characters in the later 2000s usually resulted in their own type of silver lining.
However, these shows did openly discuss teenage pregnancy and the results of teenage sex. In 2001, the
WB/CW launched the pilot episode of the sitcom Reba that shocked the audience when main character,
Reba, finds out her oldest daughter, Cheyenne (high school senior), is pregnant (Epguides.com). The
series documented the challenges that Cheyenne faced throughout her pregnancy and her first years of
motherhood including giving up on personal time and lacking a supportive environment. However, things
worked out for Cheyenne because she was able to overcome these challenges with the help of her
understanding parent and loyal boyfriend ("Reba"). Even though not all teenage pregnancies during the
early 2000s had happy endings, this show did a good job representing the challenges that pregnant
teenagers are faced with. The existence of this show once again demonstrated that society was open to
discussing such topics. Televisions networks took advantage of this shift and in the late 2000s they
showed teenage pregnancy through the lives of real teenagers not fictional characters.
The best representation of societys openness to discussing teenage pregnancy is the reality shows
that currently air on MTV. In 2009, MTV aired the American reality television show, 16 and Pregnant,
which documented the lives of four teenage girls as they dealt with the consequences of becoming
pregnant in high school (Epguides.com). The show highlighted the changes each of the girls went
through as she transitioned from normal high school student to mother-to-be. Later in 2009, the follow-up
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show, Teen Mom, was launched which followed the same young girls as they dealt with the challenges of
the first years of motherhood (Epguides.com). The struggles each teenager faced with family, friends, and
boys most closely depicted real-world consequences of teenage pregnancies. In 2010, Teen Mom 2 aired
on MTV and still graces the television screens of teenage viewers across America to this day
(Epguides.com). By following real life girls around with a camera, these shows show raw footage of the
teenagers lives and relationships. The neglect that was once done in the 1990s, no longer exists. Their
stories are real and the situations are real.
With that being said it is important to be reminded that these teenagers are still reality television
stars. Their lives are posted not only on television screens, but also on magazine covers, and on websites.
In that kind of spotlight, it would be difficult for anyone to be real 100 percent of the time. The camera
gives the producers the ability to choose which scenes make it to the final cut and which do not. Real life
cannot be edited, but the lives of these characters are and can subsequently be overly dramatized.
However, when compared to other characters, they are the best representation of teenage pregnancies in
the media in the past two decades. This is because they show struggles and feelings that cannot be acted.
These shows may be entertaining, but they are not always easy to watch. The shows are usually
depressing and use pathos to evoke a feeling of sympathy for the mothers who were once normal
teenagers, and the viewers are okay with that! The people who watch these MTV shows openly enjoy
watching the development of these teenagers relationships. This form of entertainment has created a
forum for members of society to embrace their openness and carry on conversations about such topics.
In the 2000s, parents began to talk to their children about forms of contraception. Such
conversations did not occur as often in the 1990s. Girls are now more comfortable bringing up the
conversation of going on the pill, which has become a staple of a lot of high school girls and most
college girls daily routines. According to the Huffington Post, teens filling birth control prescriptions
have increased by 50 percent from 2002 to 2009 (Miriello, Nicholas). Teens growing up in the 1990s did
not have such open conversations about contraception, which demonstrates the new openness of society.
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Modern civil rights movements are other examples of how society has shifted towards a new
comfort discussing controversial topics. People speaking out for what they believe in and having other
people listen with open minds is a characteristic that has shaped modern America. In 1980, the Human
Rights Campaign was established and quickly became the largest civil rights organization in America
("About Us"). Civil rights movements like this are one of many reasons why such openness has been
accepted and funneled into television shows.
Societys openness to discussing explicit topics (seen through everyday conversations and large
movements) can be depicted in the examination of the infiltration of teenage pregnancy in television from
the 1990s into the present. This progression has evolved from total disregard to the exposure of real
people and has led to an exaggeration of teenage pregnancies in American television. The Secret Life of
the American Teenager is an example of a show that glamorizes pregnancy through the exaggeration of
the lives of its pregnant teenage characters. Even though this show is open to addressing such issues, it
gives an unrealistic example of teenagers sex lives similarly to what was once done in the 1990s. These
types of exaggerations could be leading society backwards in its progression of more realistic portrayals.
There is no way to know for sure what the future holds, but in the meantime, teenager will remain
intrigued by the progression of the pregnancies of their favorite teen moms and their prom babies
(babies that are born around prom because they were conceived at homecoming).

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Works Cited

"About Us." Human Rights Campaign. N.p., 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"Boy Meets World- Season 6." TV.com. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 June 2012.
Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

"Epguides.com - Main Menu Page." Epguides.com - Main Menu Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

"EpisodeGuides: Gilmore Girls Detailed Episode Guide." EpisodeGuides: Gilmore Girls Detailed
Episode Guide. N.p., 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Erickson, Kimberly. "Sex Activity and Youth." The Institute for Youth Development. N.p., Oct. 1998.
Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"Facts on American Teens' Sexual and Reproductive Health." Facts on American Teens' Sexual and
Reproductive Health. N.p., 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

"Gilmore Girls." IMDb. IMDb.com, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

Miriello, Nicholas. "More U.S. Teens Using Birth Control Pills." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

"Office of Adolescent Health." Office of Adolescent Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.

"Reba." TV.com. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"Saved by the Bell: Episode Guide." MSN Entertainment. Microsoft, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"Teen Pregnancy The Numbers Don't Lie, But They Do Scream." Teen Pregnancy Statistics. N.p., 2013.
Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

Ventura. "National Data." The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. N.p.,
2009. Web. 27 Oct. 2013.