REA #____3___

Your name: Shumoune Sultanali

Article number in Sex Matters: 21
Article title: fighting teenage pregnancy with mtv stars as exhibit A
Author(s) of article: Jan Hoffman
Topic of article: Using shows like 16 and pregnant on mtv to show teenagers the hardships of raising a child ,
while still being a student, to encourage them to use protection.
Type of article: journalistic account
Types of data in article: mix of participant observation data and historical data
Main argument or main point of article: The main topic of the article discusses the fact that they believe the
shows that MTV make, such as 16 and pregnant, and teen mom, make a positive impact on teenagers by
showing them the challenges of having a child while still being a teen. Challenges such as time being sacrificed
to care for a child, money needing to be made by the teenagers to properly care for their child, and the straining
of relationships the teens have with their parents by forcing the parents to care for grandchildren that they
weren't prepared for. It cites that this show helps parents and teens talk about their sex lives without it getting to
awkward ,which makes it really effective when it comes to pregnancy prevention.
List between 5-10 most important points, findings or sub-points of the article:
1.sex education professors use episodes of these shows as a guide to teach their students about sex education,
and they have never been criticized for it
2.over 50% of kids in boys and girls club in a southern state say that after watching an episode of teen mom,
they talk to their parents about the episode when the get home
3.the season finale of teen mom 2 was the highest rated show for the 12 to 34 demographic
4.a national telephone poll in 2010 (ages 12-19) found that 82% of the demographic thought that 16 and
pregnant helped them understand the challenges of pregnancy and how to avoid it, and that the show was a
positive learning experience for them
5.each episode has teachable moments, showing the maturity level of different teens and how they handled the
pregnancies differently
Most surprising finding or observation: U.S has highest teenage birth rate among fully industrialized
countries
Create a multiple choice test question on this reading that captures the main point(s) of the article:
In 2009, among teenagers 15-19, how many births occurred in the whole year?
a. 400,000
b. 420,000
c. 410,000
d. 500,000
This article should/shouldn be included in the next fifth of Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society
Reader for the following reason(s): I believe that this article should be included in the next chapter of the
book because it explains how T.V can shed a positive aspect in helping to prevent teenage pregnancies, by
actually showing the teens what they would have to deal with if they really had a kid at such a young age. For
those who haven't heard of this show, this article would be a great reference point for the readers who haven't
seen this show, to go back and watch it for themselves and see how good the show is at teaching kids the
downsides of teenage pregnancy.