I am a member of the message board Babycent.er.com and many of the members talk about the MT.V show Teen Mom. I have never had an interest in watching it, especially since reality shows in general irritate me. They call them "reality" shows alluding to the fact that they are "real" but instead they are just as fake, if not more, than most fictional shows. And really, do I care to see a bunch of fertile teens pooping out babies between popping pills and drinking booze?
Today I was flipping through the channels and noticed that there was an episode on and since there is nothing else on right now I tuned in. I am still processing how I feel about this show. A part of me, the infertile part, hates to see so many young, unprepared, immature teenagers having babies. The unfairness of it hurts. But my feelings do not stop there. I do like that the show does not make it all out to be sunshine and roses. Raising babies is work. Hard work!! It is a 24/7, 365 days a year job. There is never any time off. And it is hard work with two of us raising a baby and here some of these girls are single. Now that is reality. Many "boys" won't stick around for the hard stuff. I am sure that this show is popular amongst the teen and tween crowd and I hope that they learn from it. Yet, even though the show portrays the difficult side of being a teen mom it still glamorizes it. These girls are now celebrities. And for what?? Having a baby years before they should have? That part gets to me.
Lastly, there is this maternal instinct that not only wants to scoop these babies up and take care of them, but to care for the moms too. Most of them are still children themselves. Maybe not in chronological age, but mentally. And they can have babies?? It makes you shake your head, doesn't it??
When will they have a reality show for us infertiles? One that follows us to ultrasounds and appointments. The tears of a negative test. Or one that shows the long freaking needles we stick in our butts. Now there is a reality that I can relate to!
Have you seen Guiliana and Bill? Granted, they are celebrities and have tons of money and can afford the big name doctors but... they are still struggling w/ infertility, IVF, and miscarriage.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was also going to tell you about Guiliana and Bill. Their reality show is about much more than IF, but they do talk about it and had segments where they are building a house they bought when they were pregnant and how it brings more pain from the miscarriage.
ReplyDeleteI SO agree with you about Teen Mom. Tough show to watch for sure!!
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered if there will ever be a show that follows an infertile couple through treatments. If they are giving pregnant teenagers TV shows to give the world perspective, shouldn't they give infertiles one too?
ReplyDeleteAnd my fear for the teen mom show is that while it shows the bad with the good, I think it glamorizes teen motherhood. I don't think those girls really think about what having a baby means not only to the rest of their lives, but the baby's life. It is irritating. I can't watch the show for that reason.
I also wish that there was a reality show about IF. There are so many people who experience it, so it would be nice for it to not be such a taboo topic in the media. There are definitely plenty of shows about fertiles!
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