Disgusted with the Media’s Response to Pregnancy Announcement by Jaime Lynn Spears
December 19, 2007
By now, the news is everywhere that Britney Spears’ 16 year-old sister Jaime Lynn is pregnant and plans to keep her baby and raise it in Louisiana.
Jaime Lynn is the star of the popular Nickelodeon show Zoey 101 and with the announcement that she’s expecting there is some question as to the show’s future.
The media is having a field day with all of this. But the hands-down most misogynistic statements came (predictably) from mega-celebrity blogger Perez Hilton:
Dang. We thought Jamie Lynn was the nice and normal one.
Now we know she’s just trailer trash like her sister!!!
…
Bitch is begging for her job!
Do you think Nickelodeon should let her keep it??????
When Sarah Jessica Parker got pregnant, the Sex and the City producers had a choice: either make the character pregnant, or shoot around the pregnancy. They shot around the pregnancy and all was well. The same thing was true for Roxanne Dawson on Star Trek: Voyager.
Why is Jaime Lynn any different? Yeah, she’s 16, but she’s a professional. She should not be relegated to has-been status at Nickelodeon because she had a birth control slip up and has made the decision to become a mother.
I feel terrible for this girl. It’s hard enough to be sixteen and pregnant without having to answer questions from reporters about the dangers of premarital sex:
What message does the sixteen year old Spears want to send to other teens about premarital sex?
“I definitely don’t think it’s something you should do; it’s better to wait,” she says. “But I can’t be judgmental because it’s a position I put myself in.”
How about birth control? Can someone please talk about the obvious? Can’t we please have a conversation in this country about teenage sex that doesn’t come down to, “just don’t do it?”
I know there are far more pressing issues in the world, but the tempest that’s rising around this story is really driving me nuts. So much recrimination and cruelty where there should be compassion and support.
THANK you. So glad someone out here see it the way I have since this news story broke. Yes, it’s probably unfortunate that anyone is pregnant at 16, but surely it’s better that it happen to someone with the money to provide for the incipient child and who seems to actually be thinking the matter over now, whether she did beforehand or not.
[...] media outlets are jumping on the “trailer trash” wagon (ahem, Perez Hilton, CNN, and Fox News), throwing out unreal misogynist epithets, like it’s fucking surprising [...]
Thanks for this post. I’ve found the coverage of this story disgusting!
[...] lesson in morality, and either praise her for taking responsibility* or shake your head about how she is trailer trash. Scott smells a double standard, and this leads to a lengthy thread in which his commenters engage [...]
why you people consider jaime a bitch just because she is pregnant she aint the only one i got pregnant at 15 and that doesnt make me a bitch. its not disgusiting im pretty sure if this accident happend to a cusin/sister/unty/friend yo wouldnt call her a bitch!
if they keep this girl on Nick…they are telling young girls that it is okay to have premarital sex as long as she has money. She should not have a show anymore. I have a younger sister that is 12 and she looks up to this girl and now my sister thinks that it is okay because of the fact that she has money and can take care of the baby. NO…she needs to lose her show..I dont care if she is “professional”. What is “professional” about having sex and 16 and having kids NOTHING. All she is doing is following her sister’s steps.
I think that she should not be allowed film ashow for younger kid when she is not setting a good example. Yes other actors had their shows film around there pregancies, but Sarah Jessica Parker was Over 18 and was not filming a tweenie show for twelve and thirteen year olds. She should have been more responsable. Being pregnant at sixteen maybe common now in day but it doesnt make it ok.
Teens are having sex all the time. She was no different. There is no reason to talk bad about her. At least she’s making a responsible decision to keep the baby and become a mother. I think people should stop stigmatizing sex and be more open to it. It’s something that’s completely natural and enjoyable if done responsibly. So she slipped up on her birth control. We should talk to teens more about different birth control methods so things like this won’t happen as often.
she should definitely lose her show no questions and people get sex talks all the time people are just fucking idiots and dont think it will happen to them i’m not saying it’s bad but there is plenty of pertection out there it’s her life and everyone needs to fucking get over it because it’s going to happen whether anyone likes it or not
and by the way she’s not like her sister she actually has a decent guy with her
I think you should just leave her alone… everybody makes mistakes… and at least she’s taking responsibility to take care of the child unlike other people in this world… you guys just need to back off…….. it’s not like you people haven’t done mistakes in your life…..