“Teenage mothers have been marked as a problem population, one that has already failed to adhere to certain norms and regulations about adolescent sexuality, namely that it should be non-existant at best, and invisible at worst (Kelly, 2000; Pillow, 2006).” (Chase, 2017, pg. 2)
Whether sexuality (and pleasure) is discussed in high school or not, adolescents are hyper aware of sexuality and are sexualized from a young age. One example of this is the way we speak to young children – ‘He’s going to be a lady’s man when he grows up’ or ‘Keep the boys away from her’. These two seemingly harmless statements, meant to complement the beauty of a child, actually sexualizes young bodies, teaching kids that their worth is only as good as their desirability. Then as a young person grows, we stop talking about sexuality, desire or pleasure but the sexualization occurs whether we speak of it or not. The silences surrounding a young person’s changing body and urges that come with it demonstrates cultural stigma and shame, clashing directly with sexualized images in advertisements, TV and movies promoting desirable femininity and masculinity. The misogyny displayed in most media, it is amplified for young Black and Latinx people, as their bodies are more heavily sexualized and fetishized. So it is no wonder that this staunch juxtaposition of roles for young people to fit into creates an intolerable environment for young pregnant people. When a young person becomes pregnant, schools, and the surrounding community tend jump to deficit narratives instead of face the gaping holes in sexualilty education.The pregnant body of a young person is so transgressive and so political because it forces us to to come face to face with all of our learned, and continuously upheld notions of young bodies, and what roles we have played in perpetuating them.
