16 and Pregnant

Those things we think we know about teen moms? The limited education, welfare use, the doomed romantic partnerships, the poor outcomes for their children? When we control for poverty, those adverse outcomes virtually disappear. It’s not that they had a child while they were young, it’s that they had a child while they were poor.

It's no secret that 16 and Pregnant is marketed to women. Each episode is narrated by the teen mom, who also provides the testimonials and has the camera on her at all times. The commercials shown during the program are obviously geared toward teen girls, and the chat on MTV.com's 16 and Pregnant page is filled with girls, mostly teen mothers themselves. As viewers we never see teen parenthood from the father's point of view and the possible value from including their experiences is completely lost.