7#PmWOmV V V V V V.VVVV V VVVxVWR WrW*WV WWWWW0WWWWWWSOME GIRLS by Janet Tate Joy* lives in suburban west Knoxville with both her parents. She cant wait to graduate from Bearden High School in a couple years. Shes your typical bright, white 16-year-old girl: she loves English class; she has lots of friends and a steady boyfriend; shes planning to go to medical school. Articulate, determined and good-natured, its hard to imagine anything standing in her wayexcept maybe for the baby shes expecting this spring. When she first realized she was pregnant, says Joy, I was really shocked, and very confused. But now, Im a little more excited. I know Im young, and its going to be extremely hardeverybodys pretty much put that through my head. A trace of ambivalence slips into her voice. ButI dont know. I think Im excited, in a way. I had my first ultrasound two days ago, and I got to see the baby on the screen. And, she says, her voice shakier, it just made me happy, you know? Tanya, 18, has been in Joy's shoes three times. She used to attend Austin-East High School; now she's working toward her GED. Tanya became sexually active at 14, had her first baby at 15, and is now expecting her third (and, she says, last) child. When I knew I was pregnant this time I just tried so hard to block it out, she says. I got so depressed. Girls have the wrong idea about having a baby. They think it makes them grown up, that it looks cool or something. What they dont realize is, you dont go to the mall anymore or anything like you used to. Everything you got, you give to that baby. Still, Joy is thinking ahead. You go on homebound [schooling] a month before youre due, then youre allowed six weeks after the babys born," she explains. "Mines due in April, so six weeks after that itll already be summer. What Ill do after that depends on a lot of things. Like if I breast-feed. My mom works during the day, so she cant watch the baby. My boyfriend was going to do it, but now hell be away at college. But Im gonna graduate. I want to walk across that stage and get my diploma with everybody else. Teen pregnancy isnt just for the inner city anymore (if it ever was). We are appalled, although not particularly surprised, at the incidence of out-of-wedlock babies in whats euphemistically called the inner city (read: disadvantaged, mostly African-American communities). There we tend to explain it in sociological termsfractured families, economic disenfranchisement, lack of access to resources, generational dependency on the welfare state, inferior educational opportunities, and so forth. But of the 4,809 babies born to adolescent Tennessee girls in 1994, 56 percent were white, 43 percent nonwhite. Middle-class white girlsthe same ones who were labeled talented and gifted by their suburban elementary and middle school teachers, who learned how to ride horses and play the piano and who consistently made the honor rollare becoming mothers. And they are doing itso it would seemwith alarming nonchalance. Despite what you may have read elsewhere, the teen pregnancy rate is not on the declineit did drop by a small fraction in the state from 1993 to 1994, but thats not exactly a cause to celebrate, especially when you factor in such variables as that sexual activity among teens is up. Its a trend thats nearly incomprehensible to women of their mothers generation. My mom told me, if you were pregnant when I was your age [in the late 60s to early 70s], it would have been in your best interests to leave town, says Joy. But pregnant teens today are keeping their baby dolls. Last year there were 220 babies born to students that we know about in Knox County schools, and as far as we know, none were given up for adoption, says Aleece Stewart, supervisor of health services for Knox County schools. Indeed, not so long ago the Florence Crittenton homes for unwed mothers saw 90 percent of the babies of all those shamed, stigmatized bad girls put up for adoption. That percentage is now closer to 10 percent. It used to be we had to hide out," says Leslie Henderson, executive director of the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health. "Well, now were saying a young woman shouldnt have to be punished for an accident, but maybe were also saying its not as bad as it used to be, that you dont have to be ashamed. Most of the time now, the family structure will support them. What happens is, you just have a late addition to the family. It's a sort of extended-family plan, made accessible not only by the grandma-to-be's willingness to raise yet another child, but also by Knox County's homebound schooling programs and in-school day nurseries, which keep a girl in high school rather than kicking her out and forcing her to give up her child. AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION But what about increased awareness of birth-control methods? Arent our teenagers living in the information age? It doesnt seem so. "Im not sure they really are more informed, although the opportunity is there, says Stewart. Regardless of economic or social background, they all have equal access to the information if they really want to get it." That is, as much information as the family-life, "abstinence-based" sex-ed curriculum in the schools suppliesa curriculum that, depending upon the pleasure of the school's principal, may or may not permit specifics concerning other birth-control methods, and which, in any event, never permits discussion of the A-word. Still, current teen ignorance about contraception rivals that of any other generations. A lot of them think withdrawal is birth control. Having sex on your period is birth control, says Connie Simpson, KCRHs director of counseling. (Other prevalent theories: you can't get pregnant if you don't have an orgasm, or if you have sex standing up.) And even for those who are aware enough to take precautions, ambivalence, if not an inherent lack of responsibility or maturity, often disrupts the best of intentions. The average sexually active teenage girl seeks family planning services about one year after her first sexual experience, notes Simpson. They think its bad if youre planning to have sex. If you just happen to have it in the heat of the moment, somehow thats not so bad as if youve planned it. Joy says she and her partner used condoms from the very firstmost of the time: I guess the time I got pregnant was either one of the times we didnt use it or that one time out of the 100 or whatever that the condom didnt work. Tanya says she used the pill for a while, then quit taking it. I just dont like the idea of putting medicine into my body every day. Many girls come in and get started on some form of birth control but dont stay consistent with it, says Corinne Rovetti, nurse practitioner at KCRH. Those are the kids I really worry about. They make some effort at contracepting, and then they really dont want to. I think many times they really do want to be pregnant. There are lots of pregnancy prevention programs out there being offered by tireless, concerned volunteers and health workers. Knoxville Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (KAPPI), a Knox County Health Department program, tries to tackle teen pregnancy through prevention. Among its projects are Lets Talk, which helps parents figure out how to talk to their children about sexuality, and RAP (Reaching Adulthood Prepared), a male mentoring program. KAPPI also tries to target would-be teenage dads with eye-catching public-service posters and billboards. Theyre currently trying to get Baby Think It Over, a program that simulates what life with an actual, 24-hour-a-day real baby would be like. (Talk about scare tactics!) Then theres the STARS (Students Teaching And Respecting Sexuality) program, sponsored by the Florence Crittenton agency. Studentssome parenting teens, some pregnant, some whove chosen abstinencego into area middle and high schools and talk to other students. Theyre able to reach their peers better than anyone else could, notes Stewart. Planned Parenthood also offers an abundance of programs to help end unwanted teenage pregnancy, and they try to work through the schools, whenever theyre allowed to. Some schools will invite us in, some will not, says Debbie Blair, executive director of Planned Parenthood of East Tennessee. It depends on the principal at each school. We talk about abstinence. When we talk about birth control, we make sure kids understand that not having sex is the only 100-percent way of avoiding pregnancy. It varies school to school as to what they will allow to be taught, she continues. Some just dont go into birth control at all. They talk about self-esteem, respect, and abstinence only. Others do explore the options of birth control. But not the A-word. Abortion is not a form of birth control, both Blair and Stewart say firmly. Well, yes, but what about as a possible option, if thats what a pregnant girl asks about? We dont view that as the schools role. Its just not discussed, says Stewart. What influence such programs have on sexually active Knox County teens is anyone's guess. I cant speak for all teenagers, but probably nothing could have changed my mind once I had started having sex," says Joy. "A lot of kids, theres not really much you can say to them. Were invincible, were on top of the world, we know everything. Personally, Im very stubborn. As much as the teachers or my parents could have told me, I dont think theres anything anyone could have said or shown me that would have changed my mind. If only we could really talk about these issues in the school system, says Rovetti. "Weve done some educational sessions with teachers, and they talk about how their hands are tied. Theyre given the family life curriculum, but theyre very restricted in what they can say. 'Dont do it,' thats about it. I've seen some family curriculums, in other school districts and in other states, where they actually have the kids play out, like playing house, and they see what its really like, whats involved. WELCOME TO THE PRESSURE COOKER Lifes full of pressure, especially for teenspeer pressure, parental pressure, school pressure. And today, perhaps more than ever, parents are under a lot of work pressure, which translates into yet another kind of pressure for their kids. Weve got a culture thats very self-involved and very busy, says Rovetti. This crosses socio-economic borders. Kids from wealthy homes sometimes get lots of material things but get very little personal attention. Kids today are growing up on their own a lot, and there are some real voids left in terms of family interaction. And where the family leaves off, peer pressure will certainly move in. "I always want to do something because everybody else is doing it," Joy admits. "There's definitely peer pressure to be sexually active. If everybody's doing it and talking about itanything, not just sexyou're gonna wanna do it." Tanya agrees: "It seems like everybody just makes it so hard for you to try to be good." But the impact of peer pressure pales by comparison with what's been well-documented and widely acknowledged to play a huge role in a young girl's decision to become sexually activethat is, the seemingly inevitable plummeting of her self-esteem around the time she enters middle school The accompanying yearning for unconditional love, acceptance, and attention at this crucial stage of maturation will be met somehow. If it's not met by emotionally supportive and loving parents, teachers or other adult role models, then it will be met by something else. Like maybe a boyfriend, then maybe a baby. What we hear sometimes from these girls is, this is somebody whos going to love me, no matter what. Thats the feeling that comes through, and it seems to be a real draw, says Henderson. And from what I hear, its a real attention-getter in class. So and sos having a baby shower at school. Everyone gathers around, feels the baby kicking. Yes, theyre getting attention, but do they really need to get pregnant to get it? What some call attention-getting, others call immorality. These kids today dont have what we call middle-class values, not even the middle-class kids, says Stewart. Its a decline in morality. A lot of these children are not being taught that they should postpone sex until marriage or until theyre in a stable relationship. In my opinion its promiscuity, and I see the result of it every day. Of course, teens have always been notorious for believing theyll live forever and that bad luck always happens to the other guyer, girl. But many of todays pregnant girls are of a new breed altogether. Ive been shocked at how acceptable having a baby out of wedlock is to teenagers. That floors me, says Henderson. Stewart agrees: There appears to no longer be a stigma attached to coming to school pregnant. I cant really tell you why. It used to be a rarityyoud never see a pregnant girl in high school. Around 1975 or so, though, federal laws changed, which allowed pregnant students to attend regular day school. And we have started to see a gradual increase in the number of pregnancies over the years. Last year there were at least five or six girls at my school that I knew of that were pregnant, Joy says cheerfully, ticking off namesHeather, Jennifer, Katie, Jessica, Laurenthat come straight from a 1980s top-10 list of favorite white girls names. In middle school I never really pictured high school being like that. But then my sophomore year, Id see 15, 16-year-olds walking around pregnant at school. Its just kind of different. Kind of awkward. You see some of them that set out to get pregnant. Some are quite happy when they find out theyre pregnant. But its mostly unthinking behavior, Simpson says. They dont think past what theyre going to wear to school the next day. To a lot of these girls, having a baby seems like playing with dollsThis would be neat, I could do it. MIXED MESSAGES Perhaps its no wonder that todays youth seem so confused. We have evolved over the last 300 years into one of the most morally schizophrenic societies imaginable. At once puritanical and pornographic, ours is a society in which media messages concocted by the so-called cultural elite unabashedly use sex (i.e., sexually attractive young women) to sell everything from beer to blue jeans. The movies and TV make sex seem so glamorous, always talking about it being the greatest feeling, says Tanya. The first time I had sex, I thought, Thats supposed to be the greatest feeling in the world? Why do they have to make everything have to do with sex? And while Hollywood and Madison Avenue use their powers of persuasion to convince young women that they must be "sexy" to be acceptable, parents, schools and churches tell them to deny their sexualityto be ashamed of the very normal human sex drive rather than to recognize it and take control of it. Meanwhile, right-wing politicians disingenuously harp on family values, glibly romanticizing motherhood and heatedly demonizing abortion. A baby has been idealized as something girls can love and that will love them back unconditionally, says Rovetti. Its ironic, because were really not a very child-oriented society to begin with. But yet the rhetoric is always, oh, the babies, what about the babies? Like having a baby is the most wonderful thing. And it certainly can be, under the right circumstances. But theres been sort of this acceptance about having babies, and I think theres been this message that kids have gotten, that abortion is wrong, abortion is murder, and having kids is great. Some teens, mostly white, do take advantage of their right to choose, but more choose to carry. Last year 4,809 babies were born to adolescent girls in Tennessee, while 1,417 adolescents terminated their pregnancies. The religious rights message that abortion is "murder" seems to have taken holdtheir words come verbatim from the mouths of manyif not mostof the babes who choose to carry their pregnancies to term. Says Joy, I thought about abortion, but Ive always been strongly against it, unless it was a drastic situation, such as rape. My mom still asks me to this day, 'Are you really going to have it?' For me, no, I couldnt see doing that, because I have to take responsibility for what I did. There is something about teens and sex that scares the bejeezus out of us grownups, so much so that the notion thrives that teaching kids in school about the dangers of sex and how to avoid them will actually encourage sexual behavior. "The right wing cries that sex education should come from the home, but kids can get a very tainted, very fear-based view from home," says Rovetti. "And a lot of parents just aren't doing it. We get confronted constantly with idea that by talking about sex you're teaching kids to be sexually active. The same logic would demand a halt to all those drug-prevention programs in our schools. Are they only teaching our kids how to become junkies and potheads? BABIES HAVING BABIES So what weve got here is babies having babies. As Stewart puts it, Young bodies [are] not prepared for the physical rigors of pregnancy going through pregnancy, and young minds [are] not emotionally prepared for caring for a baby taking charge of the care of a baby. "One of the things that scares me about the problem is very often we dont know about a pregnancy until a girl is late in the second or early in the third trimester, she continues. A lot of time has passed, and there has been no prenatal care. [Its also getting too late for an abortion. Most occur in the first 15 weeks.] And one thing were seeing is that in these babies that we know of, 30 percent have something wrong with them thats visibly evident within the first six weeks, such as low birth weight and developmental delays. And while its surely unintentional, its nonetheless evident that one bit of fallout from all this is none other thanvoilthe creation of a new teen welfare class. It starts when any pregnant Knox County student, of any income level, is given up to 10 weeks of home-school instruction. Should complications arise and a physician recommend the mother-to-be go on homebound schooling when shes, say, two months pregnant, she gets homebound service that much longer. After the babys arrival, should the new mom attend Austin-East, Central, or West High School, she can look to the home economics departmentonce a bastion of budding young homemakers learning to toss salad and sew straight seamsto provide her with parenting classes and an in-school nursery. And, same as it ever was, there are pregnant girls whose families kick them out and offer no support at all. Guess where they end up. Some of these girls end up living on their own, says Stewart. We have some students who live independently in apartments, and some of them receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children. They dont all come from poor backgrounds, either. But no matter where they come from, once they have no other way of supporting themselves, they very often will end up as part of the welfare system. So what shall we do? Maybe we should demand to know why our state legislators consider a girl able to give sexual consent at age 13 but not able to choose abortion for herself until shes 18. Maybe we ought to find out why our school board is fine with our teens having classes that tell them how to baby their babies but not so fine with classes on the specifics of how to prevent those babies in the first place. Maybe we should try to figure out how to let our daughters know, especially at around age 13, that they are wanted and needed here on earth to do much more than just look good, attract males, and give birth. And maybe we should think about how, as a society, we can figure out how to get the message across to our young women that they simply must respect and think of themselves and their precious futures firstbefore fitting in with their friends, before pleasing their boyfriends, before rebelling against their parentsand before they have a baby. *The names of all teenagers in this story have been changed. u!_FEAT/WITHERSP/5.32/WDBNMSWD%e$$[!_%gGGPmPp @@    $  5e Q3 "#s$&((((*,v-.0}23R4688889:;>@CAfDDD2D3E@G\I0JVLdP.P/PlPmB  OmPm$K&0:kD@O.OmP@P@P@oP@P Pp)Pm* HH(FG(HH(d'@=/R@H-:LaserWriter 8 New York  E5QE0COVER/TEENS/5.32 Jophus Scone Jophus Scone