<p>Do I understand correctly that the supposed paternal grandparents weren’t in on the fake? The “father’s” parents thought their son’s girlfriend was really pregnant? That’s cold.</p>
<p>I’m amazed at her courage! Boy, do I feel for that boy’s parents, though. On the one hand, they must be so angry at being duped. But on the other hand, they’re not going to be grandparents anytime soon - and for that, they are probably grateful.</p>
<p>as someone who actually was a pregnant high school senior, i don’t get this ‘experiment’. so the point was supposed to be that stereotyping and rumors fly when a girl gets pregnant (and chooses to have the baby) in high school? how is that new and enlightening? </p>
<p>as to the boy’s parents, i think this ‘experiment’ bordered on mental cruelty. why on earth were they not told that this pregnancy wasn’t real?!? i question the judgment of the adults who allowed this omission to take place with respect to his parents. why weren’t they deemed trustworthy enough to be allowed to know that their son was not about to become a father??? “gratitude” at not becoming grandparents aside, i know for a fact that many parents (once they get over the disappointment, shock, and fear) start to look forward to welcoming this unborn child into the family. parents on BOTH SIDES. this deception went too far, and only served to reinforce another commonly-held myth: that smart, college-bound girls never find themselves pregnant as teenagers. </p>
<p>i don’t see anything heroic or courageous or ground-breaking about this ‘experiment’ at all.</p>
<p>I don’t really understand the point of her project (too bad we can’t read her final paper)–what sort of “stereotypes and rumors” was she concerned about? It strikes me that that an unmarried, pregnant teenager has a boatload of issues to confront that are far more serious that what her peers might be whispering about her.</p>
<p>(Cross posted with calimami, who said it better and more fully than I did. And I agree that there was terrible judgment by the adults here.)</p>
<p>the girl did a sociological experiment to reveal the stereotypes used to describe teenage moms and to eliminate the glorification of teenage pregnancy represented in the media…</p>
<p>and we, as parents, cannot truly imagine, as MommaJ says, what problems these kids have to confront in addition to peer abuse…</p>
<p>the boys’ parents thing is cruel and unacceptable…but, honestly, I don’t really believe that the boy didn’t tell them</p>
<p>I don’t get this either. Enough actual pregnant teens that could truly report on the situation. Without the reality of the pregnancy, it is just a charade. I wouldn’t give a dime to this and won’t read, watch or support this. The only thing worse would be if she actually had gotten pregnant to do the study.</p>
<p>Agreed, cpt. Imagine all the young women reading about her “heroism” who actually lived this situation, knowing they can’t just take off a belly belt. It sounds terribly condescending to me–“I will dabble in the lives of the less fortunate”. Real social science would consist of interviewing actual pregnant teens about their actual lives.</p>
<p>According to this article - the boy’s parents did not know the truth - nor did either teen’s siblings. And I agree with previous posters that this was an unnecessary strain on the family.</p>
<p>This reminds me of fat suit experiments - where an attractive teen dons a fat suit and experiences what it is like to be a fat person for a few weeks - to be ridiculed, teased, etc. But - as others have noted - then you get to take the fat suit off and go back to being cute. Interviewing genuinely obese teens and really delving into how it affects them would be more meaningful - just as interviewing real pregnant teens would have yielded the same information. I don’t see the point in her faking a pregnancy.</p>
<p>Maybe if you are 17, you don’t understand that it’s wrong to jerk other people around. But the responsible adults should never have agreed to this deception. What did the young woman say to the boyfriend’s parents at the end? “Ha ha ha, you’re not going to be grandparents after all, April Fool!” </p>
<p>That’s contemptible. They had been thinking for months that their grandchild would soon arrive. Maybe they were appalled. Maybe they were thrilled. Maybe they were both. Nobody has the right to play with other peoples’ emotions like that.</p>
<p>Just a thought, and Dr. Drew kind of eluded to this, maybe the high school girls who are pregnant, will appreciate that someone has taken up a project that will address this serious issue of discrimination. He said the impact of her project won’t be fully known until her paper is released.</p>
<p>She did not do this to the boy’s parents to spite them, and while they may have been upset, hopefully they will see the good that can come out of it. Honestly, all the people who treated her like trash, I hope they’re really feeling bad right now, and I hope anyone at that school who has ever treated any pregnant teen like an outcast sees that it’s not OK to ostracize people. </p>
<p>It has often been said that we will not make any gains toward domestic violence against women until more men start to speak up and vilify the behavior, and while this isn’t an exact parallel, perhaps the message of how horribly pregnant teens are treated needs to come from someone who represents the population of the perpetrators (in this case, non-pregnant teens).</p>
<p>cardinal: so true!!! ‘contemptible’ is the perfect word. i got so angry when reading this story. what kind of adults would agree to sponsor something like this? desperate for their fifteen minutes, i guess. i doubt that the boyfriend’s parents will ever trust this girl again. i wonder how they feel about their son right now?</p>
<p>and for the record: not all pregnant teens are ostracized by their peers. it really depends on the culture of the school, and the (outward) response of teachers/administrators to the pregnancy.</p>
<p>You’re saying that there are pregnant high school girls out there that make it through a whole pregnancy without anyone staring them down, snickering at them, laughing at them behind their backs, calling them names, devalue who they are, etc.? I don’t care where you’re in school or the culture of it, teens are teens and they will be mean.</p>
<p>By the way, the boyfriend is 20 years old, and an adult capable of deciding whether or not he would go along with this or not. Maybe his parents should be mad at him.</p>
<p>of course i’m not suggesting that there won’t be a few jackasses who will make comments and otherwise be stupid. my understanding of the word ‘ostracism’ is that a person feels significantly isolated. that was NOT my experience in 1992. maybe i went to school with unusually kind kids. i know that most of my teachers were very non-judgmental, supportive human beings. administration wouldn’t have tolerated mean behavior. i was very fortunate, i realize that. but the other girls i met (who went to different schools) reported the same thing. but we are talking 18/19 years ago. maybe kids have gotten meaner, but i somehow doubt that.</p>
<p>If we were his parents, I assure you we would be furious. I would not want to hear what my H would have to say about this. This was a moronic idea. Honestly, the young man may have destroyed his relationship with his family.</p>
<p>I’m less than impressed with this young lady’s actions, and I’m absolutely dismayed that the principal saw fit to go along with the ruse. When is it ever OK to use deceit and falsehoods to do intellectual or academic research?</p>
<p>What’s next? Turning in plagiarized papers to English composition teachers to record and report on their responses?</p>