Pregnant covergirl of Teen Vogue raises eyebrows
DALLAS — A model on the November cover of Teen Vogue is a 19-year-old who reveals in the magazine that she is pregnant.
Jourdan Dunn is not visibly pregnant on the cover, and Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley said the magazine didn’t know about Dunn’s pregnancy until after the photo shoot. But she said that editors didn’t consider pulling the cover Dunn shares with fellow model Chanel Iman.
“Teen pregnancy is a difficult, real-life issue that Teen Vogue readers (with an average age of 18) are mature enough to be exposed to,” Astley said in a statement. “Teen Vogue felt it was important to support, not punish, Jourdan Dunn, who contributed to a beautiful photo shoot and who will surely have an ongoing and successful career in fashion.”
The cover has raised eyebrows among some parents, teens and advocates against teen pregnancy.
“There’s no message to send to them that that’s not OK. Maybe if she’s on the cover to tell them ‘Be careful,’ that’s one thing,” said Catherine Essig, a 19-year-old sophomore at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University, who was concerned about 15- and 16-year-old readers.
Many advocates said parents should use the cover as a way to talk to their kids about sex and the importance of planning pregnancies for the right moment in their lives.
“Teen parenting isn’t glamorous, even if you are a teen model,” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association.
A message left by The Associated Press at Dunn’s New York City agency was not immediately returned. The London native told Teen Vogue that her unplanned pregnancy has been hard.
“All I could think about was what my mom was going to say, my agency, my boyfriend,” said Dunn, who is expecting a boy in December. “When I told my mom, she started crying and blaming herself. She got pregnant with me at the same age, and she said, ‘I don’t want you to have to go through what I did.’”
The magazine should be used as a teachable moment because the media and popular culture help shape “the social script for teenagers,” said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
“It shapes what they think is cool, is not cool, what’s in, what’s out, what’s acceptable, what seems to be the social norm,” he said. “It’s not the only influence and I’d suggest not the most powerful, but it is an influence.”
But parents, he said, shouldn’t underestimate their own power.
“Young people tell us time and time again that parents — not the media, not their partners, not their peers — parents most influence their decisions about sex,” he said.
After a record high in the early 1990s, the teen birth rate in the U.S. dropped 34 percent from 1991 to 2005. But between 2005 and 2007, it increased 5 percent, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
A lack of family planning remains a problem even as women get older — 70 percent of pregnancies among 18 to 29-year-olds are unplanned, Albert said.
The magazine cover story mainly focuses on the two models’ friendship, which grew chilly over competition for a time, and their experiences as black models in the fashion world.
Jill Taylor, chair of the women and gender studies department at Simmons College in Boston, said that she would have liked to have seen the magazine use the model’s pregnancy to provide more information about teen pregnancy.
“Fourteen and 15-year-olds reading it don’t have an idea how hard it is for most single mothers having babies. She’s got resources,” Taylor said.
That difference between Dunn and most teens could be a starting point for a discussion about timing.
“What do you want to have in place when you get pregnant?” asked Dr. Janet Realini, president of the Healthy Futures, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing teen and unplanned pregnancies in San Antonio and Texas. “For teens, we mostly want them to think about staying in school, finding the person who is right for them.”
As a mother of four and a co-founder of a Plano-based faith-based group that advocates abstinence, 42-year-old Kim Hinkle said that while she might not like her teens to see a pregnant model on the cover of a magazine, she understands it’s a topic that is pervasive in society.
She agreed with experts who said the article could start discussions.
“As a mother, it’s hard because you’ve got to live in their reality,” she said.
On the Net:
Teen Vogue: www.teenvogue.com
Related News
Ay Carumba! Bart's mom to be on cover of PlayboyOctober 9th, 2009 Playboy turning cover over to Marge SimpsonCHICAGO — Marge is about to do something Homer might not approve of. Playboy magazine is turning over its cover to the matriarch of Springfield's first family: Marge Simpson.
Reports: Conde Nast to shutter Gourmet as magazine ad slump persistsOctober 5th, 2009 Reports: Gourmet, 3 other magazines to closeNEW YORK — Gourmet, the nation's oldest food magazine, is closing. That's according to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, which reported Monday that Gourmet's owner, Conde Nast Publications Inc., is shuttering the title along with Modern Bride, Elegant Bride and Cookie, a parenting magazine.
Polish court fines Catholic magazine for comparing woman who sought abortion to NazisSeptember 23rd, 2009 Polish magazine fined over anti-abortion pieceWARSAW, Poland — A Polish court on Wednesday ordered a Roman Catholic magazine to pay a fine and apologize to a woman for likening her to a killer for wanting an abortion and equating the practice with Nazi crimes. Judge Ewa Solecka ruled Wednesday that Catholics are free to express their moral disapproval of abortion — and even call it murder — but in a general way that stops short of vilifying an individual.
In 'Hungry,' plus-size model Crystal Renn says she's living in the body she was meant to haveAugust 27th, 2009 Plus-size model Crystal Renn fits in her own skinNEW YORK — Crystal Renn was miserable as a super-thin model who had heart palpitations when she'd worry that there might be calories in Diet Coke. Her moment of epiphany came when "I couldn't walk another step without being exhausted, or having hair clumps falling out." She knew she needed to live in the body she was supposed to have — specifically a curvy size 12.
Outed blogger who anonymously flamed model, now easily Googled by name, says privacy violatedAugust 24th, 2009 Outed blogger who flamed model angry at GoogleNEW YORK — A blogger who called a magazine cover model offensive names on a Web site says Google failed to protect her right to privacy. Rosemary Port tells the New York Daily News in Sunday editions that she's angry that Google unmasked her after a Manhattan judge forced the company to reveal her identity.
Outed blogger who anonymously trashed model on Web site, says Google violated her privacyAugust 24th, 2009 Outed blogger who trashed model is angry at GoogleNEW YORK — A blogger who called a magazine cover model offensive names on a Web site says Google failed to protect her right to privacy. Rosemary Port tells the Daily News in Sunday editions that she's angry that Google unmasked her after a Manhattan judge forced the company to reveal her identity.
Model who sued Google to unmask anonymous NY blogger who called her names forgives herAugust 20th, 2009 Model forgives New York blogger who maligned herNEW YORK — A magazine model has finally confronted an anonymous female blogger who called her offensive names on a Google Web site. Liskula Cohen, who successfully sued Google to unmask the blogger, told "Good Morning America" Wednesday that she called her tormentor and said she forgives her.
Time Inc. shuttering Alabama-based Southern Accents magazineAugust 6th, 2009 Time Inc. shuttering Southern Accents magazineBIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Another part of the Birmingham-based Southern Progress magazine company is folding.
Court: Hustler magazine illegally published nude photos of WWE wrestler Benoit's dead wifeJune 26th, 2009 Court: Hustler wrong to print dead woman's photosATLANTA — A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Hustler Magazine didn't have the right to publish decades-old nude photographs of the wife of wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed the woman and his young son before committing suicide two years ago. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling found that a notorious death doesn't give publishers a blank check to publish any images they wish — including those not linked to a newsworthy event.
Obama proposes eliminating state grants for abstinence educationMay 8th, 2009 Budget cuts abstinence education programWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants to eliminate more than $100 million in spending on abstinence-only education, directing the money instead to teen pregnancy-reduction programs that don't take the no-sex approach. The proposal in Obama's 2010 budget plan released Thursday could run into opposition from conservatives.
Bristol Palin, in NY for teen pregnancy town hall meeting, says abstinence is best choiceMay 6th, 2009 Bristol Palin says abstinence best path for teensNEW YORK — Unwed mother Bristol Palin says abstinence is a realistic way for teens to avoid unwanted pregnancy and says if she could do it all over again, she would've waited to have sex. The 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov.
Unwed mother Bristol Palin, governor's daughter, joining teen pregnancy prevention campaignMay 5th, 2009 Bristol Palin promotes teen pregnancy preventionANCHORAGE, Alaska — Unwed mother Bristol Palin is going to take part in a national campaign to help raise awareness for teen pregnancy prevention. The 18-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov.
TV show 'Povich' joins national campaign to prevent teen and unplanned adult pregnancyMay 1st, 2009 'Povich' joins campaign to prevent teen pregnancyLOS ANGELES — Maury Povich's daytime talk show is joining in a national campaign to prevent teen and unplanned young adult pregnancy. Povich and his show are working with a nonprofit organization on the multimedia campaign aimed at educating young people about the health and social consequences of pregnancy.
Conde Nast closing business magazine Portfolio, two years after glitzy launchApril 27th, 2009 Conde Nast closing Portfolio magazineNEW YORK — Conde Nast is shuttering the business magazine Portfolio and its Web site, Portfolio.com. Portfolio launched in May 2007 as a glossy, high-end rival to business magazines such as Fortune, Forbes and BusinessWeek.
Conde Nast ends business magazine Portfolio and cuts its 80 jobs, 2 years after glitzy launchApril 27th, 2009 Conde Nast closes Portfolio magazine; 80 jobs lostLOS ANGELES — The business magazine Portfolio is closing down and laying off more than 80 people, just two years after launching with $100 million in backing and visions of becoming a high-end rival to the likes of Fortune, Forbes and BusinessWeek. Conde Nast Publications Inc., the upscale magazine giant run by billionaire S.I.
Loading ...