Teen Vogue Magazine cover accused of glamourising young pregnancy

October 30, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: News, Pregnancy

19-year-old Jourdan Dunn from Britain is featured on the US magazine, “Teen Vogue” and while showing no signs of a baby bump on the cover, inside she is interviewed and says she is due in December.

Opposed to warning teens about pregnancy at an age of immaturity, the magazine has been slammed by critics for making light of teen parenthood and potentially glamorising it.

Amy Astley, Teen Vogue’s editor-in-chief, said the magazine didn’t find out about Jourdan’s pregnancy until after the cover shoot but that editors had not even considered pulling the cover when they did.

Astley said in a statement: “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,”

“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.”

Valerie Huber, the executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association said: “Teen parenting isn’t glamorous, even if you are a teen model,”

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.”