Week 11 – Data Collection. I’m Pregnant! Now What?

I’m Pregnant. Now What? is written with an overall feminist theme. The book explains and details many of the different options that are available to pregnant teenage females that are all possible due to the feminist movement. These options include abortion, adoption, the availability of contraceptives and the option to raise the child on your own.

The book does not use clear-cut feminist terms such as equality, empowerment or encouragement per say, however the following provides
an example of feminist statements from the book:

“Do not bottle up your feelings; it only makes the problem worse. It’s ok to talk about having second thoughts”. (pg. 25)

“If you don’t want to get married, don’t! No one can force you.” (pg 31)

“If your boyfriend failed to come through, don’t think the situation is unmanageable. It will just be a bit more challenging.” (pg.43)

“Single parenthood does not have to be the end of the world. It is hard- after all, without a partner you have to shoulder more responsibility.     |You have twice the chores and only half the support. But with community and family help, single parenthood can be made easier”. (pg.48)

“Sometimes there are good reasons for abortions, and you should not have to feel condemned by a society that cannot come to a consensus on the subject.” (p.52)

“Just because you are young, vulnerable and asking for assistance should not mean that you have to give up ability to choose.” (pg.58)

“You cannot force your girlfriend to have the baby if she opts for an abortion. Because it is her body, the decision is ultimately hers to make.” (pg.64)

“You cannot undo your past, but you can enhance what you have now.” (pg.157)

“Last of all, no one can guarantee that he pain will go away, but you can live through it. Many people have.” (pg.187)

Along with such supporting ideas, the authors also state the harsh reality of becoming a pregnant teenage. In today’s society, the idea of
becoming pregnant at such a young age is still a very sensitive subject and frowned down upon by many. With such a controversial issue, you are bound to come upon some discouraging and daunting beliefs. This book gives you the hope and the confidence to survive what could potentially be an extremely frightening ordeal.
After reading Feminism; A Movement to End Sexist Oppression by hooks there are two themes that I think directly relate to I’m Pregnant. Now What? The first idea is that “woman may support specific issues while divorcing themselves from what they assume is feminist movement.”(hooks, pg 24) Most women are grateful to have the ability to make our own decisions.  We are thankful to have the ability to raise the child on our own with out being forced to depend on a male figure. As a pregnant female, most would support the ability to decide to have
an abortion if one would like or make the decision to give the child up for adoption. However some of these girls who have a child at such a young age never finish high school, they drop out to care for the child, abruptly ending any sort of successful future or career. Due to being such a young age, in sure most of these girls have not had the chance to fully explore the idea and theories of feminism. Due to this lack of knowledge you can assume they don’t have a clear definition of the term feminism and as a result these girls are reluctant to advocate feminist.
The second theory from hooks is “many women feel their lives as they live them are important and valuable. Naturally the suggestion that these lives could be simply left or abandoned for an alterative “feminist” lifestyle met with resistance. Feeling their life experience devalued, deemed solely negative and worthless, many woman responded by vehemently attacking feminism.” (hooks, pg 29) More often then not, after having a child, these teenagers feel that their life is over. I am not suggesting that they are attacking feminism, however I do think that these females are not taking advantage of all the opportunities there are out there. Because society has such a negative view of teenage pregnancies, most females consider themselves a failure. They are embarrassed, scared and lonely. None of these terms coincide with the idea of being a
feminist.

After reading Three Waves of Feminism by Krolokke and Sorensen I believe that I’m Pregnant. Now What? aligns with aspects of both the second and third wave of feminism. According to Krolokke and Sorensen, second wave feminism is the fight for both politically and in their own private lives for women’s right to abortion, divorce, and nonlegislative partnership (pg. 7). It is because of this second wave that this book contains chapter on having the right to an abortion. The third wave of feminism generally sees themselves of capable, strong and assertive social agents. (Krolokke & Sorensen, pg.15) it is due this that some of the teenage girls have the confidence to raise the child on their own. These girls are “criticizing earlier feminist waves for presenting universal answers of definitions of womanhood”.(pg. 17)  These young females do not the follow the traditional rules of motherhood, the idea that you have to fall in love and get married before having a child. Whether they know it or not, they are “redefining feminism.” (pg. 17)