Bristol Palin: One of Many
Bristol Palin is back in the news this week after giving an interview to Harpers Bazaar magazine. In it, she talks about what it was like being pregnant at 17, how she supports her son, and her relationship with Levi Johnston, her son’s father.
What I would like to know is this: why is the media treating Bristol as if she’s a one-of-a-kind teen mother? Why are we shocked by Bristol’s experience? Bristol Palin is having the same problems and issues that the majority of teen moms are having across the country.
Pregnant at 17
If teens are not educated about sex and contraception, they will be unable to prevent teen pregnancy or STI transmission. Bristol’s mother, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, is a staunch supporter of abstinence-until-marriage education, and Bristol says her parents never talked to her about sex. “It’s not like 
we all sat down and were like, ‘Alright, here’s the birds and the bees.’ Truly, my parents just assumed that I wasn’t doing anything. And it was a shock for us all,” she says. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy says that 91% of teens think it’s important to get a strong message about sex.
Teens that are sexually active but are not using contraception have a 90% chance of getting pregnant within a year. But only 21 states allow teens to get contraceptives without parental approval or notification. The other states require parental consent, forcing teens to hide their sexual practices from their families and therefore have unprotected sex. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 85 teenage girls get pregnant each hour.
The headline on AOL.com/news this morning was “Bristol Palin Says Being Pregnant Was ‘Humiliating.’” I’m sure it was very difficult for her. And while they didn’t have to be pregnant on national TV, I’m sure being pregnant at 17 was “humiliating” and difficult for the 745,000 teens that get pregnant every year in the US.
From the Harpers Bazaar article: “Bristol knew people at her high school were watching and gossiping about her, as she stood beside her mother on national television with a growing baby bump. “It was kind of humiliating … Great, I’m 17 years old, I’m 40 pounds overweight with a big belly on me, all my friends are at school watching this on the news. This kind of sucks,” she laments.”
Making Ends Meet as a Teen Mom
Bristol is currently living in a condo with a roommate and her son, and says that she provides for her son completely on her own. The assumption has been that the Palin family provides Bristol with help and aid that many other teen moms would love. But Bristol proudly states that she is “’on my own. I’m really proud of it. I’m a hard worker … I don’t have time for friends or anything like that. It’s just like, Right, crap, there is a hockey game tonight that I want to go to, but I can’t. Or, I do have to go to work today, because I’ve got bills to pay.’”
Bristol is working as a medical assistant in a Dermatologist’s office, and speaks out for abstinence education for the Candies Foundation. She, like many teen mothers, had hopes of a college education. “I thought I would be somewhere warm at college with my friends, but that was definitely not possible with having Tripp.” While Bristol has broken some barriers and finished high school (only 30% of teen moms have a high school diploma by age 30), she’s following suit on college. Only 1.5% of teen moms have a college degree by age 30.
Single Parenthood
Levi Johnston was present when his son was born, and was engaged to Bristol for several months, but called off the
wedding in March 2009. “I just ignore it. He is a stranger to me,” Bristol says about Levi’s activities, such as posing for Playgirl. “I don’t want to get into it. It’s just dirty laundry.”
Again, the fact that Bristol is no longer with the father of her child is not rare. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy shows that only 20% of teen moms marry their child’s father. 80% of teen moms are single moms, and 80% of teen moms end up on welfare.
I think that Bristol Palin is doing exactly what she should- providing for her son and being a good mom. She’s making ends meet, and if that means taking $30,000 for a speech here and there, go for it. But I find it troubling that the media thinks Bristol’s story is rare. In reality, there are thousands more like her across the country: teens who should be getting ready for the prom or to head off to college, who are, instead, changing diapers and trying to put food on the table. These teens need help and acknowledgement too.
