How brave and smart is this girl?

[SpringchickenGoldBrass]

Astoundingly. I wish I had had the nerve to do something like that in my teens.

Wow. That's enormously impressive and fairly amazing that she pulled it off. I wish her boyfriend's parents had been in on the secret though - they must feel quite odd about their imaginary grandchild.

I don't really understand the point of the experiment, the school part maybe but to her own and her boyfriends family? Will they not have to go through a grieving process for the grandchild/nephew etc they thought was going to arrive? Seems cruel to me.
I think she could have made a powerful piece about actual teen mums. She obviously achieved what she wanted to but doesn't sit right with me.

Bloody hell, that is some dedication and bravery...I also wish I had been brave enough to put myself in the line of fire like that. It makes such a powerful point on social mores and perceptions.

The point of the experiment was to deliver a massive public slap to people's prejudices about young women's sexual morality. And I think she did it very effectively.
Interesting that the only people you feel sympathy for are the boyfriend's parents, though. HOw do you know they weren't threatening to cut the boyfriend off, or insisting he dump her or make her have an abortion?

It wasn't mentioned in the article, where it would have been relevant, and so I don't see a reason to presume the worst.

amazing tenacity. eyebrow raising. thought provoking and very brave.

It would have been interesting if the boyfriend had recorded the comments and attitudes of others to him as the father of the baby, and then compared the two sides.

the article mentioned that the bfs parents thought it was going to be a boy - which means they had thought about a real baby and their lives in connection to that child.

i do agree on this point, that there may be a grieving process, in fact - if it were my sons girlfriend - i can see how invested i would be - even if i were disappointed

I think she was wrong to mislead so many people.

If my son's girlfriend was pregnant at 16 I would of course be disappointed but I would also feel very emotionally invested in that pregnancy and my first grandchild's arrival. If it was my younger sister I would feel the same. "When you're running a social experiment, you're dealing with human emotions. The human person in me felt I had been lied to." yeah imagine that from a family member. I think I'd have real trouble forgiving my sons girlfriend if she used me like this.
I would actually be more interested in the comments the young would be father received. That's not something that's often talked about. And here it doesn't get a mention either.

dittany and bodyofeeyore are spot on.

I kind of agree that it was wrong. If she was doing a social experiment on how people deal with terminal illness and pretended to have cancer for example, I doubt she would have been congratulated.

Although I agree it might have been a more interesting experiment if comments to/about her bf had been recorded. And investigated the difference of how society treat teenage mothers compared to teenage fathers

I think the stunt was wrong too. And of course she wasn't really "experiencing what it's like to be pregnant" because she knew that her future life wouldn't be restricted by a baby, she wasn't experiencing morning sickness or having to worry about whether the baby was growing healthily, she didn't have to worry about getting through labour etc. It's not as bad as 'blacking up' in order to experience racism, but it's the same sort of principle.

Surely it would have been more informative to interview and study real teenage mums.

I think a day walking around, appearing to be pregnant and seeing the reaction from other people would have been enough.
I bet people were buying things for the baby.

Gah! I loathe anything set up to deliberately mislead people.

Agree with melpomene

If someone that I was close to lied to me about being pregnant, for the sake of a school project, I would feel hugely hurt and betrayed. People will have worried about her, thought about her future and how they could help her, looked forward to seeing the baby - only to find it was a lie. This seems wrong to me on so many levels.

I still think she did an admirable thing. Remember the US has a much nastier attitude to teen sexuality than the UK, between the nati-abortion nutjobs and the hideous fathers-as-custodians-of-their-daughters-vaginas Purity Movement, giving them a big shake up was a good thing to do.

I don't really see how this gave anyone a big shake up, other than giving them a huge surprise at having been deceived.

I really don't see the point of this experiment. I thought the most telling part of the whole article was the detailed description of her "form-fitting prom dress" at the end.

Don't see that is was brave at all. As a parent of a teenage ds, this would have had a huge impact on me and dh.