Forever 21. And Pregnant?
I can’t believe that I’m still catching up on current events from when I was on my blog break! Well, this story really struck my fancy since I’m the mom of a teenage girl, I had her when I was a teenager, and I love MTV’s reality show, Teen Mom.
Anyway, this story flew under the radar, so if you missed it here’s the gist: the popular retailer Forever 21 announced that they are launching a maternity line both online and in a select number of their retail locations. If you’re unfamiliar, Forever 21 is best known for their inexpensive, trendy, youthful fashions. They are also less notably known as a Christian-owned organization who have chosen to represent their owners’ Christian beliefs by printing John 3:16 on the bottom of their shopping bags à la In-and-Out Burger.
The accusation made by many (both Christian and secular) is that Forever 21 is promoting teen pregnancy by adding a maternity line. These are the same types of accusations that have been made about shows like Teen Mom and movies like Juno, which some believe glamorize teen pregnancy. For the record, I can’t imagine that these detractors have ever seen either of those. Teen Mom makes teen parenting look absolutely miserable (not to mention featuring a young couple who chose adoption) and Juno was one of the best movies ever.
Here are my three thoughts after reading this coverage:
- Who said only teenagers shop at Forever 21? I know plenty of women in their 20′s who shop there.
- What’s so bad about wanting inexpensive maternity wear? Maternity clothes are expensive!!! Everyone deserves a break on cute, cheap maternity clothes (yes, even pregnant teens – they have to shop somewhere).
- Most importantly, how does selling maternity fashions (or having a reality show on teen pregnancy) promote teen parenting? Shouldn’t we be more concerned about PREVENTING teen pregnancy? Does it matter where pregnant women (adults and teens alike) buy their clothes? I say no.
What do you think about this?
Really? I can’t recall anyone I know who wanted to become pregnant to buy new clothes!
I would be really surprised and would probably weep 24/7 on behalf of all of humanity for the rest of my life if any teenage girl decided to get pregnant based solely on the existence of cute maternity clothes. I agree with you! It shouldn’t matter where a pregnant woman (adult or teen) shops for clothes.
Agree and agree :)
Me wither. I couldn’t believe how many news articles there were suggesting that! I think teenagers are smarter than that!
No teenage girl on earth has ever though to herself, “I need to get bigger so I can wear this top” so no, I don’t think the clothes “promote” teenage pregnancy.
I agree. They story ran everywhere (cnn, salon.com, abc news, etc…). I can;t believe people would actually think that the company could influence teen pregnancy by doing this. Crazy.
No. Selling clothes does not make people pregnant and it does not make them want to be pregnant.
And no. It’s not irresponsible for a Christian company to sell maternity clothes.
Though if they’re selling nursing clothes, they’re probably promoting nursing in public that THAT is irresponsible for a Christian company. (I kid, I kid! I was one of “those” moms!)
Haha! That was funny :)
I shop at Forever 21…a bit. I’m WELL past 21. But I had zero idea it was a Christian owned company. Since you bring it up, I’ll say it’s more irresponsible that half their clothes are ridiculously sexual and immodest. No, I don’t think maternity clothes are promoting teen pregnancy.
However, I have on more than one occasion walked through Target and wished I were pregnant because their maternity clothes are SOOOO FREAKIN CUTE, much cuter than their non-preggo clothes. And I bought a ton of them when I was pregnant. But teens? Not so much. Juno was da bomb.
Where were all of these cute maternity clothes when I was prego!? All of my choices were ugly and EXPENSIVE. I have to buy a maternity black tie/evening gown once. That was fun.
I must say, I am so excited for their maternity line! Forever 21 became big when I was a teenager, and they got me hooked. They know that my demographic is now growing up and having babies, so it is simple supply and demand. I say, smart move. Next pregnancy, I will definitely shop there. Oh, and I also don’t believe in ‘Christian’ companies. Only Christian people : )
Absolutely not.
Now if Gap Kids had a maternity line, there’d be a stronger argument….
how did Juno glamorize teen pregnancy? that girl was pretty darn wrecked by her experience from what i could see. anyways…
this whole Forever 21 “controversy” is ridiculous. i didn’t know they were a “Christian” organization but first and foremost they are a clothing store. there’s a lot of money to be made from maternity clothes. they are business. it all makes sense to me.
oh, and have you seen how young-20-somethings dress? about half of the women in my high school graduating class got pregnant really early in their 20s. that’s not changing any time soon. why not give them an inexpensive option in maternity wear?
i am shaking my head.
I’m in my…*ahem*… thirties… and I still shop at Forever 21.
I’m not in the market for maternity clothes (since I was an unwed(!) teenaged Mom, so I finished cracking out kids when I was pretty young) but my 30 year old sister is still having babies and she loves Forever 21, too.
It seems like some Christians are just searching for things to FREAK OUT about, this is just one more example. It’s embarrassing, really.
I wish I was pregnant right now, I’d shop there for some cute and inexpensive things! {Dreamy sigh…}
I don’t think Forever 21 us promoting teen pregnancy at all. I mean do you think a teenager is stupid enough to say wow this maturnity top is really cuite I should get pregnant so I can fit into it. NO that is just dumb. I think that if a Christian organization wants to carry this product it is perfectly fine
I don’t think so.
My wife was 22 when she was pregnant 5 years ago. It was terrible cause all the maternity clothes were the opposite of awesome. Actually, they were ugly. I think it’s a great idea.
I agree. Tees are way smarter than people are giving them credit for in this case.
I hated my maternity clothes! Diaper bags have improved a million percent since I had a baby too.
Me too! And how are you!?!?
Most of the news pieces I read were from secular sources like CNN, Salon, and ABC news not Christians. Go figure.
I have to believe that people who condemn movies like Juno or shows like Teen Mom have never actually watched them. Teen Mom has got to be the best birth control ever.
Love your comment about Christian companies :)
I’m good…learning to let go of some things and just live faithful. How are you miss wow-you-touch-on-every-crazy-topic-in-the-blogosphere ? ;)
Okay I am so late to this blog party but girl I so agree with you. When I was pregnant, I cried big ugly crocodile tears because the cute clothes were so expensive and the cheap ones?? So ugly I wanted to swear off pregnancy forever. Ha! I don’t believe that it is promoting teen pregnancy. Personally, if secular organizations are crying foul, I have to wonder if maybe they are trying to make Forever21 a scapegoat instead of pointing the fingers back at themselves. Teen pregnancy isn’t on the rise because of clothing (because what girl wants to fit into bigger clothes….ummm let’s think about that!).
I could go on and on and on…great post Nicole.
I doubt any girl ever set out to get pregnant so she could wear cute maternity clothes. But it is nice that women/teens who are pregnant can find cute and affordable clothes.
I used to be a counselor at a pregnancy center, and none of the young girls I ever met was the least bit excited about their expanding middles. Most tried to hide it for as long as possible.
I also think that the percentage of teen moms who actually intended to get pregnant is really low, but it’s those stories that get the most press. So I wholeheartedly agree with you that preventing teen pregnancy should be a bigger concern than a retail store expanding it’s clothing line.
I had the same thought about secular organizations.
I love that you were a counselor at a pregnancy center. Thank you!
Nicole: I am new to this party and a male (came by way of Toby’s Ladies Week). I think the church spends a whole lot of time harping about things that don’t matter when what we should be concerned about (people without jesus) is left on the backburner. I see no reason to jump on Forever21 unless you want publicity yourself. Just my .02 worth.
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