Author: Kristin Karlsson Title: “Sex won't make him yours, and a baby won't make him stay” A study of norms and values in campaigns to prevent teenage pregnancy Supervisor: Maria Bangura Arvidsson The aim of this study was to examine what kind of norms and values programs to prevent teen pregnancy communicate to teenage girls regarding giving birth, sex, contraceptives, abortion and gender. The study was based on document analysis of homepages to two different kinds of programs to prevent teen pregnancy; It’s great to wait and Stay teen. It’s great to wait is an abstinence-only program while Stay teen is a comprehensive program. The analysis was made from a feministic perspective. On It’s great to wait’s homepage there was a clear message that teenagers should abstain from all kind of sexual activity until they get married and that sexual activity outside marriage is likely to have harmful psychological and physiological effects. On Stay teen’s homepage there was a message that teenagers have to make their own choice to either abstain from sex or be sexual active. At the same time abstinence was presented as the best of these choices, by focusing on the disadvantages of having sex and the advantages of abstaining. Both homepages communicated that giving birth as a teenage girl cause a lot of problem for the girl herself, her child and the society. While It’s great to wait portrayed the teenage mother as a victim that has to struggle trough life, Stay teen portrayed her as a “bad mother” who couldn’t take good care of her child. Keywords: Teenage pregnancy, United States, abstinence-only program, gende
