Pregnant Teen Vogue model raises eyebrows

By JAMIE STENGLE Comments 0
Published: November 3, 2009

DALLAS — A model on the November cover of Teen Vogue is a 19-year-old who reveals in the magazine that she is pregnant.

Jourdan Dunn is not visibly pregnant on the cover, and Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Amy Astley said the magazine didn’t know about Dunn’s pregnancy until after the photo shoot.

She said that editors didn’t consider pulling the cover Dunn shares with model Chanel Iman.

"Teen pregnancy is a difficult, real-life issue that Teen Vogue readers (with an average age of 18) are mature enough to be exposed to,” Astley said in a statement. "Teen Vogue felt it was important to support, not punish, Jourdan Dunn, who contributed to a beautiful photo shoot and who will surely have an ongoing and successful career in fashion.”

The cover has raised eyebrows among some parents, teens and advocates against teen pregnancy.

Many advocates said parents should use the cover as a way to talk to their kids about sex and the importance of planning pregnancies for the right moment in their lives.

"Teen parenting isn’t glamorous, even if you are a teen model,” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association.

The magazine should be used as a teachable moment because the media and popular culture help shape "the social script for teenagers,” said Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.