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Teen Vogue Cover Features Pregnant Teen Model
Categories: Teens & tweens, Bump Watch, In The News, Fashion & Clothing
Teen Vogue model Jourdan Dunn is pregnant at 19. Credit: Teen Vogue
The November issue of Teen Vogue has two models on the cover, Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman. Both are 19, and both are black. The article inside is mostly about the success the two young women have achieved and how it is still difficult for black models to get work in the world of fashion.
Our interest is in another aspect of Dunn's life, however -- the fact that she's pregnant.
In July of this year, Jourdan Dunn announced that she would give birth in December of 2009. Well, she sort of announced it. The way we learned about Dunn's bun in the oven was through the following headline on Vogue.com: "Expecting In Style: What The Pregnant Jourdan Should Wear This Fall."Our Teen Vogue insider told us that no one at the magazine knew of Dunn's pregnancy when the photos were taken. But once it came to light, the editorial team felt it was important to interview Dunn on the subject and include it in the November issue, which hits newsstands on Oct. 13.
In the article, Dunn said her pregnancy was "unplanned" and that she had difficulty telling her mother, as well as her agency and boyfriend (in that order).
"When I told my mom, she started crying and blaming herself. She got pregnant with me at the same age, and she said, 'I don't want you to have to go through what I did,'" Dunn told the publication.
The magazine pointed out that "It definitely won't be easy, but Jourdan is also in a unique position for someone her age. Not many nineteen-year-olds have CK Calvin Klein campaigns to fall back on."
Indeed. This past weekend, Dunn appeared on the catwalk for Jean Paul Gaultier, calling attention to her baby bump through haute couture, as reported by our sister site, StyleList.
When such life-altering situations like this one arise, we believe it's an opportunity for magazines to have a bigger dialogue. We're wondering: Was Dunn using birth control? If not, why not? Did she consider having an abortion or putting the baby up for adoption? Or keeping the pregnancy secret?
Teen Vogue made an interesting choice to put a pregnant teen model on its cover. We wonder if she'll be perceived as a role model.
What do you think? What kind of message does a pregnant teenage fashion model send to teenagers?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Emily 10-06-2009 @ 3:57PM
I'm more concerned with how skinny those two girls look. I don't think models are great role models- that's not exactly a career I'd hope for my children to aspire to.
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Patricia 10-06-2009 @ 8:48PM
I think that as long as you are healthy that should be the main concern, some people as just naturally thin.
paymyownway 10-06-2009 @ 8:55PM
VOGUE has changed them from MODELS to POOR ROLE MODELS. This should have been handled quietly and respectfully. Yes it does happen, but VOGUE is way out of line.
I will INTERCEPT my teens TEEN VOGUE and in the TRASH. I do not care what COLOR these girls are (they are beautiful) but this DOES send the WRONG MESSAGE.
GLOMOURIZING TEEN PREGNANCY IS WRONG!
hookmrl 10-06-2009 @ 10:42PM
yea and guess how many millions each week on teens haivng kids no job ,not married and the govt shells out millions each week for them to live this lifestyle
Brooke 10-06-2009 @ 11:38PM
I'm 17 years old and i have been modeling since i was 15, while i do understand where your coming from, there is a huge stereotype regarding models. I must say, i have seen models literally dip cotton balls in orange juice and eat them, usually that is all they eat through out the day. However, i have also met countless models who are very sweet. No one writes about the good, only the bad. My parents refused to allow me to model for some time because of those said stereotypes, but we all really have learned theres good and bad everywhere. Would i recommend modeling as a career? It really depends on the person.
flutterflys2020 10-07-2009 @ 12:08AM
Stop putting the blame on other people for problems your kids have. if a mag cover is gonna alter your childs life then there are deeper issues that need to be fixed. That starts at home not on a mag. cover. Raise your kids right and except the blame for your own falts
elyse Singer 10-07-2009 @ 8:22AM
Although you can't tell she is pregnant in the photo, I think emphasizes a rounder figure instead of the typical impossibly thin bodies would be a nice change. I also think pregnancy, even among teens who want the pregnancy and feel good about it, needs to be celebrated. I fear however that people will respond to this the same way many people misread the movie Juno, and become anti-abortion. I think what we van glean from this cover and from Juno is the importance of CHOICE, whether that choice is to keep the baby or not, choice needs to be emphasized and celebrated. these are our bodies!
melc 10-07-2009 @ 12:39PM
"paymyway" seriously you need to really get a grip. First if it wasn't disclosed that the girl was pregnant your dumb ass wouldn't even know that she is with child. Second it's good to open the lines of communication about things that some people are still afraid to talk to their sons or daughters about. And i don't think TEEN Vogue glamorized her pregnancy.
Krys 10-07-2009 @ 7:58AM
She's 19 people. She's concidered an adult! it's not like they have a 16 yr old pregnant model on the cover.
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K. 10-07-2009 @ 5:57PM
Yes, but she's on the cover of TEEN Vogue. Its target audience is very impressionable.
Barbara 10-06-2009 @ 8:11PM
I don't think of 19 as being a "teen", as in teenage pregnancy. I am also more concerned with the image of underweight, thin young women on the fronts of magazines. It's not normal or healthy to be that thin.
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nadia 10-06-2009 @ 9:31PM
While I agree that yes, she is 19 and not really a "teen", I resent your comment about how thin she is. Many models do watch their weight, but it is not unusual to see a person who is naturally thin as well. I am getting sick of the prejudice towards those who are thin - it is no better than prejudice towards those who are obese.
Al 10-06-2009 @ 9:54PM
She is legally an adult - old enough to make her own decisions (like get married/don't get married; have the baby/have an abortion) - she doesn't need anyone's permission or approval for anything she does. She will reap the rewards and pay the consequences - God Bless her.
stungray 10-07-2009 @ 5:07AM
I know that Models look horribly thin. I'm 5'6 and 103 and I don't do any exercising. I quit ballet 3 years ago after studying for 8 years. Maybe that's why I'm still thin. I eat like any normal person and have had to deal with people telling me rude things about me. Rumors have been spread that I was bulimic and stuff like that. It hurts me when people insult my natural being. If the doctor says I'm healthy as a horse then no one has a right to say any different about me. I seem to always take it personally when people go on about the skinny ones. There is a difference between skinny people. The ones that don't look sickly in the face and the ones that do. But I know many models are "sickly" and many are healthy still. Now about the pregnancy... That's a whole other can of worms....
Megan 10-06-2009 @ 8:09PM
She's 19. That's not exactly too young. I don't think that's teeching teens bad things... Hello. She's going to be taking care of her baby. Just because I find out the model on the cover of Vogue is pregnant.... Doesn't mean I'm going to go have sex...
Come on... She's 19... Not 14 or 15.
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gernine73 10-06-2009 @ 8:33PM
My sentiments exactly, she's a legal adult and she has a career. We're judging on what level? I hope not a moral one on the fact that she's unmarried. We've stop caring about the sanctity of marriage years ago here in the US. I don't feel she owes an explanation to anyone, she's grown and as long as my tax dollars aren't going toward taking care of her and her baby, more power to her.
george9448 10-06-2009 @ 10:33PM
"Teeching" teens?Where do these brainiacs come from?
Angie 10-07-2009 @ 1:48AM
Megan you are soooo right. That is exactly what I was thinking while reading everyones coments. This girl is a big model and will not have any problem supporting her child.
I say good for her for keeping it! :o)
Kristina 10-07-2009 @ 9:36AM
I agree with you one hundred percent! She is not a teenager she is an adult with a career. I think people need to focus on the bigger issues at hand then publicizing something so frivolous
John Hodge 10-07-2009 @ 11:39AM
Being 19 is still being a teen regardless of how you allude to it being something else. Vogue has chosen to go public with their model's private life in order to sell their magazine. The message sent to pre-teens, teens, and young adults speaks clearly to this magazine's lack of corporate morality and its responsibility to their readers. It is a very sad situation and Vogue should be ashamed.