Instead, I have to admit that the BBC TV show Underage and Pregnant is one of my guilty pleasures. It is a little bit trashy, but it is just really fascinating. It's really interesting to learn about the stories of a number of different girls about what led to them becoming pregnant and why they decided to keep the babies and become teenage (underage!) mums. One thing I like about the programme is that they have shown a spectrum of girls from different backgrounds. Of course, there are the 'stereotypical' girls from low-income families, who were always in trouble at school, had a string of boyfriends, and have ended up in council housing. But there are also girls from more affluent families, and where the girls are intending to go off to university one day.
Although I disagree with many of the choices they've made (!), it is actually a strangely inspiring show sometimes. Sometimes I cringe and wish that someone would intervene and take the babies away from the girls who are obviously too immature to deal with the responsiblity (or feel sorry for the girl's parents who end up carrying a lot of the burden of childcare), but more often than not, the girls rise to the challenge of motherhood and put a lot of motivation into making a good life for themselves and their child. I also have a lot of respect for these girls who have decided to keep their babies and own up to the consequences of their actions. It's easy to point a finger, but many of the girls could have decided to have abortions, but chose not to. They chose instead to value the life inside of them and to live with the scorn from others.
I love finding out about other people's lives and what makes them tick. Over the past few months I have watched SO many documentaries. Again, some a little trashy at times perhaps (6 Boys And Wanting a Girl, Surrogate Mothers, Baby Beauty Queens, Jail Date, Mail Order Bride), but fascinating to find out the thoughts and emotions and experiences behind the choices people make. (However, at one point I realised I was watching too many about mums and babies as I dreamt one night that my housemate was pregnant, and later that I was pregnant!)
I think that's also why I like watching vloggers on YouTube. Vlogs may not necessarily delve as deeply into a specific issue as documentaries do, but they do give insight into a person's life and their thoughts and experiences.
I want to understand people better, to find out about lots of different walks of life, so that I can relate to people better. I have my personal beliefs, but I desperately don't want to be closed minded or ignorant. I want to discover what is at the heart of other people so I can interact with them in ways that touch their lives in the best and most sensitive way possible.
So... care to watch a documentary with me, anyone? :)
If anyone is actually reading this, what do you think? What's your opinion on potentially trashy documentaries? Or, what is your TV guilty pleasure (Slightly trashy documentaries are only one of mine! There are more! Oh the shame!)?
