Yes, I Am Going to Write About Jamie Lynn Spears… | Lisa says | ENTERTAINMENT
Yes, I Am Going to Write About Jamie Lynn Spears…
January/13/08 09:06 PM Filed in: Lisa says
Before I start, let me say two things:
I don’t know Jamie Lynn Spears or the Spears family, so all my thoughts are just that…thoughts and conjecture.
When I was 16, I thought I knew pretty much everything about everything. I also believed the corollary, that no one else knew much of anything.
That said, the Jamie Lynn Pregnancy Situation is keeping me up at night. Literally. I worry about everyone involved, including Jamie Lynn, the baby, and all her fans who are suffering collateral damage.
First, Jamie Lynn. I feel sorry for her. I know, I know, but I do. I think she’s a kid who desperately needs love and attention, and consciously or subconsciously, she believes a baby will give her that. Not all that hard to imagine that the younger sister of Britney Spears would feel like she gets less attention than her headline-grabbing sibling. It makes me sad to think that a teenage girl would feel so inadequate and lonely that she would consider having a baby to alleviate some of those feelings. I worry that Jamie Lynn will spend a great deal of her not-quite-adult and adult life trying to win the approval of other people instead of finding self-acceptance. I worry that despite the success and the money and the adoration of fans, she does not feel good about herself. I understand there are people who will point out that Ms. Spears is doing quite well, thank you very much, with more than adequate financial and family support, and she simply chose to have a baby. I hope that’s the case. I really do.
The baby. Yes, I worry about the baby too. Financial well-being does not replace the comfort of a stable, loving home. I believe Jamie Lynn will love this baby and will do her best to take care of it, but it is a rare 16-year-old who is equipped to raise a child. Maybe Jamie Lynn’s team will make sure the baby has professional nannies to care for it, maybe it won’t suffer the public custody horrors its cousins are enduring, but I fear the baby will grow up insecure, always seeking the attention it didn’t get from its mother. Not because its mother was evil, but because its mother was 16 and lacked the skills to raise a well adjusted child. I worry the baby will always try to find the love it didn’t have as a child, setting it up for a lifetime of depression poor self image. I worry the cycle is poised to repeat in the next generation of Spears children.
The fans. There is a legion of children who watch Zoey 101, some of them as young as 7 or 8-years-old, almost all of who know Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. For those children, teen pregnancy is now real. Parents whose who had not planned to discuss sex for months or years are explaining reproduction at dinner tables because children hear that Jamie Lynn Spear is pregnant. Or adults find themselves attempting to explain social and cultural mores that sometimes exceed the emotional capabilities of children. Some young children are perplexed by the fact that Jamie Lynn is not married or that she’s the same age as the babysitter, or they have difficulty figuring out the logistics of how Zoey will work a crib into her room at PCA. None of this may sound significant, but when you’re walking through it, it strikes you that it’s the end of a kind of innocence. One of the early peeks behind the curtain to glimpse the real wizard of oz.
My fear with older fans is mimicry. Jamie Lynn Spears is a role model, and idol, for pre-teen girls. The equation is straight forward and easy; if it was a good idea for Jamie Lynn Spears, maybe it’s a good idea for me. Sounds simplistic, but it’s true. Teenage girls who know another teenager who is pregnant are much more likely than teenage girls who do not know other pregnant teens to become pregnant themselves. Pre-teen and teenage girls could view Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy as an event worth copying. Is that too much of a burden to place on Jamie Lynn? Maybe. Maybe she shouldn’t be a role model. Maybe she shouldn’t care whether girls across the United States want to copy her. But they do. And while the leap from wearing a single key on a necklace – like Zoey does – to becoming pregnant as a teenager – like Jamie Lynn did – may seem gigantic, it is actually much smaller than we would like to believe.
I don’t know what the answer is. Pre-paid lifetime therapy? Maybe. Or maybe Jamie Lynn is perfectly well-adjusted, the baby will grow up happy and healthy, and the fans are fine. Or maybe the problem isn’t really Jamie Lynn, the baby, or the impact of a high profile teenage pregnancy on all the rest of us. Maybe I just need a prescription for Lunesta, some rest, and to catch up on the laundry that is piling up while I’m worrying about the Spears family. I hope so. I really, really do.
I don’t know Jamie Lynn Spears or the Spears family, so all my thoughts are just that…thoughts and conjecture.
When I was 16, I thought I knew pretty much everything about everything. I also believed the corollary, that no one else knew much of anything.
That said, the Jamie Lynn Pregnancy Situation is keeping me up at night. Literally. I worry about everyone involved, including Jamie Lynn, the baby, and all her fans who are suffering collateral damage.
First, Jamie Lynn. I feel sorry for her. I know, I know, but I do. I think she’s a kid who desperately needs love and attention, and consciously or subconsciously, she believes a baby will give her that. Not all that hard to imagine that the younger sister of Britney Spears would feel like she gets less attention than her headline-grabbing sibling. It makes me sad to think that a teenage girl would feel so inadequate and lonely that she would consider having a baby to alleviate some of those feelings. I worry that Jamie Lynn will spend a great deal of her not-quite-adult and adult life trying to win the approval of other people instead of finding self-acceptance. I worry that despite the success and the money and the adoration of fans, she does not feel good about herself. I understand there are people who will point out that Ms. Spears is doing quite well, thank you very much, with more than adequate financial and family support, and she simply chose to have a baby. I hope that’s the case. I really do.
The baby. Yes, I worry about the baby too. Financial well-being does not replace the comfort of a stable, loving home. I believe Jamie Lynn will love this baby and will do her best to take care of it, but it is a rare 16-year-old who is equipped to raise a child. Maybe Jamie Lynn’s team will make sure the baby has professional nannies to care for it, maybe it won’t suffer the public custody horrors its cousins are enduring, but I fear the baby will grow up insecure, always seeking the attention it didn’t get from its mother. Not because its mother was evil, but because its mother was 16 and lacked the skills to raise a well adjusted child. I worry the baby will always try to find the love it didn’t have as a child, setting it up for a lifetime of depression poor self image. I worry the cycle is poised to repeat in the next generation of Spears children.
The fans. There is a legion of children who watch Zoey 101, some of them as young as 7 or 8-years-old, almost all of who know Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant. For those children, teen pregnancy is now real. Parents whose who had not planned to discuss sex for months or years are explaining reproduction at dinner tables because children hear that Jamie Lynn Spear is pregnant. Or adults find themselves attempting to explain social and cultural mores that sometimes exceed the emotional capabilities of children. Some young children are perplexed by the fact that Jamie Lynn is not married or that she’s the same age as the babysitter, or they have difficulty figuring out the logistics of how Zoey will work a crib into her room at PCA. None of this may sound significant, but when you’re walking through it, it strikes you that it’s the end of a kind of innocence. One of the early peeks behind the curtain to glimpse the real wizard of oz.
My fear with older fans is mimicry. Jamie Lynn Spears is a role model, and idol, for pre-teen girls. The equation is straight forward and easy; if it was a good idea for Jamie Lynn Spears, maybe it’s a good idea for me. Sounds simplistic, but it’s true. Teenage girls who know another teenager who is pregnant are much more likely than teenage girls who do not know other pregnant teens to become pregnant themselves. Pre-teen and teenage girls could view Jamie Lynn’s pregnancy as an event worth copying. Is that too much of a burden to place on Jamie Lynn? Maybe. Maybe she shouldn’t be a role model. Maybe she shouldn’t care whether girls across the United States want to copy her. But they do. And while the leap from wearing a single key on a necklace – like Zoey does – to becoming pregnant as a teenager – like Jamie Lynn did – may seem gigantic, it is actually much smaller than we would like to believe.
I don’t know what the answer is. Pre-paid lifetime therapy? Maybe. Or maybe Jamie Lynn is perfectly well-adjusted, the baby will grow up happy and healthy, and the fans are fine. Or maybe the problem isn’t really Jamie Lynn, the baby, or the impact of a high profile teenage pregnancy on all the rest of us. Maybe I just need a prescription for Lunesta, some rest, and to catch up on the laundry that is piling up while I’m worrying about the Spears family. I hope so. I really, really do.