That's obnoxious.

that is the most rediculous thing I believe I have ever seen. For shame.

That's just it, Bear. After 8 years of Clinton there IS NO SHAME!

So its okay for a female to show a little skin when she dresses up for a fun occasion, as long as she's not pregnant?? How sad that you all view the pregnant female form as obnoxious, ridiculous and shameful. Displaying your pregnancy is shameful?? I think its wonderful that she felt confident and beautiful -- exactly how you SHOULD feel when you're pregnant. I love seeing pregnant women show off their bellies - wish I had been that confident during my pregnancies. And if your problem is that she's going to a prom, well, you know what? You don't know a damn thing about her life. For all you know, she might be an honors graduate planning to attend college. For all you know, she wanted an abortion and couldn't afford one or find an abortion provider (if you're pro-life, you ought to applaud pregnant prom queens; if you're pro-choice, you're supposed to support her right to continue her pregnancy). For all you know, she's married. For all you know, she'll be a great mom. Christ almighty, what's wrong with giving PEOPLE YOU DON"T KNOW in CIRCUMSTANCES YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT the benefit of the doubt rather than automatically putting them down??

Thought the following article was germane. Sorry, it makes the comment quite long.

In Defense of the Pregant Prom Queen
by Katie Allison Granju

A few months ago I read an article about a high school in Florida that included a section in its yearbook featuring the students at the school who are also parents. Controversy erupted as many in the community objected vociferously to this supposed glorification of "teen pregnancy."

I, on the other hand, found it a nice way to honor the accomplishments of this high school's student-parents. As anyone who has attended school of any kind while a parent will tell you, parenting as a student is damned hard work. I know because I had my first baby while in college and my second baby while in grad school. Juggling baby, bills, and books was mind-numbingly difficult, even with significant family help. So I feel confident in suggesting that the young women who are mothers and students at that high school are pulling off something far more challenging—and certainly more important—than the girls on the cheerleading squad.

Additionally, I worked for two years in the early '90s as a counselor in a Knoxville-area residential facility for teenagers in foster care and their babies. It was and is a unique program that allows these young mothers to remain with their own children rather than separating them by sending the mother and her child to two separate foster homes. I watched these young women bond with and care for their babies, and I observed the way they were treated with utter disdain by many teachers, employers, and the community at large. That experience opened my eyes to the fact that modern American attitudes toward mothers under the age of 20 constitute a particularly nasty but acceptable cultural prejudice.

Why is a 17-year-old woman with a baby automatically seen as some kind of social disease, but a 22-year-old mother is not? These are not "teen mothers," any more than African American women are "black mothers" or women who work full time are "day care mothers." They are just mothers, like all the rest of us; giving birth to and trying to raise our children as well as we can. Imagine the outcry if the media began referring to the many 45-year-old women who spend tens of thousands of dollars on fertility treatments, only to end up paying a much younger woman to actually provide a viable uterus or eggs, as "vanity mothers," or "elderly mothers," or "crone mothers." I don't think this would go over too well.

While there are certain parenting practices that are acknowledged as universally harmful to children, such as physical or emotional abuse, or neglect, the converse is not necessarily true. There are many ways to be a good mother, or as Bruno Bettelheim put it, "a good enough mother." By most people's standards, I was in no way fit or ready to be a mother on that day in 1991 when my baby was placed in my arms for the first time. We were too young, we were too poor, we hadn't completed our education, our relationship was brand new and pretty unstable.... But because my son's father and I were lucky enough to be surrounded by people who both offered support and believed in our abilities as parents, we were able to rise to the challenge.

Most teenage girls who become pregnant did not intend to do so. According to a review of American teen pregnancy statistics from the journal Family Planning Perspectives, a large percentage of the fathers of babies born to teenagers are men over the age of 20. Many have exerted some sort of coercion or control over the mothers in question. And many teenage mothers find that parenthood makes pursuing their goals of higher education or career growth extremely difficult.

The answers to these important issues are to not condemn and stigmatize mothers who are teens, but instead to work toward a society where every woman, young and old, has access to health education and health care, as well as the confidence and right to control her own body. And our schools must accommodate the fact that some students are parents, and offer the same flexibility that mothers who work have begun demanding of employers in recent years. Parenthood shouldn't automatically signal an end to educational opportunities for young women.

There is nothing inherently shameful about young motherhood. It isn't a dirty secret of some kind. We should resist our cultural inclination to turn mothers who are teenagers into pariahs. Age alone does not define a woman's ability to nurture and guide her child.

Katie Allison Granju lives in Knoxville and is the author of "Attachment Parenting" (Simon and Schuster/1999). Her home on the web is locoparentis.blogspot.com.
May 15, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 20
© 2003 Metro Pulse

I just find the picture damned funny!

Come'on hope. You don't think that outfit makes her look a little funny?

The only problem I have with teenage pregnancy is when they come looking for hand outs and child tax credits.

I'm also a firm believer that having the child's father around, which many teenage moms do not, is integral to child development. Given that she's attending prom, who knows, maybe they are/will be married.

"There is nothing inherently shameful about young motherhood."

Okay, I'm gonna pull a Bill O'Riely here.... The comment was made that blah blah blah, I don't know all her cercumstances. Whatever! I can only assume, but here's the deal... The article makes me assume that this particular young lady was not married, such said I have to be ashamed that she would get pregnant. NOW, I know people make mistakes, and for that, I don't speak a word to put her down. I commend her for actually carrying the baby, and if she's not able to care for him/her, then put the baby up for adoption.

My problem is the fact that today, pregnancy is soooooo flippin "common" among teens (especially African American's) that anyone would consider this "IN YOUR FACE" dress okay. Its like she's saying "Look at me, I don't fuckin' care about morals and standards, and I'm going to do whatever I want, without any consideration of who I might bring into this world!"

Her attitude by wearing this dress is a direct slap and a spit in the face any type of morals we have left in our time. Not only that, but I don't want to see a big friggin belly in my face, especially if I go to a prom. Had she been at my senior prom, I would leave and encourage all my "sane" friends to do the same. And whats with that hair?!?!

The in your face attitude is why I am ashamed of her, and our society for commending her type of behavior. You people need to grow up and learn right from wrong, then come back and judge what I say.

Well, Mr Mays, I'll just post one more here, to say that I don't at all agree that getting pregnant when you're a teen means you have no morals or standards. What we're really talking about here, you know, is whether teens having SEX is morally ok or not. I happen to think that in a truly consensual situation, no moral standards are broken. If some folks think sex should be saved for marriage, that's certainly their right. But I don't think the morality of sexuality has anything to do with marital status. Don't get me wrong - there are TONS of teens having sex who shouldn't be - the ones who do it out of peer pressure or partner pressure or who take advantage of a partner's emotions or impaired mental state (ie, drunkenness, etc). But the fact that they aren't married doesn't weigh on the morality of it. I certainly think they should be smart about pregnancy and disease prevention. Anyway, I had sex as a teen, had lots of non-married sex throughout my life, and you know what? I'm now a married, responsible, taxpaying, houseowning, mother of two who tries to do the right thing in my life.

Well have fun telling your kids you were a whore as a teen and before you got married.

Wonder if her prom date is the actual father...?

Mr. Mays - What an incredibly asinine comment. I don't mind when people disagree with me. I respect people for saying what they think and arguing their points in a rational and well-informed manner. But taking cheap personal shots only means you put yourself on the list of "people not to take seriously".

I agree. There is no need to resort to name calling.

Folks, some of us are taking this picture way too seriously. No one can judge this person's character or morality by this snapshot. That's part of what's wrong in the world today--people making snap judgments about others based on appearances.

But I think most of us can agree that this dress is TACKY, period.

What a fascinating discussion that results from a trainwreck of a photo! :) I agree that pregnant women should feel sexy and confident, but wearing a dress that covers the skin can also be sexy ... more so, in fact. A girl who's not pregnant couldn't wear a dress like that to the prom, and this chick should be held to the same standards of good taste.

The day before I went on prom, my mother was told me about the "pregnant prom dress." Initally, I thought it to be a bit funny, but not really a big deal (this day in age you get used to seeing it). Nowadays the teenage pregnancy rate is a growing. I'm not condoning it, but since she had enough pride to wear that; then that was her choice. She should not feel shameful about what she thought she looked nice in, or even felt comfortable in. I do feel bad for her because her picture is here for the world to see.

This comment is directed to John Mays.

First of all, I'm beyond sick and tired of biased, likely racist, people such as yourself presuming that the highest teen pregnancy rate is among African Americans. My sister and I both work in social service offices, in two different states and, believe me, the majority of pregnant teenagers we see are not African American nor hispanic -- they're white! And my sister and both work in urban areas.

Second, if the young woman in the photo has a better grasp of grammar and spelling than yourself, she'll be better off than you.

Finally, you're a very ignorant, unintelligent (no, they don't mean the same thing) person, which is why you resorted to name calling and using profanity. Instead of spending time trying to debase other people, maybe you should enroll in a remedial English class.

Good luck.

I know the girl's (in that pregnant prom dress) mother.

I know that girl and her mother... what a piece of work...two words to describe mean and nasty.

I have no comment on teen pregnancy or feeling beautiful and confident blah blah blah. The point is, that dress is butt ugly. It is just a shower curtain gathered above her boobies with a big hole cut out of it. The fact that the hole displays a pregnant stomach (complete with what appears to be a previous C-section scar) just exponentiates the bad taste. Yecch!!

Well, if J-Lo ever gets pregnant, that's probably what we'll see her wear.

I don't think that the dress was a bad idea I think the place that it was being worn to presented it that way. Realisticlly our young ladies are becoming mothers early and early. However instead of people down playing her for her attire they should be proud that she is still in school to be going to a prom, and hopefully graduating. I just beleive that motherhood should be embraced with love and care. When a female is pregnant it is to late to scold her for being sexually active then. EDUCATION IS THE KEY......

Education to prevent teen pregnancy is indeed the key. But "embracing" a teen who is pregnant is counter-productive.

The fact that the hole displays a pregnant stomach (complete with what appears to be a previous C-section scar) just exponentiates the bad taste.

Uhm well first of all, that is not an apparent c-section because when u do a c-section they cut near your waistline, not down the middle of your stomach. If you would have known a lot sooner, that is what some women have when they are with child. I think you need to research that first.

Although you did not know what you were talking about when you said that, I do agree that the dress is hideous and she just looks down right nasty with her hair all over her head. But they always say that you will never forget prom.

well its funny and gross all at the same time. we know what see wont be doing after prom. its sad that that had to happen to her but its her own fault. and im sure she doesnt care what anyone thinks. but she sould have at lest worn a dress that was a little more flattering to her situation rather than a dress with a big hole it showin off her belly.

well, i am 17 and i recently found out that i was pregnant, and i know that it really pisses me off when people automatically judge me when they dont even so much as know my name. I am a great student with good grades and i was an awesome softball player who still intends to go to college. The only difference is that i know have a little life to worry about. Not only that but it is a miracle what i have created. I dont see how anyone could put that down. Yes, the age factor is a little intimidating, but who on this earth is to say that i wont make a great mother? so for those of you who are judgemental and insecure, put yourselves in our position for once and pull your heads out of your behind!!!!!
THANKS!!

Colleen,

While I certainly wish you the best in life, I don't think you quite understand the gravity of your decision. You have said that you are 17, you are going to have a child, and you are going to college. (I notice you didn't mention anything about a father being in the picture.)

There are only a few ways to make this happen:

1. You attend college, leaving your child to be raised mostly by someone else (mother, husband, grandmother?) for at least the first 4 years.
2. You decide to raise the child yourself, and put off college until the child is old enough to start school.
3. You claim you can do both, splitting your time between college and your child.

Please note that none of the options is ideal for your child. A child should be raised by his mother, not grandmother, or aunt. Also your child needs your full time attention. Trying to study for exams, keep up your grades, and raise a child is a difficult (if not impossible) task. You only have so much attention to give, and something has to slip.

Of course, there are other factors at stake. First, you have given up your chance to have fun at college. There won't be (shouldn't be) any heavy drinking or partying, because you have a baby at home to take care of. Also, if you are unmarried, you have now made dating and a social life impossible. If you are recently married, you have pretty much cut short your newlywed years.

Second, you are probably putting an undue financial strain on someone else. Who is paying for all your baby's needs? Are you independently wealthy, or sucking off the teat of someone else? (your parents, perhaps) Please don't tell me you intend to hold down a full time job through college and raising a new born?

Colleen, please don't think that I'm judging you harshly. I really do wish you the best. I just think (and I'm sure others agree) that having a child is best done when you are ready. That means you have graduated college, and started a career or family.

Bringing a child into the world that you cannot afford (or do not intend) to raise is cruel to the child.