TEENAGERS JUST NEED MORE BABIES, um,

@izzyavh

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Why it worked

The creator uses a highly controversial and relatable news topic to anchor her commentary, leveraging strong emotional language and a conversational, 'car-talk' style that feels authentic and opinionated.

Summary

Izzy Hodges critiques a Fox News segment that frames the declining birth rate among teenagers as a societal problem. She argues that delaying parenthood is a positive choice for financial and emotional stability, especially for young people.

Structure

1Introduction of the Fox News segment
2Critique of the framing of teen pregnancy
3Personal reflection on teen pregnancy messaging
4Analysis of the economic and social implications
5Conclusion on the absurdity of the segment

On-screen text

TEENAGERS JUST NEED MORE BABIES, um, AT LEAST ACCORDING AND I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS AND THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT THE DECLINING FERTILITY RATE, WHICH I BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY MEANT THE DECLINING BIRTH RATE, BUT OF COURSE, AN OLD WHITE MAN ON FOX NEWS WOULDN'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO. uh, anyways, THE PROBLEM, uh, BECAUSE THEY'RE FRAMING THIS ALL AS A PROBLEM, uh, IS TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS, um, EXCEPT I THINK WHAT HE ACTUALLY MEANT, WHAT HE SHOULD HAVE SAID WAS CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS, BECAUSE HE'S REFERRING TO THE 15 TO 19 AGE GROUP. THE PROBLEM IS THAT THEY ARE NOT HAVING BABIES. RIDICULOUS. LET ME SHOW YOU THIS CLIP. WE STILL HAVE 3.6 MILLION BIRTHS A YEAR, BUT THE PROBLEM IS TEENS AND, AND YOUNG ADULTS FROM AGES 15 TO 19. THE FERTILITY RATE IS DOWN 7%, AND IT'S DOWN 70%, uh, OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES. AND IT'S CRAZY THAT WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ADDRESSED, LIKE, THIS TEEN PREGNANCY EPIDEMIC, RIGHT? AND FOX NEWS IS, OF COURSE, FRAMING THAT AS A PROBLEM, AND LOOK, I WAS A KID WHEN, LIKE, TEEN MOM FIRST AIRED, AND I REMEMBER, LIKE, THE DESPAIR SURROUNDING, LIKE, THE TEEN PREGNANCY CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW. AND I REMEMBER THERE WERE ALL OF THESE INITIATIVES AND ALL THIS MESSAGING ENCOURAGING TEENAGERS NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN UNTIL THEY WERE FINANCIALLY AND EMOTIONALLY, AND OTHERWISE PREPARED TO RAISE THEM. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? I THINK A LOT OF US AT THAT TIME TOOK THAT SHIT TO HEART, OKAY? LOOK, THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN I KNOW NOW THAT ARE IN LIKE THEIR MID TWENTIES ARE STILL CHILDLESS, um, BECAUSE THEY DON'T FEEL PRESSURE TO HAVE A CHILD UNTIL THEY CAN PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE LIFE FOR THEM. um, AND OF COURSE CONSERVATIVE MEDIA IS GOING TO HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THAT. BECAUSE IF FEWER WOMEN ARE HAVING BABIES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 TO 19, WHICH FOR A LOT OF TEENAGE GIRLS, THAT IS GOING TO SUBJECT THEM TO A LIFE OF FINANCIAL STRUGGLE AND POVERTY, um, THAT'S JUST STATISTICALLY. AND THAT POVERTY OFTEN BECOMES GENERATIONAL, RIGHT? um, IF THEY'RE NOT HAVING BABIES, THEN THERE ARE FEWER STRUGGLING FAMILIES FOR THIS CONSERVATIVE MEDIA TO CONSTANTLY EXPLOIT AND BLAME AND CRITICIZE. AND I ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT SOMETHING I'VE NOTICED IN ALL OF THIS FERTILITY AND BIRTH RATE DISCORD COMING FROM, COMING FROM CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS LIKE FOX NEWS. AND THAT IS THE AGES THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT. THEY KEEP GETTING YOUNGER AND YOUNGER. RIGHT? IT USED TO BE LIKE, WHY AREN'T WOMEN IN THEIR 30S HAVING MORE BABIES AND THEN IT BECAME WOMEN IN THEIR 20S AND NOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT FUCKING 15 YEAR OLDS. FIFTEEN YEAR OLDS ARE USUALLY, WHAT, SOPHOMORES IN HIGH SCHOOL. WHY AREN'T THEY HAVING BABIES? THEY ARE BABIES. THESE ARE CHILDREN. SO FORGIVE ME IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY A TEENAGE GIRL NOT HAVING A BABY IS BEING FRAMED AS A PROBLEM THAT WE NEED TO SOLVE. THAT WHOLE SEGMENT WAS WEIRD.

Original caption

Fox News is framing declining birth rates among teenage girls ages 15–19 as part of a broader fertility “problem,” despite decades of efforts to reduce teen pregnancy. I want to know why conservative media increasingly seems concerned with younger and younger women, teens and children… having children, even when delaying parenthood can give people a better chance at financial and emotional stability. #foxnews #teenmom #fyp

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Transcript

Teenagers just need to be having more babies, um, at least according to Fox News. And I just came across this Fox News segment, right, and they were talking about the declining fertility rate, which I believe they actually meant the declining birth rate, but of course, an old white man on Fox News wouldn't know the difference between the two. Uh, anyways, he said that the problem, because they're framing this all as a problem, right, is teens and young adults not having babies. Um, except I think what he actually meant, what he should have said was children and teenagers, because he's referring to the 15 to 19 age group. And he said the problem is that they are not having babies. It is so ridiculous. Let me show you this clip. We still have 3.6 million births a year, but the problem is teens and and young adults from ages 15 to 19. The fertility rate is down 7%, and it's down 70% over the last two decades. And it's crazy that we have successfully addressed, like, this teen pregnancy epidemic, right? And Fox News is, of course, framing that as a problem. And look, I was a kid when, like, Teen Mom first aired, and I remember, like, the despair surrounding, like, the teen pregnancy conversation right now. And I remember there were all of these initiatives and all this messaging encouraging teenagers not to have children until they were financially and emotionally, and otherwise prepared to raise them. And you know what? I think a lot of us at that time took that shit to heart, okay? Look, the majority of women I know now that are in like their mid twenties are still childless, um, because they don't feel pressure to have a child until they can provide the best possible life for them. Um, and of course conservative media is going to have an issue with that. Because if fewer women are having babies between the ages of 15 to 19, which for a lot of teenage girls, that is going to subject them to a life of financial struggle and poverty, um, that's just statistically. And that poverty often becomes generational, right? Um, if they're not having babies, then there are fewer struggling families for this conservative media to constantly exploit and blame and criticize. And I also want to point out something I've noticed in all of this fertility and birth rate discord coming from, coming from conservative media outlets like Fox News. And that is the ages they're talking about. They keep getting younger and younger. Right? It used to be like, why aren't women in their 30s having more babies and then it became women in their 20s. And now we're talking about fucking 15 year olds. Fifteen year olds are usually, what, sophomores in high school. Why aren't they having babies? They are babies. These are children. So forgive me if I don't understand why a teenage girl not having a baby is being framed as a problem that we need to solve. That whole segment was weird.