A few weeks ago, I watched a movie on Lifetime- 'The Pregnancy Project'. The movie stars Alexa Vega telling the true story of Gabby Rodriguez, a teenage girl from Washington. For her senior project, she wanted to preform a social experiment. She wanted to see how stereotyping affected our view of others, especially in highschool. So, what did she do? She pretended to be pregnant. Yes, for her senior year, she fooled her classmates, teachers, and even her own family into thinking she was a pregnant teenage girl for months, until she revealed the truth at an assembly presenting her findings.
CRAZY.
But, that's not the craziest part! The most astounding part were her findings. Before the project, Gabby was known for her academic abilities- everyone believed she would have a bright future. But, once they thought she was pregnant? She was told she'd ruined her life. Thrown it away. Everyone assumed she was never going to college, despite her insistance that she still would. Classmates turned on her. Teachers turned on her. Family turned on her.
What hit me the most: In the movie (in which I assume they got the ideas from her and her book), Gabby described how she felt she was being seen. She felt like she'd been erased. Like nobody saw her anymore, only a stereotype.
It made me wonder... As a highschool girl, how often do I see stereotypes, instead of seeing real people?
I thought I was just going to watch a Lifetime Movie cheezefest, but I was amazed at how this girl's story affected me.
I want to see people. Lives. Not the stereotypes created by our society. People for who they are, not for who I've assumed them to be.
Just a thought. Thanks for listening.
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