Comments on: Pregnant at 16 Normal For Maori?

By: t94xr

t94xr — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 00:23:32 +0000

I reckon everyone who doesn’t support her, should just shutup. It’s her life, its her right to get pregnant, its her right to be a mother.
She deserves our support, the people who dont support her are prudes.

By: Brana

Brana — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 00:52:57 +0000

My mother was pregnant with me at 16 years of age. Had another child a year later, and due to the stigma of having bastards, she married the first (Pakeha) gentlemen to offer her his hand. He turned out to be a child molester, kidnapped me and hid more for 2 years before sticking me in an orphanage where I became a ward of the state and didn’t see my whanau for 14 years.

So, if Keisha has the support of her family (and, more especially, the father of her child), then I sincerely wish her all the best.

Hopefully, times have changed a little since the 1970s.

By: John

John — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:16:17 +0000

Now if this had been the headline the whole story might have warranted half the attention it got. NZ Actress 'With Calf'

By: Tania

Tania — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 21:28:38 +0000

I think 16 is far too young to be having a child. Maybe she is a ‘mature’ 16… Hopefully things work out for them in the long run though.

By: Craig Ranapia

Craig Ranapia — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 20:22:21 +0000

Robyn:

To he honest, I think the fools on Capitol Hill are more exercised nowadays over jailbait much, much closer to home.

By: Robyn

Robyn — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 11:31:38 +0000

I’m interested in how this will affect her career in America.

I’m reminded of what happened to Ingrid Bergman in American in 1949 when she had a baby out of wedlock. A senator described her as “a horrible example of womanhood and a powerful influence for evil”. She had to flee to Italy.

Given that the age of consent in many American states is 18, and also considering the religious conservativeness of many Americans, will these people want their kids to see films with an unmarried young teenage mother acting in them?

By: Polemic

Polemic — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 01:22:02 +0000

Gotta agree with Craig.. although I think the relative may have been looking to assuage the Americans, rather than delving into the murky waters of cultural child-raring policy.

By: Mong

Mong — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:46:51 +0000

Does that teen pregnancy gene sit alongside the warrior gene then?

By: juha

juha — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 00:30:12 +0000

Bradley and Keisha have been together for three years apparently. Makes him 16 when the relationship started, and her 13.

Maybe I’m getting old, but I’m with grandma Kinnie on this one.

By: Michael G.

Michael G. — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:14:10 +0000

I couldn’t put my thoughts down any better than Craig. Spot on.

However, I should point out:

>In the US the age of consent is 18 years-old, here it is 16.

Not true. US age of consent laws are passed at state level and are as low as 14. Canada is also 14.

By: Dunk

Dunk — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 22:56:21 +0000

Bet the tangata whenua would be after my pakeha balls on a plate if I’d stood up and said it was a ‘cultural norm’ for young Maori females to become pregnant under the age of consent.

By: Craig Ranapia

Craig Ranapia — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 22:45:15 +0000

Oh, who really gives a flying frak at a donut?

Would I be dancing in the street if Keisha was my daughter? Nope.

Would I be telling the media to piss off in terms that make Bill Ralston sound like a nun? You betcha.

And would I be very happy at members of my family speading a lot of balls about ‘cultural context’. Hella no. Personally, I agree with another quote from a family member that appeared in the Herald: When you’re a teenager you should be thinking about pimples, and prom dresses and getting good enough marks to go to a good university in a couple of years. Go and spend a year on your OE, doing all the dumb chemically-enhanced crap that’s going to come back to haunt you (and shame out your children) twenty years down the track.

Because here’s the simple ‘cultural context’ for every teen mother: Even with the best support crew in the universe, and pots of money, you’re still giving up your freedom if you’re any kind of decent parent. Kudos to Bradley and Keisha if they’re going to step up, and be parents first. But couldn’t they have been kids for a little longer?