Temporary States of Inequality

During Tuesday's class, we briefly touched upon the topic of teen pregnancy being partially a product of the larger issue of legal and societal discrimination against teens.  I have thought about this issue before, and concluded that it is almost uniquely difficult to address.  This is because, unlike other forms of discrimination, it has no permanent victims.  The status of being a teen is temporary; and as the firmest advocates (and indeed, the majority of advocates) for a cause are typically those most affected by it, there is no long-lasting pool of firm advocates for teen rights.

To illustrate this more clearly, let us use the example of gay rights.  Someone who is gay will always be gay, regardless of whether or not they actively take part in homosexual actions.  As such, a gay advocate for gay rights will continually feel the injustice directed towards them, and thus will continue to work towards eradicating that injustice.  Over time, they may build up a reputation among political or intellectual groups, and as a result will be able to have a greater influence on the social situation which is causing or allowing the injustice.

In contrast, people are only teens (defined here as being between the ages of thirteen and eighteen - the period during which social inequality is most pronounced) for a short while.  After they reach legal adulthood, the feelings of injustice which they previously possessed may begin to fade, removing their motivation to continue working to achieve teen rights.  In fact, as members of the privileged majority (adults) they may condemn their earlier views as immature.  As a result of this temporariness, most advocates for teen rights have no time in which to build up a reputation in influential circles.

A last note - perhaps the only group which is (slightly) comparable to teens in terms of temporary discrimination is the transgendered community, due to the fact that after transitioning, transgendered people (rightly or not) often no longer consider themselves part of the community.  However, as many areas do not allow people to transition completely (legally as well as physically) and because even after transitioning many people still have trouble being perceived as members of their actual gender, even this issue has more chance of resolution than teen rights.