Forever 21, the well-known fashionable clothing store for teenage girls and young women, established a maternity clothing line at the end of June 2010 called Love 21 Maternity. Students and teachers at the school have differing opinions about whether the clothing line is marketing pregnancy to teens and making it appealing to them.
Love 21 Maternity is available in 40 stores nationwide in 10 states, according to Forever21.com. Although the collection is not currently carried by any Forever 21 locations in New Jersey, it can be found in several New York City stores. According to the Forever 21 press release, the line provides sophisticated, trendy styles for moms-to-be at affordable prices. The maternity line features denim styles, leggings, knit and woven tops, cardigans and dresses.
Parents have questioned whether Forever 21 is making pregnancy appealing to teenage girls, since a lot of young girls shop at Forever 21. According to KTSM News television in El Paso, Texas, some parents have shown concern that teen girls may get the impression that it’s cute to be pregnant at an early age.
Critics have pointed out that some of the stores are located in states like New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona and Texas, which have the highest pregnancy rates in the U.S., according to TheNationalCampaign.org, an organization that helps prevent unplanned and teenage pregnancy.
Forever 21’s senior vice president Larry Meyer said in a statement sent to The Student Voice via email that Love 21 Maternity was not created to target pregnant teens.
“Forever 21 did not create, design or distribute Love 21 Maternity to target, or appeal specifically to pregnant teens. Any relationship between teen pregnancy rates and the locations of our stores is unintentional,” Meyer said.
Thomas Frech, science teacher, said that Forever 21 put the maternity line where it would sell. He said the company is trying to sell its clothing but is not necessarily encouraging teen pregnancy.
“I don’t think it’s their intention to glamorize the issue,” Frech said.
Science teacher Shing-Mei Lio said the Forever 21 is a store that targets teen girls, and therefore having a maternity promotes teen pregnancy.
“I don’t think teen girls will be encouraged to get pregnant, but it will send the message of approval for teen pregnancy,” Lio said.
Junior Samantha Minor said that she thinks it’s a great idea that Forever 21 created a maternity section because it provides pregnant women with stylish clothes, which makes their pregnancy more pleasant. She said that it’s not set out to encourage teen pregnancy because if a teen is set on getting pregnant, that is what she is going to do no matter if there are stylish clothes for pregnancy or not.
“I don’t think [the Love 21 line is] out for teen people. It is out for all pregnant women,” Minor said.
Senior Janazia Mosely said that Forever 21 shouldn’t have a maternity line. However, she said that it is acceptable that Forever 21 placed the collection in states with high pregnancy rates because it is a trend.
“I don’t think they should have one, because they make [pregnancy] seem cuter.” Mosely said. “But the positive side of it is [that] it makes pregnant teens feel confident.”
Frech said that he think it’s good because there are a lot of pregnant teens, and they will have a place to shop and feel less conspicuous.
“It makes the individual who is pregnant feel more stylish but not cool.”
