In the first issue of Homegirl NYC, Khalya Hopkins shares her story of being 15 and pregnant. She was dealing with a lot at the time—a boyfriend in jail for committing a gang-related crime, threats against her safety, finding out she had chlamydia, and dealing with neighborhood gossip. She says, “that summer was rough. I was the talk of the neighborhood, called every negative thing you can think of. My friends’ parents did want them to hang out with me because they thought I was a bad influence. It hurt.” But she made it through the hard times and now, at 24, she’s a successful teacher. What happened to her happened ten years ago, but have things changed all that much?

Question. How do pregnant girls get treated at your school? What do people say about them behind their backs? That they’re fast? Irresponsible? Statistics? Ruining their lives? What do you say? Or, what have you had said about you?

Gabby Rodriguez talks Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics. Photo courtesy of Seattle Weekly.

Well, one teen wanted to find out for herself, so she posed as a pregnant teen. Gaby Rodriguez, 17, walked around with a fake belly for six months for her senior project “Stereotypes, Rumors and Statistics.” A straight-A student, Gaby wasn’t spared any of the usual gossip so she wrote down what people said about her and talked about how it made her feel during an assembly where she revealed her ruse. Gaby hoped that what she learned would help other girls (especially other Latinas who statistically have a high rate of teen pregnancy) fight stereotypes. Seems extreme, but do you think she made her point?