Ginny and Georgia—Ginny’s Pregnancy

Feature graphic images credited to: Netflix.

Ginny and Georgia had me hooked from the first season, first episode. Not to single them out, but this mother-daughter duo are my fave characters on the show. I mean yes, obviously they are the main characters, but their relationship outweighs any others. Perhaps that’s because I am a mom of daughters, or perhaps it’s because the directors intended for this to be. Whichever the reason, I have always been in awe of this fictional mother-daughter relationship (ok maybe not always, but usually). However, for the first time in the series, I was really, really, really disappointed with the way Ginny’s pregnancy was handled in Season 3.

If you haven’t already watched, Ginny becomes pregnant during what we are led to believe to be a one time romp with Wolfe, her sort of boyfriend at points this season. They have sex in a laundry room during a party at one of his friend’s houses. At the time, I thought nothing of it. They were sort of dating and it was a short scene in one episode and my mind completely moved onto the fact that Ginny was late getting home and Zion was freaking out.

Fast forward and Norah is late with her period so all four girls decide to take pregnancy tests alongside her. Just for support. Norah is not pregnant, but Ginny is pregnant! She doesn’t tell her friends. She does tell Wolfe, who doesn’t handle it well. He doesn’t handle it poorly, but he handled it like most teenage boys would—he was confused, shocked, and speechless. He ran away for the moment. Ginny ends up going to her mom and because Georgia knows her so well, she knew Ginny was pregnant before she even told her. I have no issues to this point.

Ginny and Georgia have a heart to heart to try to figure out what Ginny should do with her unplanned pregnancy. This is where my first issue arises. Yes, Ginny is on birth control and she admits to probably missing a few days throughout all the craziness in her life. That’s upsetting, but the reality is, it happens. It happens to adults, so it can definitely happen with teens. This is when, as a mom, I would question why she did not use a condom. Wolfe is new in Ginny’s life. Very new. Georgia never even heard of or met him yet. STDs and STIs are real. Even if birth control does not fail, contracting a disease or illness is real. I thought that should have been address. Even if it was one line. Unfortunately, I thought of this after we finished the series and didn’t think to mention this to my daughter at the time.

Then, what was more blaring to me were the portrayed after effects of the abortion pill. Whether you are for or against abortion, this has no bearing in my statements here. While I have never used the abortion pill myself, I have numerous friends who have. None of them were leisurely talking to anyone with a simple hot water bag on their stomach afterward, and completely fine a little while later. My girlfriends were in horrible pain for hours. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, sweats, extreme cramps, and lots of bleeding. None were able to hold a conversation. Some hugged the toilet for hours. Others were in a fetal position because the cramps were so bad. These symptoms lasted minimally for hours and sometimes for 2 days. The abortion pill didn’t work for one of my girlfriends once, so even after enduring those horribly painful hours, she still needed to make her way to a clinic to have a traditional abortion.

I paused the episode and bluntly told my daughter this. I explained to her that in no way was this portrayal accurate. I told her that I hoped and prayed she would never be in the position where she would have to decide whether or not to have an abortion, but if she were to, and were to choose the pill, it is not that easy. I was and still am deeply disappointed with the way Ginny’s pregnancy was handled. Maybe this is the mom in me upset with this, or the teacher in me because this would be a teachable moment. Either way, I think Netflix did us wrong here.

But don’t get me wrong, I’m still a fan and cannot wait for Season 4.