The show isn't even out yet, but promos of the new season of Keeping Up With the Kardashians have revealed that one Kendall Jenner, 15-year-old sister of THOSE Kardashian sisters, is on birth control pills. Cue gnashing of teeth and throwing up of hands. Don't you people know what this means!
Why she could be having a regular period! Clearing up her acne! Fighting debilitating cramps! Treating polycystic ovarian syndrome! Or none of those at all. She could just be a girl whose parents are worried that she might possibly be having sex and want her to have at least one form of protection.
But the Internet, alas, isn't thinking any of those thoughts this week. They've got their heads, instead, on treating Kris Jenner like she's doing something wrong by treating her teenage daughter like a human being. Take this gem from PopEater:
With one sister whose sex tape catapulted her into fame and another who was saddled with a surprise pregnancy, we're not entirely shocked that 15-year-old Kendall Jenner is on the pill.
Or this disturbing piece of trash from The Blemish:
Knowing the Kardashians, Kendall will tell her dad she’s using it to control her menstrual cycle or something stupid like that. Meanwhile, she’s banging a bunch of future athletes in her sister’s room.
Nice how they totally dismiss broad scientific basis for birth control pill usage for regulating one's menstrual cycle, huh? As a parent, I'm sorry, my kid's medical issues come before my "ick factor" over her sexuality. Because I'll be the first one to say I think 15 is too young to be having sex. I wasn't having sex that young. I don't want my daughter having sex that young.
But I feel for Kris Jenner. Really feel for her this week. Because whether her kid has a whacked out cycle or is actually messing around with boys, the reality of this world is that kids do have sex. And it doesn't take a rocket scientist to show that sex without protection equals babies. When your kid reaches a certain age, you can't just stick your fingers in your ears and scream, I'm not listening when someone says the word "sex."
I'm dreading the thought of it, but I'll have to face it too. Perhaps the highest of ironies here is that Kris Jenner is being criticized because her elder daughter had an accidental pregnancy, when she's giving her youngest daughter a means to avoid the same fate. She's facing it.
Even if the initial reason for the prescription really is just about health, it's still something that's got to be on a mom's mind. Now say your daughter is having health issues, and her doctor is calling for a packet of pills? Good news, Moms. Studies have ALSO found that giving kids access to birth control doesn't actually increase their sexual activity levels. It just means they're safer when and if they do engage in sex. So, whether Kendall Jenner or any other 15-year-old girl is on the pill, it doesn't mean she's suddenly going to become a sex maniac. But it does mean that, god forbid, if she does, she'll be a sex maniac who is less likely to become pregnant.
What do you think? Are people being too hard on Kendall Jenner's mom? Would you let your 15-year-old daughter go on the pill?
Image via Getty Images/Frazer Harrison/Staff