Today on the Feminist web: The website feministing.com (apparently now a daily stop of mine) is upset that Nickelodeon is judging Jaime Lynne Spears. In a press release, they commended their employee for her “decision to take responsibility in this sensitive and personal situation.”

Bold is feministing’s. How dare they use the r word!

First of all, it’s not entirely clear if Nickelodeon is saying that “Papa don’t preach … gonna keep my baby” is a responsible decision, and that by contrast abortion or adoption, would have been irresponsible decisions. I think if they wanted to do the first, in particular, they would have more explicitly. (And I doubt they want to go there.)

Fact is, the girl got pregnant. We know how that happens. It happens. And she is dealing with the consequences of the choices she made. And yes, she’s making a responsible decision. And maybe becoming a little bit of a role model in this – I have no idea, I don’t have a crystal ball – or even a subscription to People.

We can (and should) encourage abstinence. We can say getting knocked up unmarried at 16 is not ideal (and yes, irresponsible). But we can still commend a girl for taking it from there and being responsible — owning up to her responsibilities. And we can encourage her boyfriend to do the same.

That Nickelodeon has the lightest hand of judgment – that’s a good thing. Anything doesn’t go.