oh my Oprah

As I sat in boredom this Friday I decided to watch Oprah. Her show somehow makes me feel empowered sometimes, definitely not this day though. The issue being discussed in the show was about a 15 year old girl who had hidden a pregnancy from her family and peers and gave birth alone in her room and ended up killing her own child. Let me state before I go further that I do not at all agree with women killing there own children, however I do take issue with the layout of the show and how the girl was scrutinized.
I want to try and relate Mimi White's article to this situation. The uneven development that is seen on TV, where the predominant culture in class interest is held in the dominant position was shown in the show. In this case, it was Oprah's point of view and feelings that were most dominantly heard (she did give the girl a chance to explain her story, but with her crude and forceful interjections every so often). The girl was placed in the Subject position, (different from the viewers though), constantly being examined and picked at. Oprah and the audience all made clear the disgust they had with the actions of the girl.
At the time of the pregnancy the girl in the show had a boyfriend who knew about it but they both agreed it was best to keep it quiet. The mind set of the girl was clearly not right during this time in her life, she stated she had eating disorders as well. To me it seemed she had some serious psychological issues that she needed help with. I do not think that putting her in a degrading role really helps other young mothers or women in general.
This show could have been used as a great platform for young scared mothers to feel okay about the situation they are in, instead it made a distance formation between the viewer and the guest in the show. It put the viewer in the position to other those in the show. My younger sister and her friends were watching the show as well and said numerous times "she's weird". I don't think she was weird, she was scared, confused, under tremendous pressure from her boyfriend and needed help, she did not need every ones disapproval.
That's just what I saw, I don't know the whole story I guess...