REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins Well. At least no one will say these mannequins are too skinny.
A mall in Caracas, Venezuela, has pregnant mannequins dressed in schoolgirl uniforms lined up in the windows, and it's freaking everybody out. But there's an important motive behind the expectant mannequins.
(And with "expectant mannequins," we have now typed the weirdest thing ever.)
Two local charities, Fundana and Construyendo Futuros, are behind the shocking display of the pregnant statues clad in the blue uniforms that children wear in that country until age 15. The organizations are trying to draw attention to the fact that the teen pregnancy rate is rapidly climbing, with one underage girl getting pregnant every three minutes in South America, according to recent U.N. data.
"It's amazing seeing people react as they walk by. This is such a taboo subject in Venezuela, we want people to talk about it," Construyendo Futuros president Thalma Cohen said. "Some people get angry and complain. Others congratulate us."
Of course, not all mall-goers think these knocked up teenage mannequins are a good idea.
Eighteen-year-old Kelly Hernandez, a student, told Reuters: "I think it's horrible. Awful. If I was a mother, I wouldn't want my child to see that."
The charities hope that these controversial displays, which will run for a month with the possibility of the mannequins popping up in other malls around the country, will force parents and kids to have honest discussions about the dangers of unprotected sex.
Frankly, if we were children and walked past that window, the first thing we would want to know is how in the hell those plastic people got knocked up in the first place. But then that would probably lead into a talk about the birds and the bees, so mission accomplished Teen Mom mannequins!
Seriously, though. Anything that furthers or prompts an important conversation about the importance of sex education deserves a big thumbs up.