By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff ReporterTHE ADAGE 'The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world' gets a bit tricky when a woman juggles a baby (or two, or three) in one hand while balancing the world in the other.
Entertainment, the business of fun, is one of those careers which is particularly demanding and it has often been argued that motherhood has hampered many women's progress. This horse has been particularly flogged in terms of its relationship to deejays.
At the 2002 International Women's Day 'Women in Reggae' forum put on by the Reggae Studies Unit of the University of the West Indies, Mona, St. Thomas lawyer and poet Sandra Joy Alcott noted that because of their roles as caregivers women are often unable to be 'studio rats' or hang out for long hours after a recording session. She explained that this hampers their ability to either get discovered or build on necessary contacts.
Also at the forum, a tearful Lady G reinforced this reality. Lady G is one of the island's longest-lasting deejays and told the audience that though her pregnancies slowed the momentum of her career, they did not stop it. She revealed that one of the most painful moments of her life was when someone said to her "Wait Lady G, yuh stop deejay an turn baby madda."
If anything, however, Lady G's continued presence in the dancehall world shows that it is possible for women to balance the baby and the microphone.
Indeed, in today's world, the image of a singer performing while pregnant is becoming more and more popular. Pregnancy seems to be shedding its frumpy dress and donning red heels, as women declare that reproduction does not equal death. Radio announcer Paula Ann Porter, now pregnant with her third child, is one of those who boldly asserts that being pregnant does not preclude being sexy by deliberately avoiding maternity wear.
STATE OF MIND
Declaring that she has encountered may men who see pregnant women as sexy, she also argues that sexiness is a state of mind. "Being sexy is in large part how you feel about yourself," she declares.
Porter notes, however, that she has been lucky in her pregnancies. She points out that until this pregnancy she has had a very easy time of it, working throughout her terms. Unlike with her first two children, though, this time around she has suffered from far more fatigue. Even so, she declares that it has made her work harder but she has refused to stop.
"I'm sure it would have been much easier if I just gave in to what my body was telling me," she says with a laugh. Apparently, that is not an option. Her attitude is simple "What does my belly have to do with anything?" So, though others constantly remind her that as a pregnant woman she is frail, it has yet to stop Paula Ann Porter.
Pregnancy and motherhood have always been important questions in relation to women and work. Experts have argued that the birth control pill was essential to the sexual revolution. In essence, the power to reproduce (or, rather, decide when to reproduce) irrevocably changed women's role in shaping the world. Rather than only rocking the cradles, they were able to go out and build or buy them.
CAREGIVERS
Despite the major advances in equality of the sexes, women remain the major caregivers for their family and mothering takes time and energy and sometimes a little blood and lots of sweat and tears. While more and more women in varying areas of entertainment
are able to effectively handle the juggling, for deejays the hurdle is still high.
Carlette DeLeon, a publicist with Headline Entertainment, explains the simple dynamics. According to DeLeon, since women remain the major caregivers they make a greater investment of time than their male counterparts. "If she (a female deejay) were to up and get pregnant today, it would at least change plans and at the very worst it would mean the end of her career," DeLeon explained.
She noted that female deejays remain at a disadvantage because far too few of them have established careers which can allow them to take time off to have and be with their young children. She explained that only female deejays who have reached the status of a Lady Saw can afford the luxury of time off in the fickle world of entertainment.
Of course, as a publicist, DeLeon also faces a very time-consuming job. This has affected her own decisions about family. "I have made a conscious decision not to start my family, in no small part because of my career," she explained.
Fortunately, it is not always a matter of choosing either family or career since some areas of entertainment allow for more flexibility than others. When The Sunday Gleaner spoke to jazz singer Christine Fisher, she was talking to her son, who seems to be busy exploring the joys of being a bouncing baby boy. After having experienced two miscarriages, Fisher was overjoyed at having Asim, who had weighed in at 12 lbs. and one ounce at birth. She points out that he came about just when she was taking a break from trying to get pregnant.
Fisher explains that due to the difficulty of her pregnancy there were events she had to pass up. "It wouldn't be nice going on-stage and spitting and all," she says with a laugh. However, the easy-going woman has no regrets. She declares that without question, her choice, should she have to make one, would be her family. "I love music, but my baby comes first," she explains. "It would be very hard, but I'd give it (music) up." This statement was made without hesitation, although she had earlier declared that music was her life.
This position quite echoes Porter's. Porter declared that though entertainment, whether as an announcer or freelance host, is her bread and butter, her family comes first. She notes that because of that she refuses to put off her family to the benefit of her career.
DECISIONS
One point which reverberates from woman to woman, is that
having and mothering the child is a matter of decisions. "It all depends on how you feel toward your child and what you want," Fisher says, "because you don't want a helper or your cousin raising your child."
Since his birth, Asim has been going to most of her gigs with his mother. Fisher notes that when he gets older she may well get a sitter but, for now, she takes him to as many performances as she can so that he is constantly with her.
Apparently women in theatre adopt the same technique of keeping their children with them. Actress Karen Harriott, a mother of one and three-quarters (she is now seven and a half months pregnant) firmly believes that pregnancy can no longer kill an acting career.
Like Porter, however, she is one of those women who has been lucky with pregnancy. Harriott noted that when she got pregnant with her first child (Kara-Ann Kia), she was on-stage up to the eighth month and her stomach was so small it was hardly noticeable.
Also, like Porter, who manages to not gain excessive weight while pregnant, Harriott finds no problems working. "Everybody has to remind me that I'm pregnant, that I'm delicate," she says. Indeed, though she is currently off the stage, Harriott was shooting for Royal Palm Estate last Sunday.
Even so, the question of bonding with her child arises. She is well aware that too much work can dull the mother-child relationship. "My daughter will say to me 'Mommy we're not bonding enough' and I feel it." Harriott explains. "You can say you are spending time, but the child gets out of hand because you are not there," she says.
Harriott points out that artistic mothers usually benefit from having children who mature rather quickly, especially from being taken about 'on the job' a lot. "The child becomes independent very, very quickly," she explains.
Nonetheless, having a good support system is essential to successful parenting. For this, Harriot declares much gratitude to her husband, whom she describes as a good father. Producer Justine Henzell agrees with the importance of having support. The mother of two declares that though it is sometimes very hard to balance work and family, having a flexible job helps. Henzell cashed in the nine-to-five job for the greater flexibility of working from home as a freelance producer. Her current position allows her to be able to choose which job and how much work she can manage, according to her family commitments. The flexibility does not mean an easier life, however, Henzel explains. She says that though working from home allows you to be 'in-house' a lot, it also means that you never leave work. "You start your second shift after the children go to bed at night," she explains.
WORKING AT HOME
However, even with working at home, Henzell finds that sometimes she has to be away. As the production director of the annual Calabash International Literary Festival, Henzell points out that planning for the festival takes her away from home at least one month every year. Fortunately for her, like Harriott, she is blessed with mature children. She points out that when she drew them aside to talk about her absence this year, their response was "Mommy, we've done this twice before. We know."
Debra Hickling is a television producer and publicist who now runs her own firm, Development Associates. Hickling has no children, but says that she is looking forward to motherhood and does not believe that it will hamper her career. "For myself, I welcome it (motherhood) at any time," she says.
Hickling argues that the issue of its effect on ones career is often a case of priorities. She argues that though she had not put off pregnancy, in her youth it had not been a priority. "In my 20s it was about doing as many things as I could and having as many interesting experiences as I could," she said.
According to Henzell, in realising that work and family are both very important, women have "come back to centre", rather than trying to show which is more important.
"I think that if there are more persons in the public eye who don't allow pregnancy to hamper them... if there are enough of us who show that pregnancy is not a ugly torturous ordeal, we can change that (negative) perception," Porter declares.
