Wednesday September 13, 2023 | VANCOUVER, BC [Updated October 3, 2023]
Sociological commentary by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
“If I seem like I’m out of breath, I have this tiny creature who keeps kicking me in the lungs!”.
That was the spontaneous comment blurted out by Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness, speaking from the BC Cabinet office during one of her regular wildfire and drought media update sessions.
We posted that comment on X (Twitter) this afternoon as a Quote of the Day including #motherhood #maternity #womeninpolitics as the hashtags.
Swift social media response:
The response was swift — within hours there were over 36 mostly high-profile Likes, as well as Reposts total numbering to about 34,000 people. One of the first to repost was Minister Ma herself.
Also Liking the post were former Deputy Premier Carole James, Post-Secondary and Future Skills Minister Selina Robinson, Vancouver Island MP Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan-Malahat-Langford), a former BC deputy minister, several communications professionals, some university profs, and a Canadian Press reporter. Women and men alike.
And based on their X (Twitter) profiles, other responses were by mothers, feminists, and people who like to notice or support positive changes in society.
What does this tell say about people on X in the middle of the afternoon, but also about the content and implications of the message of being pregnant in the workforce and particularly in such a high-profile job?
And why the sudden spontaneous appreciation of what Minister Ma was really saying?
Sharing in her enjoyment:
The response seemed to share delight at Bowinn Ma’s enjoyment of her pregnancy — especially in taking her circumstance of working through maternity in such a high profile job. It’s not easy to stay on top of a major government file, make live televised news announcements, and be concerned about the welfare of an entire provincial population while also caring for her own unborn child and her own body in the process.
The fact that she was spontaneous and poked fun at herself a bit seemed to make the comment endearing to many. And people seemed to be acknowledging how she is seeking to do her top performance (e.g. not run out of breath while speaking to the public and media), even while approaching a later stage of pregnancy.
Times have changed only recently:
It wasn’t too long ago that women didn’t even work in the mainstream economy while pregnant, let alone in positions of government leadership. No doubt there’s been a shift across society in the last 10 years or so to celebrate the ‘baby bump’ and to make it fashionable.
The range of respondents (Likes and Reposts) on this today in social media seems to show how readily people remember harder times (for themselves or others) and seem to be acknowledging how far we’ve come.
It also wasn’t too long ago that there wasn’t sufficient (or any) maternity leave coverage for many women in our society. That includes women who are self-employed. The strain on family economics and emotional dynamics was significant when not having that support.
Remaining in good health:
Of course, everyone wishes Minister Ma well through her pregnancy. She seems to have a fan club around all this!
[On October 3, Minister Ma revealed to Island Social Trends that her due date is mid-November.]
===== ABOUT THE WRITER:
Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. is the editor and publisher of Island Social Trends. She is the proud mother of four (now grown) children. Being self-employed at the time, she did not have maternity leave coverage in all those years.
Ms Brooke is a long-time feminist and advocate for positive social change.
Mary Brooke is now reporting with the BC Legislative Press Gallery as well as covering local news in the west shore and south Vancouver Island region.
In 2023, Mary P Brooke was nominated for a Jack Webster Foundation award that recognizes the work of a woman journalist as a contribution to her community.
Mary Brooke is now giving presentations to organizations about Urban Food Resilience and also the need for society to continue supporting journalism as a part of democracy.
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
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