Earlier this week Medium published a piece by Amanda Palmer in which the pregnant artist shared a letter she’d received recently from a “concerned” (read: judgmental) Patreon supporter.
The email came with the subject line “Baby announcement right after joining Patreon?…Scam much?,” and went on to warn Palmer that either her baby or her career would inevitably suffer from Palmer’s decision to become a mother:
You have a reasonably sized, and growing fanbase. There will always be people to buy your merch, your albums, tickets to your shows. You didn’t NEED to join Patreon, but you did anyway. Then you announced your pregnancy, after years of saying you didn’t want to be a mom. It makes me worry about what’s going to happen next.
Child care is my day job. I babysit my two nephews. I know that young children need LOTS of attention. Especially if they are hyper-sensitive like you or me. Chances are you’ll pass that trait on to your kid. When you have this baby, either him/her/it will suffer, or your career will suffer. Your career will suffer a lot sooner if your pregnancy is as physically and emotionally draining as some of my friends’ pregnancies.
Hoo boy.
In an open response letter, Palmer admitted to worries about how having her first child might impact her career, worries that are understandable considering that this “concerned fan” isn’t alone in their belief that motherhood may make women less productive, reliable, creative and intelligent. Palmer writes, “Where I grew up, there weren’t really any Mom Artists in my field of vision […] Female musicians I encountered at an early age were never shown in videos or pictures with children in tow.”
The essay goes on to address the politics of maternity and crowdfunding, and the pressure on women to compartmentalize their life by not using supporters’ money on baby formula and other necessary parental supplies (a pressure that it’s hard to imagine a father-artist facing).
It’s obviously a uniquely privileged position to be able to fund your career primarily with crowdfunding, but the absurd pressure on women to a.) not get pregnant or b.) not change their output at all during or following pregnancy, isn’t specific to creators who rely on Patreon or Kickstarter.
After reading Palmer’s essay, Ms. Marvel artist G. Willow Wilson shared similar experiences that she had while working with Marvel:
Oh wow. @amandapalmer was a lot nicer than I would have been if asked the same question. https://t.co/d5QmYXne2g
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
MS MARVEL? First arc outline handed in 48 hours after the birth of Kid #2. First arc written largely while nursing an infant.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
“Having children makes you stupid” is vestigial Victorian bullshit that needs to go.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
You pay a mommy tax in creative industries, beyond doubt. But it’s not imposed by the kids. It’s imposed by the industry itself.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
I hid both pregnancies from my publishers because I knew it would affect my chances of getting work.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
I had zero time to recover psychologically, much less physically, from labor and birth, because I had to be on deadlines within days.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
But by all means, let’s resurrect some Freudian nonsense about women and art and children being a bad mix. God forbid we address inequality.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
When I was having babies, the ONLY other woman with small children freelancing at the Big Two was @kellysue. THE ONLY ONE.
— G. Willow Wilson (@GWillowWilson) August 27, 2015
She handed in the first Ms. Marvel arc outline 48 hours after giving birth? TIL: G. Willow Wilson is a literal superhero.
These kinds of stories are nothing new, and obviously the situation for many women is even graver. But it’s worth pointing out that, for industries that claim “the most talented person/best storytellers/best person for the job” will inevitably rise to the top, the deck sure does seem to be stacked against women.
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