The First Oscar-Nominated Woman Cinematographer Has a Powerful Message on Working During Pregnancy
"There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability."
"There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability."
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While the world is still debating whether menstrual leave should be longer, Rachel Morrison, the woman behind the lens for movies such as Black Panther and Mudbound which made her the first woman to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography took to social media to highlight that choosing to work during pregnancy or after it, should be a choice.
Morrison, who became the first female cinematographer to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Panther and is now pregnant with her second child shared in an Instagram post that women should have the choice of deciding whether they want to work during pregnancy or not.
"There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability— the idea that women who are pregnant shouldn’t be active and can’t go about their normal lives," she wrote on her Instagram post.
Morrison told her fans that women, once pregnant, are seen through an already jaded lens - as somehow weaker, and less capable of working.
And while making this point, she emphasizes how she's not speaking for ALL women, but, "While no two pregnancies are the same, I just want to say that for many to most women this isn’t the case at all."
She goes on to explain how women working during their pregnancy shouldn't be special - "the point is I am NOT a superhero. I am just going about my life doing the thing that I love for as long as I can because the more I work before baby the longer I can take off after. Which should also be MY choice and no one else’s."
While maternity leaves are often unequally divided, and many women end up losing jobs simply because they are pregnant - Morrison highlights that the power should lie with the mother to choose when she wants to take the leave. If she feels capable of working while 8 months pregnant, is it really for a workplace law to decide that she isn't?
But Morrison's post isn't only directed at women - but also at employers who fail to notice that the pregnancy isn't something that dehumanizes her.
“Physically speaking I could have gone back to work within a week of having my son,” she adds in the post. “At the time, I lost many jobs because people were nervous to hire me so soon after the birth but again I say this should be left up to us. Pregnancy and motherhood, in general, is not a disadvantage and the craft doesn’t suffer as a result.”
And while Morrison has already broken several stereotypes, her myth-busting about pregnancies raises a very important point - it should be on the woman to choose, as laws can only do so much. A lot of people on social media are appreciating her for the message.
Morrison, who became the first female cinematographer to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Panther and is now pregnant with her second child shared in an Instagram post that women should have the choice of deciding whether they want to work during pregnancy or not.
"There’s a common misconception that likens pregnancy to some kind of disability— the idea that women who are pregnant shouldn’t be active and can’t go about their normal lives," she wrote on her Instagram post.
Morrison told her fans that women, once pregnant, are seen through an already jaded lens - as somehow weaker, and less capable of working.
And while making this point, she emphasizes how she's not speaking for ALL women, but, "While no two pregnancies are the same, I just want to say that for many to most women this isn’t the case at all."
She goes on to explain how women working during their pregnancy shouldn't be special - "the point is I am NOT a superhero. I am just going about my life doing the thing that I love for as long as I can because the more I work before baby the longer I can take off after. Which should also be MY choice and no one else’s."
While maternity leaves are often unequally divided, and many women end up losing jobs simply because they are pregnant - Morrison highlights that the power should lie with the mother to choose when she wants to take the leave. If she feels capable of working while 8 months pregnant, is it really for a workplace law to decide that she isn't?
But Morrison's post isn't only directed at women - but also at employers who fail to notice that the pregnancy isn't something that dehumanizes her.
“Physically speaking I could have gone back to work within a week of having my son,” she adds in the post. “At the time, I lost many jobs because people were nervous to hire me so soon after the birth but again I say this should be left up to us. Pregnancy and motherhood, in general, is not a disadvantage and the craft doesn’t suffer as a result.”
And while Morrison has already broken several stereotypes, her myth-busting about pregnancies raises a very important point - it should be on the woman to choose, as laws can only do so much. A lot of people on social media are appreciating her for the message.
Folks. The point isn't that her experience is uncommon among working women. Of course most of us did the same. The point is pregnancy is often used as an excuse not to hire women, or allow them to advance during the duration. And she's calling that out, for all of us.
— Allison (@zenminivan) August 10, 2018