‘Claudine’ Reenforces My Decision To Remain Childfree

 

Claudine film poster which puts James Earl Jones’s name first as opposed to Diahann Carroll.

I watched John Berry’s Claudine for the first time. Despite starring beloved, Tony and Emmy award-winning actress Diahann Carroll as the title character—I was never keen on viewing the film prior. Claudine Price—a single (secretly working) mother raising six children: Charles, Charlene, Paul, Patrice, Lurlene, and Francis on welfare— falls for Rupert “Roop” Marshall, an ignorant garbage man who isn’t exactly reciting poetic sweet nothings. Although unclear on what dissolved Claudine’s past romances— whether due to divorce or death—the glaring reality is that Claudine’s other men left behind their seeds, left their legacies for her, lending no financial, physical, or emotional support. 

Claudine resonates deeply. 

Claudine’s six children from left to right: Francis, Patrice, Charles, Paul, Charlene, and Lurlene. DP: Gayne Rescher.

My late mommy and her five children, my siblings and me.

My own childhood memories revolve around living in a cramped environment (the projects), the lack of positive male figures, and surviving solely on government handouts. The 1990’s welfare system was not that different from the 1974 film's accurate portrayal of the constant surveillance. We too had monthly inspections, kept up a neat appearance (a façade), and answered the social worker’s questions, our mother treated like a criminal on parole. Poverty's psychological and mental weight took a vital toll, rupturing forth my inspiration to not become a part of the ongoing statistic. I pursued art and writing, graduated from two colleges, and also had my own personal struggles—continuous struggles that I could not imagine bringing a child into. I do, however, recall my ignorance regarding sex and having a relationship with an older person who didn’t believe in condoms, a risky situation still pressed onto impressionable young girls and women today. Former classmates and strangers would ask, “do you have kids?” or say “the right one will come along to change your mind.” Or worse, “I thought like you too until I had them.” 

I have a high priority preference for being alone, traveling the world, watching good cinema and television, and seeing my sweet family and friends whenever possible, providing all the valid intimacy my life needs. No other dramas needed. My body is mine. 

The women on Claudine’s bus laugh and joke, implying that Claudine needs to get laid. Sex is not the only pleasurable outlet. Yet, it’s implied as the surefire way to have fun— a stress reliever. DP: Gayne Rescher. 

Patriarchal societies often employ religion—omnipresent entities— as guiding instructions or scare tactics, pushing outdated notions that women are supposed to happily have children, that they’re “blessings from above.” Motherhood’s the intended end goal for her life regardless if she has any nurturing instincts, let alone any extra money or room in her household. After all, the current United States political regime ran on this 1950’s campaign promise that women would be at homes raising the children, not entering the workforce— cat ladies be damned. In my experience, some men deliberately lie and scheme, seeking their own pleasures. There are no dates. No outings. No romance. Just an expectation for sex— the cheapest activity known to humankind. So be it if a child comes along (or any STDs)— a disruption to a woman’s accessibility. My decision has had people calling me unnatural, weird, odd, even selfish for prioritizing peace, art, reading, writing, and seclusion over maternity. 

Claudine speaks the facts of life to Charlene way too late. DP: Gayne Rescher.

Now Claudine’s two eldest children embark on different paths, choosing to either repeat the problematic cycle or end any contributions that could be made in continuing it. The story within a story exposes Claudine’s hypocrisy, her outrageous reactions to both decisions. Unfortunately, Charlene’s destined to mirror her mother’s habits. Her mother has no goals, no real ambitions next to working and acquiring boyfriends and making children. What other options does Charlene believe to exist? First, Charlene tries to sneak out in a scandalous outfit, talking about a boy who has found Islam and renames himself. Next, she returns home drunk, having been out with the same boy and calls herself “nothing.” When Charlene’s pregnancy is revealed, Claudine goes into a wild rage, ripping the top of her daughter’s nightgown, baring her breasts— an uncomfortable moment that borders on sexual assault. A teary Charlene vows to marry the boy— a girl with low self-esteem, no job, no ambitions, limited education, and an underdeveloped brain, her plight almost reminiscent of Just Another Girl on the I.R.T.’s Chantal and Love My Mama’s Leola. Robbed Black girlhood thrusts them into adult roles before they can acquire a first apartment to fully understand themselves as individuals, having no real preparation for mental and emotional health. Chantal and Leola work harder to accomplish their goals. Charlene— a product of a worse time— doesn’t have resources to do the same. 

Charles often snaps at Claudine. DP: Gayne Rescher.

Charles post operation. DP: Gayne Rescher.

On the other hand, a passionate, resilient Charles harbors a great hatred for his mother’s lifestyle, finding an outlet in the Black Panther Party cause and Black politics. He eventually undergoes a vasectomy. Perhaps he can’t understand society’s easygoing acceptance of a mother’s suffering. Or maybe he sees an ingrained possibility that he will someday abandon a woman when she most needs him. As the oldest, he has obviously taken on his mother’s responsibilities by parenting his siblings, roleplaying as a makeshift father instead of a brother, a burden that tends to happen in huge, poor family dynamics. Charles must have felt resentment at being an unpaid babysitter, delaying his own dreams in the process, rarely even getting mothered. Still, an upset Claudine considers Charles’s sterilization a government interference, an experiment hellbent on erasing the race. She believes Black people must honor the sacred privilege of having children, speaking to him rather tenderly as opposed to demonstrating violence as she did with Charlene. Charles’s power to alter his body also shows the autonomy men are allowed to have while women had to ask husbands for permission as though they didn’t know their own minds and bodies. Although close in age, Charlene would have not be given the chance to succeed in preventing reproduction the way that Charles does. 

Roop with Claudine’s children. DP: Gayne Rescher.  

Furthermore, judgmental Roop has three children of his own, three children that he doesn’t see at all, much less look after. Roop too exhibits hypocritical tendencies, blasting Claudine for the amount she has. The reaction bears similarity to how men hate a high sexual body count— a reminder that there’s been others before him. In light of their rudeness, Roop acts kind towards Claudine’s six children and begins to earn their trust by displaying a firm, solid influence. However, the combined weight of the critical welfare system and child support docking his pay causes Roop depression. Fatherhood has become too tough to handle, inclining him to repeat past mistakes—leaving behind children who were counting on him to be different. 

Roop also reminds me of Mr. Postell, a kind-hearted older man that my mother found in the singles newspaper ad. Whenever he came over, Mr. Postell often asked my siblings and I advice regarding her likes and dislikes, even what she valued in a man. One Christmas he gave us individual bags stuffed to the max with our names attached on them. I remembered wishing that she married that generous man. Yet, an overwhelmed Roop leaving Claudine for a while showcases that sometimes instant responsibility can be difficult to handle. Fatherhood is not a one-time, side hustle where a man shows all his polite attentions, hiding away the rest of himself. Parenting is a challenging, everyday effort. Mothers and fathers are raising human beings— not just babies and toddlers. 

Claudine and her youngest daughter Lurlene. DP: Gayne Rescher.

Claudine also paints a vilifying picture on the problems that arises in close knit quarters and stair ladder age children. They’re using vulgar language, inhabiting incestuous curiosities i.e. Charlie saying, “look at Charlene’s breasts,” which a brother shouldn’t be doing or Paul sneaking into the room to uncover the blanket hiding Charlie’s post-operation results. Perhaps their flagrant introduction to sexuality is being housed together day after day, growing up alongside whirlwind hormones, no outlet to explore if not regularly attending school— a situation akin to a disturbing V. C. Andrews storyline. Claudine isn’t necessarily granting them talks and several don’t have a keen interest in education. 

Overall, the blaxploitation Claudine hits home, affirming the rightness in choosing a peaceful seclusion, a decision that my own mother was proud of. It highlights systemic oppression quite well, the dangers of cyclic behavioral patterns, the inaccessibility to healthier foundations. I contribute to the world in other avenues, sharing my legacies through painting, drawing, printmaking, and writing— penning thoughtful essays that connects with certain readers, spreading love via language and compassion. I may not ever become wealthy, but romanticizing poverty or generational trauma or promoting the “children make the life rich” philosophy will never be my cup of tea. 

A Tale of Two Teen Pregnancies

 

Love Your Mama and Just Another Girl on the I. R. T. film posters.

Duality may have been a major theme of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Yet, a specific duality runs a deliberate course through Ruby Oliver’s Love Your Mama (1989) and Leslie Harris’s Just Another Girl on the I. R. T. (1992)— two parallel Black teenagers facing pregnancy. This occurrence existed around prior in my own life— my grandmother giving birth to children since she was thirteen, two girls my senior year of high school balancing school and motherhood (one of them married her high school sweetheart). The stigma is unlike any other. At a vulnerable age where the slightest mar can harm an image, the frowned upon teenage pregnancy could make a girl’s life extra traumatic and beyond complicated. Not the boy/man, just her life seemed altered, in jeopardy. She believes the biggest danger is her parents’ finding out when the reality of attempting to hide a pregnancy can present the most dangerous affect on their still very young bodies and unprepared state of mind. 

Leola (Carol Hall) and her friend Barbara (Jacqueline Williams)—a single mother who repeats senior year in Love Your Mama. Barbara manages to get Zeke and the Boys to play for the senior dance. Leola has a massive crush on Zeek which leads to consequences. DP: Ronald Courtney.

Chantal (Ariyan Johnson) and Natete (Ebony Jerido) run into Denisha (Monet Dunham), a high school dropout at the subway in Just Another Girl on the I. R. T. DP: Richard Connors. 

On the yearbook staff and desperately praying for a loan to attend college, Leola is a smart, adept high schooler living in Southside Chicago’s projects hoping to open up a daycare. Often, she hangs out with Barbara—a girl repeating her senior year due to having a child of her own. 

On the other hand, fourth-wall-breaking Chantal is a bright, sassy teen with a potty mouth and fabulous fashion sense living in the Brooklyn projects, raising her siblings as her parents work most of the time. She aims to complete high school early and attend college to become a future doctor. Chantal and Natete are super close friends that also hang out with Denisha— a former classmate who dropped out due to pregnancy. 

Thus, Leola and Chantal bear witness to the difficult struggle of balancing educational pursuits and other personal betterment goals with early motherhood, limited support. There are no parties, no socializing, no late nights for Barbara and Denisha unless baby related. 

Some typical teenage sexual scenarios convince girls to make a boy feel better. Zeek (Norman Hoosier) suggests Leola (Carol Hall) temporarily remedy his grief. DP: Ronald Courtney.

Tye (Kevin Thigpen) demands sex from Chantal (Ariyan Johnson) because her behavior at the party implied promiscuity to him. DP: Richard Connors.

Leola’s mother struggles to make ends meet with four children and an alcoholic cheating husband that the whole neighborhood knows about. After the husband decides to quit his job, it affects the family and causes Leola’s mother to take drastic (illegal) action. Leola sees firsthand that certain men waste women’s youth, resilience, and courage, even squander a woman’s good nature just because he can. Her mother will never leave her husband, using religion as a key to staying in a detrimental situation. Thus, Leola remains focused on her goals to open a daycare even as her younger brothers decide to take on a criminal route to life, disappointing their mother in the process. 

Meanwhile, Chantal works at a corner store after school and returns home to babysit her younger brothers as her dad sleeps before his shift. Her mom and dad have alternating schedules— one works while the other rests. Yet, when is Chantal allowed to get true rest between school, employment, and babysitting her own siblings? Chantal and Natete sneak off to a party where Denisha has also joined them, getting her mother to babysit. Chantal ditches her date to dance with other people, gaining the attention of Tyrone nicknamed Tye. 

Leola’s mother (Audrey Morgan) instills constant wisdom in Leola (Carol Hall). She believes boys will not make it out, but girls can. DP: Ronald Courtney. 

Chantal’s mother barely has five minutes to look in Chantal’s direction, much less give her any sound advice. DP: Richard Connors.

Leola and Chantal’s introduction to sex almost mirrors each other in that they are both unromantic experiences sorely made by the urgent request of a male. Leola’s first time is a stolen moment caused by a vulnerable situation— being alone in a teenage boy’s room. As soon as the door is closed, Zeek puts down the telephone book (perhaps that had been his goal all along) and immediately situates himself into Leola’s personal space, reasserting his sadness over his grandmother’s passing. He doesn’t deliver any poetic sentiments or flowery gestures (despite being a musician) that suggest any genuine desire for Leola. He has centered only his own need. And Leola (maybe feeling her crush reciprocated) does not deny him, let alone recognizes the manipulative ploy. 

Tye seemed very kind at first— taking Chantal to nice restaurants, picking her up in his jeep. Yet, also alone in his bedroom, Tye turns completely enraged when Chantal refuses to sleep with him sans a condom. He exhibits toxic masculinity— an ignorant disbelief that somehow it is belittling to be asked (much similar behavior to those who do not like request for STD tests prior to). He deliberately brings up her behavior at the party, that of which drew him to her. Chantal then complies and the couple have numerous encounters afterward. 

Despite their riff, Barbara (who knows firsthand what it’s like as a single teen mother) offers to pay the balance for Leola’s abortion. DP: Ronald Courtney.

However, Leola cannot go through with the procedure. DP: Ronald Courtney.

Chantal takes several pregnancy tests— they all come to the same conclusion. Weeks later, Chantal lies to Natete about receiving her period, trying to buy herself time for the things she’s mentally unprepared for. DP: Richard Connors.

Chantal likely knows that her friendship with Natete cannot survive because pregnancy means the end of certain pasttimes. DP: Richard Connors.

Other than Tye, a counselor is the only one who knows about Chantal’s pregnancy. She would be their savior during the labor. DP: Richard Connors.

The male reaction to the pregnancies are not surprising. Zeek asks Leola to marry him even though he clearly does not love her. While Leola does not exactly love Zeek either, she did harbor an earlier crush on him. He never knew she existed— according to Barbara. Whereas when Chantal tells Tye, Tye blows up and claims that the baby must not be his fully knowing well that he was Chantal’s first lover. In Tye’s incomprehensible mind, it still goes back to Chantal’s behavior at the party, eluding her old boyfriend to dance with every guy. Tye equates dancing to being a tease, a maneater. In a follow up scene, he softens (only a tad) to convince Chantal to have an abortion. 

A calm Zeek softly tells Leola that they will get through it together. DP: Ronald Courtney.

An outraged Tye berates Chantal in various public places— the girl’s bathroom, the library, and the great outdoors— to make a decision. DP: Richard Connors. 

Fortunately, Leola does not have to face her pregnancy alone. Barbara financially supports her abortion, but in the fifth hour Leola changes her mind, the nurse comforting her about the hard choice. Her mother then takes it further, being quite kind despite the pregnancy not being what she had in mind for her daughter’s future. Leola ultimately drops out, fearing what others will say about her. Teen pregnancy shame exists and no one wants to walk that walk, especially Chantal. She refuses to tell Natete, keeping the pregnancy a secret. Tye has his uncle give him money for an abortion in New Jersey. Chantal blows it all alongside Natete at the mall, but ultimately steps away from the friendship, withholding her inner distraught about pregnancy. Isolated and melancholic, Chantal puts effort in maintaining a facade— buying the same clothes yet larger, buying pads, hiding her increasing weight in a girdle. So alone in this choice, time passes and passes, she doesn’t even know how far advanced the pregnancy is until going into labor.  

Leola and her daughter on the playground. DP: Ronald Courtney.

Leola and her mama after the opening of Leola’s daycare. DP: Ronald Courtney.

Chantal also gives birth to a girl— and at Tye’s apartment where conveniently his mom is not home. DP: Richard Connors. 

Chantal and Tye choose to co-parent in the end. She attends community college. DP: Richard Connors. 

Love Your Mama and Just Another Girl On the I. R. T. are low budget cinema rich in very intelligent narrative highlighting the cons of teenage pregnancy, especially the impact on Black girls— and its essential pros. The films could have served well as educational resources versus what was actually given: outdated videos on sexual how to and heavy promotion of abstinence. Those learning devices did little to protect girls and women from sexual situations, from escaping coercion and peer pressure. Ruby Oliver and Leslie Harris shed light on the options granted if Leola and Chantal did not want their children. Outreach facilities/clinics and counselors are always available to help. They know that becoming a mother means leaving behind your freedom, the last of your girlhood tendencies as your body significantly changes. A baby alters life plans, but that doesn’t mean your dreams die completely. Although Chantal almost goes the terrible route, she undergoes an extreme change of heart at the right moment. Whereas Leola’s labor is unseen, Chantal goes right into it, including an afterbirth (which is almost never depicted onscreen). Leola and Chantal eventually take a positive outlook on their situations, facing challenges head on, and have managing a strong support system in a society determined to leave girls like them in problematic governmental programming.

They may read like Public Service Announcements, mainly the unpolished Love Your Mama, but the heartfelt stories about Leola and Chantal handle their weight in sensitive material with precious care.