Dear Editor,

I would like to first congratulate the People’s National Party Youth Organisation (PNPYO) President Krystal Tomlinson and entertainer Moses “Beenie Man” Davis on their pregnancy.

However, I would like to also state that because Tomlinson has put herself out there as a public figure, and as a youth leader, being pregnant out of wedlock doesn’t bode well because it sends a negative message that it is OK for young people to accept and “hug up” the babymother syndrome that has been plaguing Jamaican family life.

I was expecting Tomlinson to be a new leader with fresh ideas and one that would show Jamaica that one can pursue a career and have a stable, traditional family.

Being a young female adult in a male-dominated society comes with its difficulties and challenges. Many young ladies look up to her as a guiding light, and with her pregnancy out of wedlock, one has to wonder if she is flouting certain values.

She doesn’t need anyone’s permission to conceive because it’s her and her partner’s choice, but the optics “nuh look good”.

The Status of Children Act, 1976 legitimised children born out of wedlock, which was followed up by the Neville “Struggle” Martin hit song with the lyrics of “No bastard nuh deh again”, but I am of the belief that modern society still sings the “put a ring on it” tune in the realm of respect.

A child is a beautiful gift from God, but Tomlinson must remember that she also has a young and easily influenced audience. So, if she wants to be taken seriously as a leader, she should do what great leaders do and lead. Do not be a statistic — one of the many babymothers for the man who has professed to have “nuff gyal and gyal inna bungle”!

Patrick Callum

patrickcallum@yahoo.com