There is a rather large problem in predominantly Western, white culture. I call this problem Posh Girl Jobs. These are aspirational, creative jobs, which you can only really take in the first place because you are “well bred” enough to effortlessly converse and communicate with a certain echelon of client. Equally you must have a suitably substantial trust fund or rich partner to subsidise your appallingly low income. On top of this you are expected to keep up with designer appearances, all whilst working your ass off (often for someone with an enormous ego who will take all creative credit for your hard work!)
Such industries tend to include:
Fashion
Interior design
Publishing
Creative Writing
PR
Many facets of the beauty industry
ETC
Posh Girl Jobs symbolise (usually white) privilege more than many other things do to me. I find the monoculture these industries create highly problematic. And yet I, admittedly, am one of these posh girls:
I went to a private school, therefore I’m suitably educated for such endeavours. I am artistically gifted, therefore I have the skillset to pursue such roles. I am slim enough and well-presented enough (and certainly blonde enough) to fit into an image of what’s expected. And, up until recently, I had a long-term partner who works in finance, therefore many employers, family members and friends alike, all assumed he could be in charge of bank-rolling me whilst I worked my bum off to create a creative career for myself for next-to-no money.
Not only that but the expectation has always been that said posh girls keep up with the demands of a hard, time consuming job, all whilst being criminally underpaid for their work. Their creative ideas are to be extrapolated and re-applied for the man. And of course they must always be on their best behaviour at all times as there is always a queue of people behind them who’d happily take their job if they were to leave or be asked to leave.
This endemic is hardly the crux of the world’s issues, but it is a symbol of them. To be born into a certain type of middle-class privilege gives you an undeniable leg-up in life. I find it highly concerning that the narrative around professional creativity is that there are either starving artists, housewives who paint, or innately creative people who sell their souls for money in the corporate world yet would secretly rather be pursuing their passions, interspersed with the odd, astronomical success story.
This creates limiting beliefs and blind acceptance amongst all of its victims. It makes me sad at how many of my creatively talented friends have decided to forgo their artistic ambitions in order to “finally make some proper money”. They spend their days in a lacklustre office, doing work they’re not passionate about, counting down until 5.30pm. Equally I also know people in a more alternative set, wannabe artists, who secretly feel ashamed of their more corporate ambitions when they don’t see that creativity can play into anything. And of course there are the friends who take those posh girl jobs, work bloody hard at their art, and their partner or parent is thenm relied on for their living costs.
I even had my own posh girl conundrum recently, in which I was in discussions for a features writer role, at a dream magazine, which would have required me to move back to Sydney (relying on me to bankroll the move) yet only be paid a graduate salary which is far below what I’m worth now after a 12 year creative career.
I’m now pinpointing this particular posh job’s bad points, yet I admit that despite them I wanted that role because my dream is still (in this age of the internet, and along with publishing books etc) to be a senior staff writer at a long-running magazine. The magazine title also came from a media brand that I have wanted to work for my entire life, and the experience would have been extraordinary.
In them reaching out for an interview I also, finally, felt wanted by this media brand. A publisher which I had interned for 10 years prior, but which I’d never had any luck in getting a real job with. In any case the job role didn’t come to be, and I’m now back in the world of freelancing, working towards a book deal and pumping up my bank account with corporate copywriting.
Working at a magazine seems the poshest posh girl job there is, and yet it’s the one I still want most yet can’t afford!
I think it’s unfair that in so many celebrity interviews, often centring on a creative person involved in the film business (OK, a famous actor) the interviewee is almost expected to exclaim how “lucky” they are to have found success in a creative field. Sure, anyone is lucky to have success in any role they’ve pursued, but equally shouldn’t every deserving, hard working person be able to achieve their goals throughout their career? Gratitude is as important as reward when it comes to hard work.
I myself have had many a posh girl job across the fashion PR, luxury retail, publishing and interior design sectors. I have worked my best in all of them. In return I have been treated badly by the majority of my bosses, burnt out at times, and I have always been underpaid. Up until recently I believed that this was a choice. That I chose the creative life and therefore had to put up with it’s financial pitfalls (and ego-maniac clients and employers). Yet now I refuse to believe that anymore. My chosen path to success mightn’t be as seemingly linear as others but I now won’t put up with underselling myself for a second longer.
I will say that there have of course been exceptions to this in my life. The generosity and support I received when working for a lovely interior design firm, a posh girl job for sure, cancels out this rule. There I worked for, and was mentored by, one of the kindest people I know, who really saw my worth. Yet most of my career has been a posh girl trap.
At its root such a problem wouldn’t exist if we lived in an equal and diverse society. Any monoculture is dangerous, just look at the GFC for evidence. I am not complaining about my own situation either. My private education, and general middle-class-ness, has certainly got me places. Most professional connections I have now are ones I’ve made myself, but without my upbringing I wouldn’t have begun where I had. This is something I am acutely aware of.
However I find it to be unjust that educated, creative women are expected to use their time and talents for someone else’s business and not be remunerated sufficiently. It’s also unfair that despite social progress we are still sent the message that a man should be responsible for almost all household income and outgoings. Anyone should be able to conjure up independent means through their chosen career. Jobs are not just about sharing ones gifts and adding value to the world, but also about receiving your worth in exchange for your work.
I know that these are all sweeping statements, and that certain things are changing. Another blazingly obvious issue that falls into the realm of Posh Girl Jobs is the total lack of diversity in posh girl industries. The absence of diversity in my various workplaces throughout the years has always been apparent. Sure, many of these are female- dominated industries, so that’s one progressive plus, but where are the people of colour, where are the LGBTQIA+ people in these fields, where are the mature employees returning to work after parenthood or a break?
Clearly there are so many other jobs out there which are unfairly paid - on both ends of the spectrum. My posh-ness also means I know I’ll never starve, and the fact that I live in a wealthy country, and am from a wealthy country, means there is more access to good government resources. In saying this I still think it’s high time that people are empowered to forge careers for themselves in whichever field it suited to their skillset and desires. That they can be equally educated and paid along the way and that employers open up.
You heard it here from this Posh Girl, Posh Girl Jobs should soon be a thing of the past.
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