Feminist Economics 2 - Time-use and Well-being (+ aspirational labor)
Key Concepts
Time-use: Feminist economics "time-use" studies focus on analyzing how individuals allocate their time between paid and unpaid labor, personal activities, and leisure. By incorporating gender and intersectional perspectives as a critical lens, feminist time-use studies aim to reveal inequalities in time allocation and propose ways to redistribute time more equitably to enhance overall well-being.
Well-being scorecard: According to feminist economists like Gibson & Graham, well-being encompasses more than just financial aspects; it includes material (meeting one’s basic needs), occupational (enjoyment of what we do every day), social (personal relationships and networks), community (involved in community activities) and physical (health and environment) dimensions. They argue that all forms of work, paid and unpaid, should contribute to well-being.
Gibson-Graham, Julie-Katharine, Jenny Cameron, and Stephen Healy. Take back the economy: An ethical guide for transforming our communities. U of Minnesota Press, 2013.
Aspirational labor: a concept introduced by Brooke Erin Duffy, describes mostly unpaid, independent work driven by the ideal of transforming passion into a paid career. It involves significant time investment from content creators, especially in digital media, who hope their efforts will lead to future professional opportunities. This labor is future-oriented, prioritizing long-term aspirations over immediate financial gain, and is rooted in the "Do What You Love" ideology, which posits that work should be personally fulfilling. In reselling, aspirational labor manifests as individuals invest considerable time in activities like sourcing products, managing listings, and customer interaction, hoping to turn their hobby into a profitable business. This can lead to "time poverty," where extensive work interferes with personal life and well-being. The reliance on platforms like eBay or Etsy, which use algorithms to dictate engagement and optimize listings, can create dependency and intensify this labor. Moreover, aspirational labor in reselling is often gendered, reflecting societal norms where women might seek flexible work to balance other responsibilities, and engage in undervalued affective labor, such as building community relationships and managing customer interactions (Brooke Erin Duffy, Lesley Owens).
Aspirational labor: a concept introduced by Brooke Erin Duffy, describes mostly unpaid, independent work driven by the ideal of transforming passion into a paid career. It involves significant time investment from content creators, especially in digital media, who hope their efforts will lead to future professional opportunities. This labor is future-oriented, prioritizing long-term aspirations over immediate financial gain, and is rooted in the "Do What You Love" ideology, which posits that work should be personally fulfilling. In reselling, aspirational labor manifests as individuals invest considerable time in activities like sourcing products, managing listings, and customer interaction, hoping to turn their hobby into a profitable business. This can lead to "time poverty," where extensive work interferes with personal life and well-being. The reliance on platforms like eBay or Etsy, which use algorithms to dictate engagement and optimize listings, can create dependency and intensify this labor. Moreover, aspirational labor in reselling is often gendered, reflecting societal norms where women might seek flexible work to balance other responsibilities, and engage in undervalued affective labor, such as building community relationships and managing customer interactions (Brooke Erin Duffy, Lesley Owens).