Appreciate the nuance you bring to this topic! I also try to differentiate between influencers and creators. Creators CAN be influencers—but I’m a professional content creator who earns income from my audience (on Substack) not through brand deals. I’m not what people think of when they think of a stereotypical influencer. And I’m making tens of thousands from my content.
Gosh I've never really thought about it like that but it makes sense. When a woman opens a business its a 'passion project funded by family money that'll only last a year'. But when men do it, they're an 'entrepeneur who worked hard day and night through trail an error'. It's doesn't help when influencers tend to be from a younger generation so it makes them more vulnerable to onlookers and critiques.
if we look historically, the first merchant classes were reviled by regular/peasant people because a large degree of mercantilism was (and still is) exploitative and manipulative. Influencers are essentially a new form of merchant class, one born from the marketer class. The reason people don't like them is not because they are women, it is because people do not really enjoy being sold to in any way at the core of their being. influencers also wrap it up in faux empowerment, while being complicit in their own oppression.
This story seems to be hitting all the places I read, but I don't want some bro coming at me with hot questions and a hot mike while I'm trying to buy a smoothie any more than I want to be in the background of a pretty white lady's video at a bougie basket store*. I don't want to be someone else's content, and I don't see anything wrong with not allowing the panopticon into your private business.
As for women == influencers, I don't think I've ever made that assumption. If I were to rattle off a list of "influencers" I know by name the list would have just as many if not more men on it. How did women get stuck with the title, the fellas are out here influencing for my attention just as hard.
* I would probably not go to a bougie basket store, but my point stands
You'd think that if people found these influencers as annoying as they say they do, that they wouldn't be giving them any attention and then the influencers wouldn't have the platform that they do. I think people find it more satisfying to hate (and, hate watch)
That's probably a Venn diagram situation though, right? Certainly there's overlap where some enjoy people hate-watching dumb bullshit but I think there are probably larger groups that a) consume the content because they genuinely like and find value in it or b) avoid it as much as possible. It is very easy to be bothered by these types and what they represent while not engaging with their actual content or even the platforms they're on.
Appreciate the nuance you bring to this topic! I also try to differentiate between influencers and creators. Creators CAN be influencers—but I’m a professional content creator who earns income from my audience (on Substack) not through brand deals. I’m not what people think of when they think of a stereotypical influencer. And I’m making tens of thousands from my content.
Gosh I've never really thought about it like that but it makes sense. When a woman opens a business its a 'passion project funded by family money that'll only last a year'. But when men do it, they're an 'entrepeneur who worked hard day and night through trail an error'. It's doesn't help when influencers tend to be from a younger generation so it makes them more vulnerable to onlookers and critiques.
if we look historically, the first merchant classes were reviled by regular/peasant people because a large degree of mercantilism was (and still is) exploitative and manipulative. Influencers are essentially a new form of merchant class, one born from the marketer class. The reason people don't like them is not because they are women, it is because people do not really enjoy being sold to in any way at the core of their being. influencers also wrap it up in faux empowerment, while being complicit in their own oppression.
This story seems to be hitting all the places I read, but I don't want some bro coming at me with hot questions and a hot mike while I'm trying to buy a smoothie any more than I want to be in the background of a pretty white lady's video at a bougie basket store*. I don't want to be someone else's content, and I don't see anything wrong with not allowing the panopticon into your private business.
As for women == influencers, I don't think I've ever made that assumption. If I were to rattle off a list of "influencers" I know by name the list would have just as many if not more men on it. How did women get stuck with the title, the fellas are out here influencing for my attention just as hard.
* I would probably not go to a bougie basket store, but my point stands
Have to say that cake on her head is righteous. She's also convinced me I should have cake for dinner.
You'd think that if people found these influencers as annoying as they say they do, that they wouldn't be giving them any attention and then the influencers wouldn't have the platform that they do. I think people find it more satisfying to hate (and, hate watch)
That's probably a Venn diagram situation though, right? Certainly there's overlap where some enjoy people hate-watching dumb bullshit but I think there are probably larger groups that a) consume the content because they genuinely like and find value in it or b) avoid it as much as possible. It is very easy to be bothered by these types and what they represent while not engaging with their actual content or even the platforms they're on.
Yeah that's true. And maybe the people who hate on that type of content are also, by extension, hating on general society as well.