(Not) Getting Paid to Do What You Love

Abstract

Profound transformations in our digital society have brought many enterprising women to social media platforms—from blogs to YouTube to Instagram—in hopes of channeling their talents into fulfilling careers. This book draws much-needed attention to the gap between the handful who find lucrative careers and the rest, whose “passion projects” amount to free work for corporate brands. The book offers fascinating insights into the work and lives of fashion bloggers, beauty vloggers, and designers. It connects the activities of these women to larger shifts in unpaid and gendered labor, offering a lens through which to understand, anticipate, and critique broader transformations in the creative economy. At a time when social media offers the rousing assurance that anyone can “make it”—and stand out among freelancers, temps, and gig workers—the book asks us all to consider the stakes of not getting paid to do what you love.