I've been thinking about labor a lot lately. Specifically, the way it is, and isn't, valued in our society.
I live in the United States. Here, unless you provide a very specific type of labor, it is consistently devalued and even belittled. You see it often when people talk about how "burger flippers" don't deserve a living wage (spoiler: they do). You also see it when white collar office jobs are more highly praised than vital labor provided by people like sanitation workers or the folks working road construction. And those are just a tiny thimbleful of examples in a sea of gross rhetoric.
I live in the United States. Here, unless you provide a very specific type of labor, it is consistently devalued and even belittled. You see it often when people talk about how "burger flippers" don't deserve a living wage (spoiler: they do). You also see it when white collar office jobs are more highly praised than vital labor provided by people like sanitation workers or the folks working road construction. And those are just a tiny thimbleful of examples in a sea of gross rhetoric.
Labor is devalued in our society. Especially when that labor comes from people marginalized along other axes--women, people of color, disabled people, the list goes on. It worsens the more axes you exist along.
Lately I've been particularly thoughtful on the ways society devalues the labor of artists and creatives. A while back, someone on Twitter felt the need to quote tweet the link to my Ko-Fi profile, for the sole purpose of telling me they would never, ever donate to it. Upon browsing this person's profile, I saw that I was not even close to the only person they'd done this to. In particular they seemed to be targeting indie writers and freelance artists.
People consistently demand art, but never want to pay the artists. People ask artists to draw their OCs for free, people get angry if an ebook costs more than .99, people expect musicians to put their music for free on YouTube. Content creators are thus forced to undervalue our own work if we want people to compensate us at all. I myself have put stories up for free when I really wanted to charge, because it's so damn hard to convince people to do things like pledge to your Patreon if they don't get some "proof" that it's worth it. I charge under the average for sensitivity reading services, because I've had people ask my prices and then completely vanish, without so much as a "thank you for your time," when hearing my original quote.
It is expected that artists will always produce art, to the point where I wonder if people put any thought into where it comes from. It seems people truly believe art comes from thin air.
The idea that everyone hates their job contributes to this idea that those who do something they love--like artists--don't "really" work. And if it's not "really" work, then the labor doesn't deserve compensation. It's a common thought that if you enjoy producing art, than you would be doing it anyway, so you don't need to be paid for your time.
It's such a pervasive thought that trying to fight against it is an endurance trial. It feels like beating your head against a brick wall, honestly.
Dancing that line between valuing your own labor, and keeping your prices in the range people are actually willing to pay, is difficult, exhausting, and an endless reshuffling.
I don't know how to force it to change. All I know is that I'll be here in my corner, adding 20%+ tips to everything I commission, doing my best to value my own work, and boosting all of the hardworking content creators I know. I urge the rest of you to do the same. Value your own labor. Value the labor of your friends, and your community, and artists everywhere.
Don't let the world convince you that your labor doesn't deserve compensation. Because even if you aren't a master, even if you are just one in a sea of creators, you matter. Your work is important, and your labor has value.
And if you aren't a content creator, remember--our work is work, the same as yours. Without labor, you would have nothing. Art does not magically just appear, just as other goods to not magically just appear. If you want to continue living in a world full of creativity, you will compensate your artists, and boost their links, and do your part to help them stay fed.
Until next time,
Jenn.
People consistently demand art, but never want to pay the artists. People ask artists to draw their OCs for free, people get angry if an ebook costs more than .99, people expect musicians to put their music for free on YouTube. Content creators are thus forced to undervalue our own work if we want people to compensate us at all. I myself have put stories up for free when I really wanted to charge, because it's so damn hard to convince people to do things like pledge to your Patreon if they don't get some "proof" that it's worth it. I charge under the average for sensitivity reading services, because I've had people ask my prices and then completely vanish, without so much as a "thank you for your time," when hearing my original quote.
It is expected that artists will always produce art, to the point where I wonder if people put any thought into where it comes from. It seems people truly believe art comes from thin air.
The idea that everyone hates their job contributes to this idea that those who do something they love--like artists--don't "really" work. And if it's not "really" work, then the labor doesn't deserve compensation. It's a common thought that if you enjoy producing art, than you would be doing it anyway, so you don't need to be paid for your time.
It's such a pervasive thought that trying to fight against it is an endurance trial. It feels like beating your head against a brick wall, honestly.
Dancing that line between valuing your own labor, and keeping your prices in the range people are actually willing to pay, is difficult, exhausting, and an endless reshuffling.
I don't know how to force it to change. All I know is that I'll be here in my corner, adding 20%+ tips to everything I commission, doing my best to value my own work, and boosting all of the hardworking content creators I know. I urge the rest of you to do the same. Value your own labor. Value the labor of your friends, and your community, and artists everywhere.
Don't let the world convince you that your labor doesn't deserve compensation. Because even if you aren't a master, even if you are just one in a sea of creators, you matter. Your work is important, and your labor has value.
And if you aren't a content creator, remember--our work is work, the same as yours. Without labor, you would have nothing. Art does not magically just appear, just as other goods to not magically just appear. If you want to continue living in a world full of creativity, you will compensate your artists, and boost their links, and do your part to help them stay fed.
Until next time,
Jenn.
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