From the "birthed out of rage" post...

<blockquote>I learned very early on after becoming an influencer that being in a relationship with the influencer marketing industry is a lot like being in a relationship with a cheating boyfriend. They seem nice at first, appear invested in the relationship and ultimately draw you in with flattery and false promises, when in reality they’ve got thousands of you, and string each of you along by telling different versions of the same stupid lies.

... To the industry, influencers are neither viewed nor valued as individuals with unique perspective, skills and expertise within their niche – they’re numbers on a spreadsheet that exist to cut costs, pretty women to be replaced if they misbehave or ask too much, interchangeable bodies whose primary function is to serve the industry as opposed to themselves. It doesn’t actually matter who you are as a person, as an influencer. To the industry, there is always another you.</blockquote>

All of this sounds true.

I'm all for educating people that it's a shit job. It'll save a lot of pretty girls from blighting their youth in the social media shop window. And it'll help Serious Social Media Professionals by eliminating cheap competition from amateurs, not to mention competition that's perkier, fresher, and with less attitude.

<blockquote>just a young girl in a male-dominated corporate world trying to get dressed for work without being too cold, too cute, not cute enough or killing my feet</blockquote>

I thought she was an independent professional. This sounds like she's in the typing pool.It all sounds very 1970's. And the "fuck you pay me" slogan sounds like 1970's militancy too.

If a secretary is hired or fired on the basis of age or looks or style or willingness to smile, that's sexual harassment or discrimination, because these days secretaries are administrative professionals and not corporate eyecandy or hostesses.

But presumably age and looks and style are essential to hiring or firing an influencer - you look like the niche they're aiming at, you're the face of a generation, you're "relatable". 99% of the applicants will be told 99% of the time that they have the wrong look. That's brutal - it's one of the reasons why it's not a job for amateurs or for sensitive souls.

But it's not fat leering men who are telling you you have the wrong look. Marketing departments are heavily female these days.