Ross’s Creativity & Free Labor was the most powerful article we read last week. Each article was important and interesting, however only one strut a personal cord in me. Specifically the portion of the article that talked about internships and what anyone would do to get one. From the start you are told that around sophomore year you should be looking into internships and spending your summer at one. Internships have become such a valued portion of a resume that most students will look down on those who do not have one. Especially if they are unlucky and end up with an unpaid internship.
The fact that there is bidding in order to receive a one week internship at Vogue shocks me to the core. I know I could never afford to pay thousands of dollars to earn a seat at such a short program. What could I possibly learn from only one week at an internship? The answer is not enough to justify bidding $8000. However, due to increasing pressures students are likely to fall for these, just to get a seat somewhere reputable.
Dream Careers, formerly known as University of Dreams, is such a site where a student must pay in order to be guaranteed an internship at a reputable company. When Ross mentioned this site in the article I was reminded of my experience with this site. I had been forwarded the email through the Amica Center and I remember frantically searching for an internship that I gave it a try. I was so excited to finding a perfect opportunity that I had almost gave in and paid for one. Though when someone tries to get you to pay $1000 for a chance at an internship, I find it wakes you up pretty fast.
Moving on to the Ukeles' Manifesto for Maintenance article, I would like to touch upon Tatianna’s discussion on motherhood and gender roles in the 1950s. There is a history class in Bryant called Gender and American Culture in the 1950s, which I will admit I did not take as one of my history classes. The class is required to read about the Feminine Mystique, which focuses on just how unhappy but trapped these women were in their roles. Women were expected to o to college and get a man. And if they managed to graduate before getting married, they had a degree they would never use.
To answer Tatianna I think the women would have enjoyed the manifesto, except would be too afraid to try and do something against the role they play in society. Unfortunately being labeled a deviant is more terrifying, therefore they stayed at home and took tranquilizers to get through the day. Sadly this type of woman is still a major fetish today with Yamato Nadeshiko, the epitome of pure, feminine beauty, within Japan.
To summarize my points above, today's economy profits off of free labor. For a male it is to have the perfect housewife who cares for the family, while he is off earning money. The husband would be unable to function without the free labor his wife provides by upkeeping the household. Similarly internships allow companies to have minor jobs completed by their free labor workers. However, without these interns the cmpany would crumble due to the infrastructure they have built the company on.
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