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Making Money Out of Leisure: The Marketization of Handicrafts and Food Blogging

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The Social Meaning of Extra Money

Part of the book series: Dynamics of Virtual Work ((DVW))

Abstract

A total of 1.8 million handcrafters sell bags, clothes, and jewelry on the web platform Etsy. Thousands of home cooks try to make money from their blogs and commodify their food services (homemade meals, cookery classes, cookbooks, etc.). These activities, as hobbies, were traditionally belittled because of their high feminization rate. In addition, economic profits from marketization are often extremely low. Then why do middle-class women engage and persist in such commodification? Drawing on qualitative and quantitative data, the authors examine the social meaning of the marketization of handicrafts and food blogging. It often represents an offsetting activity begun during a hiatus in women’s trajectories. Non-economic benefits (sociability, social recognition, etc.) sustain the commodification as well as the extra work it requires. Finally, the so-called empowering effects of marketization on women are discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This work is supported by the Independent Social Research Foundation; the French National Research Agency in the framework of the “Investissements d’Avenir” program (ANR-15-IDEX-02), University Grenoble-Alpes Strategic Research Initiative (IRS 2017-MATRACA), and University Grenoble-Alpes Data Institute; the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme (MSH) Paris Nord; Paris-Dauphine University (IRISSO); and Sciences Po Grenoble (PACTE).

  2. 2.

    All names have been changed.

  3. 3.

    Pascale Weeks is a French food blog pioneer. She created her food blog in 2004.

  4. 4.

    The fact that most of these earnings are not declared is largely due to the nature of the income from marketization, its low amount, its reinvestment to finance the activity itself, and ignorance of the law. A gray economy consequently emerges, which might be seen as unfair competition by professional sellers.

  5. 5.

    This contrasts with professional artists-craftsmen (ceramists, cabinetmakers, glass-blowers, etc.) who see the commercial and business aspects of their trade as “dirty work” (Hughes 1962; Jourdain 2014).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Paris-Dauphine University, PSL Research University, CNRS, IRISSO, Paris, France

    Anne Jourdain

  2. Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Sciences Po Grenoble, PACTE, Grenoble, France

    Sidonie Naulin

Authors
  1. Anne Jourdain
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  2. Sidonie Naulin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Jourdain .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS Sciences Po Grenoble, PACTE, Grenoble, France

    Sidonie Naulin

  2. Paris-Dauphine University PSL Research University, CNRS, IRISSO, Paris, France

    Anne Jourdain

Appendix

Appendix

Table 3.1 The interviewees mentioned in the chapter
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Jourdain, A., Naulin, S. (2020). Making Money Out of Leisure: The Marketization of Handicrafts and Food Blogging. In: Naulin, S., Jourdain, A. (eds) The Social Meaning of Extra Money. Dynamics of Virtual Work. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18297-7_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18297-7_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-18296-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-18297-7

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