workinggirls - Jezebel

posts about #workinggirls more →
Out-Of-Work Asylum Seekers In Britain Feel The Pinch
How Writers Are Like Hookers
Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
Bad Times Mean More Call Girls: Sex Work And The Recession
Bullied At Work? Chances Are, The Abuser Is Another Woman
Palm Beach Story: Lilly Pulitzer Is Bizarrely Fascinating
Suited Up: Interview Uniforms Are 'Back'
Retired Escort Has Advice For Hordes Of Wannabe-Hookers
Telling Mom You're A Hooker Isn't Always So Horrible

Your version of Internet Explorer is not supported. Please upgrade to the most recent version in order to view comments.

Dsmvwl Admin Promote to frontpage Approve user Ban user ×

Ailatan
10/15/09

In reply to Out-Of-Work Asylum Seekers In Britain Feel The Pinch
Farzana, I know that it seems very tough and unfair, but try to understand and help your Mum. Don't do anything silly like crossing the border and getting into trouble, she seems already burdened with many problems.

Keep strong, things will get better for you two.

I wish I could say that to them. #refugees
Reply

Ailatan was starred Ailatan was unstarred

thePrototype
10/15/09

In reply to Out-Of-Work Asylum Seekers In Britain Feel The Pinch
Isn't it pretty standard to not allow immigrants to work while in their paperwork clears? I am not sure how people seeking asylum are treated, but I know that legal spouses in both Canada and the US are not allowed to work anywhere from 6 months to over a year. #refugees
Reply

thePrototype was starred thePrototype was unstarred

thespaceygirl
10/15/09

@thePrototype: perhaps there are more opportunities to work illegally in united states than in britian. #refugees
Reply

Plum-Pie promoted this comment thespaceygirl was starred thespaceygirl was unstarred

Plum-Pie
10/15/09

@thespaceygirl: I have no idea if there are more opportunities in the US but there are lots of opportunities to work illegally over here and (I imagine) in very similar roles - cleaning, factory work, catering. But basically the economy means that Brits will now take these jobs, or such jobs temporarily don't exist. Plus there is something of a crackdown on those who hire illegal workers currently. #refugees
Reply

Plum-Pie was starred Plum-Pie was unstarred

J.D.Regent
10/16/09

@thePrototype: Asylum seekers are allowed to work in the US, in line with obligations under international law. Of course, they can't get any other benefits here like they do in the UK. Asylum seekers are legally present in their countries of refuge unless and until they are given a final rejection on their case. #employment
Reply

J.D.Regent was starred J.D.Regent was unstarred

J.D.Regent
10/16/09

@thePrototype: I also am not sure what you mean by "legal spouses." People who are entering the US on a spouse visa are allowed to work from day one, or as soon as their applications are received. #employment
Reply

J.D.Regent was starred J.D.Regent was unstarred

thePrototype
10/16/09

@J.D.Regent: If you come across on a K1 Visa you are allowed to work until you actually get married, at which point your status changes. Then you are not allowed to work until you receive your AOS or Permanent Residence which took us about 6 months to receive (which I understand is quick). #employment
Reply

thePrototype was starred thePrototype was unstarred

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza!
09/23/09

In reply to How Writers Are Like Hookers
Writers and prostitutes are nothing alike. They're degrading themselves every day, answering Craigslist ads asking them to sell themselves for next to nothing, and now that most people can get it for free online they're barely eking out a living.
Prostitutes, on the other hand, are just experiencing a temporary, recession-related setback.
Reply

Pizza!Pizza!Pizza! was starred

Alexis
09/23/09

@HeatherNumber1: Wow, that stung my soul.

*hearted*
Reply

Alexis was starred Alexis was unstarred

theKP
09/23/09

In reply to How Writers Are Like Hookers
So does that mean that the advice dispensed by the ACORN workers (leaving aside looking the other way with regard to child prostitution) was correct legally? That there is in fact a provision or legal precedent set up to enable prostitutes and johns to file taxes without being arrested?
Reply

schweppes promoted this comment theKP was starred theKP was unstarred

schweppes
09/23/09

@theKP: Totally. The IRS encourages it.
Reply

schweppes was starred schweppes was unstarred

theKP
09/23/09

@schweppes: Now I'm confused about what the controversy is about. People might find it distasteful to be dispensing tax advice to sex workers, but if they weren't encouraging anyone to break the law by filing as a performance artist, then why are people so up in arms? I actually thought this was a moral issue with a legal edge, but now it looks like it's entirely a moral issue. I'm also now wondering what the proper procedure would be if a sex worker called the IRS directly for tax advice--would the IRS employee be expected to provide the advice and move on, or would the employee be expected to turn the person away and report him or her? Can people with incomes derived from illegal sources get tax advice? Or are accountants/lawyers/whoever ethically obligated to call the police on them? My brain hurts.
Reply

theKP was starred theKP was unstarred

RisaPlata
09/23/09

@theKP: I think it was more the part where the fake pimp said he was bringing in a bunch of girls from the Dominican Republic (I think?) to work with them and the ACORN worker suggested they claim the girls as dependents. And they asked a guy in San Diego about the best place to get the girls across the border and the guy there said, "Tijuana, definitely. I know some people."
Reply

RisaPlata was starred RisaPlata was unstarred

SomeAuthorGirl
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
Piss off lady, that was the self-obsessed Baby Boomers that gave birth to me. Generation Me, my ass.

I don't have time to hunt happiness, I'm too busy working my ass off to have 2/3's of the "having it all" I was assured I would get. Any happiness that I accidentally trip over on my way from point A to point B is entirely random.

Grr. Today was not the day for me to read this.
Reply

SomeAuthorGirl was starred SomeAuthorGirl was unstarred

Diziet_Sma
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
Lorraine Candy is a silly cow. I wouldn't even bother to take anything she says remotely seriously.
Reply

Diziet_Sma was starred Diziet_Sma was unstarred

braak: You are, as usual, completely correct.
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
Yeah, this smacks of that old-guard resentment. "What? You guys get to have families too? That's not fair! I didn't get to have a family! I had to choose! You shouldn't be allowed to have a family, either!"

Fuck you, old guard. The whole point of progress is that the new generation gets it better than you guys did.
Reply

SarahMC
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
This whole article also assumes that men are all delighted in their jobs, which is a crock of shit.
Reply

SarahMC was starred SarahMC was unstarred

megnificent
03/30/09

@SarahMC: Or, God forbid, that men might sometimes feel like their families are more important.
Reply

megnificent was starred megnificent was unstarred

hello.kitty
03/30/09

@SarahMC: True. My hubby survived the ax at work, but he is actually more miserable now than before. And it spills over into our marriage and family life.
Reply

hello.kitty was starred hello.kitty was unstarred

gherkinfiend
03/30/09

@SarahMC: Exactly, my brother has a very successful career with a good salary and opportunity for promotion in a creative field, and at 34 he feels he is desperately missing out because he is single and childless...

I on the other hand am single, childless and unemployed at 30 and try and enjoy the lack of pressure having no responsibility brings!
Reply

gherkinfiend was starred gherkinfiend was unstarred

Dear Blond Diary
03/30/09

@gherkinfiend: I have an awesome single brother too! Let's swap ;)
Reply

Dear Blond Diary was starred Dear Blond Diary was unstarred

Frequentlywrong
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
I worked for a medical company (we sold oxygen, which you may have noticed is free) and they came up with a "Mission Statement"

The BIG boss talked about how the senior execs had toiled (at a posh w/e retreat) to come up with 5 bullet points that exemplified the company, he then said " a lot of people put family as something that's important to us, but we don't have time for family so we didn't use that one" that helped me quit, mission accomplished!
Reply

Frequentlywrong was starred Frequentlywrong was unstarred

hkcd
03/30/09

@Frequentlywrong: "Now get back in there and sell those damn sick people some air!" Good one, executives.
Reply

hkcd was starred hkcd was unstarred

CretaKano
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
A couple weeks ago I had a job interview at a nonprofit. I'm 30 and have two kids under the age of 5. The fact that I have young kids came up in the interview and they made a big freaking deal about it, and the fact that I wouldn't be able to work evenings since I had to pick them up from child care at 5:30. (I offered to come in at the crack of dawn instead so I could leave by 5:00 - I also offered to come in on weekends if they required over 45 hours/week). The office was all women in their 30s and 40s and nobody else had kids. I had four interviews and ended up not getting the job. My point: I want a family and a career, but I find that everyone acts very concerned about my ability to have both. I'm in a very liberal city, and yet people are constantly pushing me towards the "happiness" of my family and away from the "challenge" of my career. I desperately want the luxury to create my own balance, but unfortunately I have not been able to find an employer who is willing to let me do that.
Reply

CretaKano was starred CretaKano was unstarred

AthertonMerriweather
03/30/09

@CretaKano: That really bugs me. You would think that employers would be more flexible in this day and age when it comes to working hours for people with and people without kids. The regular 9-5 doesn't work for anyone anymore.
Reply

LaFemme
03/30/09

@CretaKano: Well the NGO racket is a mess. So many of them want to hire people, usually pretty young, who they can work to death. (At least in DC). They can afford to be picky enough to say "we want you to speak 3 foreign languages, have at least a masters and 3 years experience, have published on a relevant topic, and be willing to work 60 hr weeks for 40k a year." I don't know if this is the case everywhere, but this may be what you are up against, especially now when the economy is so shitty and there are so many people unemployed. Unfortunately it just makes it easier to elimate based on other factors, like if you are willing to work late hours.
Reply

LaFemme was starred LaFemme was unstarred

TheFormerJuneBronson
03/30/09

@CretaKano: That's really irritating. I know I couldn't have my boss's job (as a historic house site manager) right now because of the evening hours involved. I figure that once my kids are a little closer to the finish line, I can then consider it. Not that I especially want her job, either--she practically lives there.

The day care makes it really inflexible. Ours closes at 5:30. Unless you work locally and get off work at a traditional hour, it's useless.
Reply

AthertonMerriweather
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
I try to surround myself with people and activities that make me happy to offset the misery that is my job. It's pretty simple.
Reply

crazy_lady
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
Silly.

Happiness means different things to different women. Some might want families, some might like to work. Some might like both. Etc.

I plan to find a career that is "hard driving", and yet will bring me happiness. Don't want children.

We'll see where that gets me.
Reply

crazy_lady was starred crazy_lady was unstarred

crazy_lady
03/30/09

@crazy_lady: Then again, I'm not thirty something(close enough to...)...so maybe the dreaded biological clock will slap me upside the head in due time and I'll be that carefree thirtysomething.

Or not.

You know, another thing. She's assuming these women are happy.
Reply

crazy_lady was starred crazy_lady was unstarred

TheFormerJuneBronson
03/30/09

@crazy_lady: She must have an odd idea of carefree if she thinks having kids brings you that.
Reply

hello.kitty
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
So this is the reason there are no lady mags in my therapist's office!
Reply

hello.kitty was starred hello.kitty was unstarred

smizmar
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
I can vouch for her point about pregnancy being a huge issue with employers back in the day. Only 13 years ago, when I had my child, I was so nervous about my employer's potential reaction that I waited until I was 6 months along to tell them.

And a good marriage and home life definitely makes me happier than any career possibly could. So I guess I am hopelessly antiquidated.
Reply

smizmar was starred smizmar was unstarred

hello.kitty
03/30/09

@cointreau-teese: Whoa how did you hide your condition for 6 months???
Reply

hello.kitty was starred hello.kitty was unstarred

Red-headed bookworm
03/30/09

@cointreau-teese: You aren't antiquated. :) I think it does say something about what some women had to sacrifice in order for women getting out of college to have good careers and family lives if they choose to have both.
Reply

SarahMC
03/30/09

In reply to Elle UK Editor Surprised That Today's Women Care About "Happiness"
I love how, in 2009, writers still act as though women who work outside the home are an aberration. Listen, I don't expect that my 9-5 job will bring me the ultimate fulfillment. I doubt most women do. But that's not why we have careers, you idiots. It's what we gotta do to maintain self-sufficiency in this world.
Reply

SarahMC was starred SarahMC was unstarred

sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit)
03/30/09

@SarahMC: Just find a man who has money, you humorless harpy! Jeez, how hard is that? And we all know a Black AmEx with your husband's name on it = happiness.
Reply

Plum-Pie
03/30/09

@SarahMC: Despite the fact the 70% of UK women work!

[news.bbc.co.uk]
Reply

Plum-Pie was starred Plum-Pie was unstarred

Earlier discussions Other discussions Show all discussions Show featured discussions only Start a new discussion

SUBSCRIBE TO Jezebel

Login

Reset Password

Register

Submit Your Comment