6 votes

The rise of the multi-hyphenate

7 comments

  1. [4]
    Sodliddesu
    Link
    How long has "Jack of all Trades" been a phrase? Shakespeare's time? The Rise of "a person with multiple skills" doesn't sound as unique because... Well, nothing new under the sun. Yes, I could...

    How long has "Jack of all Trades" been a phrase? Shakespeare's time? The Rise of "a person with multiple skills" doesn't sound as unique because... Well, nothing new under the sun. Yes, I could list "Video Editor-Rifle Marksman-Forklift qualified-Cook-Public Speaker" on my LinkedIn bio but... Who cares?

    I resonate with the article's takedown of the idea - we normally just call "Multihyphenates" handymen where I'm at. And one more thing, "Writer-Broadcaster-Podcast Host"? That's like, two skills. Two closely related skills. Most broadcasters write their own scripts and most podcast hosts share a lot of broadcast skills on any airwave. At least if it was a cool crossover like Skydiving Podcast Host or Small Engine Repair Nuclear Physicist or PHD holding Punk Rocker, those are cool.

    Henderson proposes that some of the desire to self-identify by many titles is a way of “grappling with and insufficiently trying to compensate for is that all those forms of labor increasingly look like the same thing.”

    I fucking love that guy.

    It’s hard to listen to Gannon talk about choosing a lifestyle when, for many, there is only one lifestyle option and it’s survival. It’s harder not to roll my eyes at “taking back power” when the multi-hyphenate is making commodification of the self under capitalism not only acceptable but enviable.

    To those of you flaunting your hyphenate status, keep on rising and grinding, grind yourself right to dust. This was a good read after beating Disco Elysium finally.

    13 votes
    1. [2]
      Queresote
      Link Parent
      Disco Elysium is one of the very few games that has made me feel stupid throughout°, but in a good way. ○: I haven't finished, but your comment has been a sign from the universe to endure and make...

      This was a good read after beating Disco Elysium finally.

      Disco Elysium is one of the very few games that has made me feel stupid throughout°, but in a good way.


      ○: I haven't finished, but your comment has been a sign from the universe to endure and make it to the end.

      4 votes
      1. sparksbet
        Link Parent
        God, you're in for a treat. Some of the best parts that made me feel the stupidest are right at the end. And be sure to get in those replays for the different vision quests, because they're also...

        God, you're in for a treat. Some of the best parts that made me feel the stupidest are right at the end. And be sure to get in those replays for the different vision quests, because they're also some of the best writing in the game.

        2 votes
  2. [2]
    kaleidoscope
    Link
    I recently learned the term "multi-hyphenate" after seeing it in a friend's professional bio.

    I recently learned the term "multi-hyphenate" after seeing it in a friend's professional bio.

    In case you hadn’t heard: the side hustle is over, and the multi-hyphenate has taken its place.

    “This is about choosing a lifestyle. This is about taking some power back into our own hands,” writes Emma Gannon in the introduction to her new book, The Multi-Hyphen Method. She goes on to explain that, despite the lament of the gig economy and the exploitation of contract workers, with a “plan of attack” we can find a “mishmash” of “different income streams” and become “a career chameleon.”

    The multi-hyphenate, an individual with so many skills they need multiple hyphens to list them, might seem like a revolutionary form of labor agency within a prescriptive job market, especially when it presents as Gannon’s writer-broadcaster-podcast host dream career. But the term inherently privileges certain skills over others, particularly those of knowledge workers who often hold secondary degrees, and idealizes a form of labor that becomes absorbed into personal identity, diminishing work-life balance and generating further barriers to worker solidarity.

    3 votes
    1. Queresote
      Link Parent
      Instinctual reaction: I think that self-referring as a multi-hyphenate feels similar to people calling themselves an "intellectual" or a "content creator". It's… sanitized. Also, it feels like a...

      Instinctual reaction: I think that self-referring as a multi-hyphenate feels similar to people calling themselves an "intellectual" or a "content creator". It's… sanitized. Also, it feels like a corporate 'industry plant'-style idea injected into the social environment to get people more used to the idea of having to hold several jobs to make ends meet.

      I'll have to ponder over this for some time, because I do see some goods to the label (for those who dig labels). But, gun-to-my-head decision, I'm averse to it.

      16 votes
  3. lou
    (edited )
    Link
    The deterioration of working conditions is a serious issue, but I would assume that at least some multihiphenated people have a core theme around which their projects gravitate. For example,...

    The deterioration of working conditions is a serious issue, but I would assume that at least some multihiphenated people have a core theme around which their projects gravitate.

    For example, someone who is primarily a screenwriter may also have a podcast about screenwriting or film, a blog where they reuse and expand on the podcast, and a vlog about how difficult it is to be a screenwriter. Maybe they're also a DJ and their specialty is finding the coolest movie soundtracks that also work on the dance floor.

    So I wouldn't say that this hypothetical person is a blogger, a podcaster, a vlogger, or a DJ. They're a screenwriter which also have a podcast, a blog, a vlog, and a cool soundtrack playlist. Some people are just adding combo after combo, using one activity to feed into another and reusing/recycling as much as they can.

    3 votes