Quick Hits 1 July 2008

Unite ye models of the world! I know, I didn't expect to be agitating for labor protections for the oppressed masses of fashion models, but dang, this Jezebel piece is eye opening. Most models apparently make crappy wages, pay commissions from 20 to 50% to their agencies, are expected to take gigs for free in exchange for exposure and reputation, and may work in dangerous situations. Shards of broken glass on your eyelids for the sake of a photograph? No. Under no circumstances. The end. Shudder.

CNN notes that women are more likely than men to be trailing spouses, taking a career hit to relocate for a partner's job. Well, no kidding, when women's jobs are typically considered to be more "flexible" than men's, no matter what the actual job. The NYT's recent piece on coparenting mentions this. Author Lisa Belkin--remember her from all those "if seven rich white female Ivy League graduates are doing it, it must be a trend!" pieces?--writes that one researcher "suggest[s] that the perception of flexibility is itself a matter of perception. In her study, she was struck by how often the wife’s job was seen by both spouses as being more flexible than the husband’s. By way of example she describes two actual couples, one in which he is a college professor and she is a physician and one in which she is a college professor and he is a physician. In either case, Deutsch says “both the husband and wife claimed the man’s job was less flexible.” Go figure.

Paula Gregorowicz posts at BlogHer about the economics of DIY.

Single Ma does what she has to do so she can do what she wants to do. As my own ma would say, she's one smart cookie.