Just... Need A Job.

I am really not one to talk at length about the ways in which I, a white, upper-middle class, able-bodied, educated person am oppressed. But something's emerging here, as I search for a job in this big ole city, that I need to talk about.

Reasons why I can't get a job in retail or customer service:

1. scruffy facial hair + tits = not cool
2. box-shaped body and 5 foot height does not adequately advertise 'x' store's clothes/trendiness/"health"
3. not enough experience in retail/customer service
4. "overqualified"
5. don't know anyone yet who isn't just working at a small business that never hires
6. hetero and cis-sexism hurts me all the time. specifically the latter. not knowing what to ask for ("use gender neutral pronouns, please" gets sidelong glances and awkward foot shuffling, often)
7. will not sacrifice my politics TOO hard, just to work minimum wage in a destructive capitalist industry

Reasons why I can't get a job in an office:

1. appearance not "professional" (read: normatively gendered and monied)
2. no master's degree in office arts or whatever the fuck.
3. don't know the right people
4. there aren't that many out there, and every arts undergraduate with bills to pay is hunting for them
5. offices often = misogyny + classism
6. don't want to sit all day every day

Reasons why I can't get a job as a server:

1. no experience
2. not pretty enough
3. don't know the right people
4. hetero and cis-sexism FOR THE LOSE!

Reasons why I can't get a job in labour:

1. "not a man"
2. "not a woman" yet a "woman" - my fears of strange and horrible misogyny here are not ungrounded.  the Good People Of The World will say that people want "women" in the trades... no. no they don't. even if they did, they don't want "women" who aren't women. 
3. five feet tall, just "not strong enough"
4. no previous work experience
5. hetero and cis-sexism hurts me all the time. see above.

So... where does that leave me? Here are the skills I have:

1. talented and efficient proof-reader/editor
2. fantastic vocabulary
3. affable, outgoing, well-spoken
4. physical endurance beyond reason
5. patience in learning new things
6. attention to detail
7. problem-solving skills for DAYS
8. excellent judge of space and dimension
9. quick at math, complex and otherwise
10. an ability to visualize potential outcomes
11. skilled communicator, trained in logic, rhetoric and ethics
12. tidy, well-thought-out sense of style
13. funny, interesting
14. good story teller
15. creative
16. amazing memory for small details
17. great with kids
18. speed reader ... and writer, for that matter
19. knowledge and adoration of formatting, fonts and design elements of print
20. organized, timely, precise

That, along with a degree in Sociology and History*, legs of steel*, a charming grin* and good posture*... that should really be enough to get a kid like me a job.

And here's the thing. Even the people who can say "a boy like me" or "a girl like me" can't get jobs these days. So maybe it's not my genderfuckery. I just know that it puts me further down the list. I've had people throw my resumes out in front of me. I've had people smirk at me for trying. I've been told I wouldn't suit the company's "image." They've told me that the "help wanted" sign out there was out of date... and when I asked again a week later, they had just started interviews the day before and meant to have taken that down. I can't really handle the rejection of footing it around anymore, so I've turned to internet postings - which are almost worse, because there's no way to stand out, no way to show that you're a go-getter, that you speak with confidence, that you'll show up on time and well-dressed for things. My resume, only a year or two out of university, is unremarkable. But I haven't really had a chance to change that, have I?

Anyway, I'll stop whining. Whatever my disadvantages, I recognize that they are not as violently felt as those others might experience. I still have a great number of privileges (examples of which are *'d above), not least of which is the fact that I can voice all of these concerns, that I have access to diverse forms of self-expression, and that I am currently sitting in my cozy living room having just finished a bowl of ice cream. So no, I don't have it that bad. And I recognize that I'll probably get a job at some point soon, and while it will seem as though it is due to my skills and qualifications alone, I know that it will also have a lot to do with my race, my ability and my cultural capital. And I hope the people of the 99% know this too. If things get better for them, and the whole system hasn't completely changed? It's probably at the expense of somebody else. That's how it all works as it is right now. A different leader won't change that. A week or two in a park or on the street won't change that. Saying "NO I DON'T LIKE IT" won't change it, no matter how many of you or how loud. We need a better idea. We need something we can say yes to. Something we can love into being together.

But I digress for now.