Aren’t You Tired?
In the time that it has taken me to write this piece (five months, I’m a slow mover) the discourse on influencers and bloggers within the drinks industry has grown rapidly. People have written far more intellectual pieces, with statistics on how influencers can affect the drinks market, and far nastier pieces with some writers comparing influencers to the plague.
The pandemic has created a complicated scenario, some folk now have the space and time to create in a way that they haven't had before. I’m not sure if Burum Collective would exist in the way that it does if I hadn’t been furloughed from my job. The pandemic has also fostered feelings of anger, and frustration; the inevitable pile on on Twitter has become an almost day to day occurrence.
One of the victims of this heighted way of interaction is the drinksfluencer.
With the way that social media has integrated itself into our lives, influencing is just the latest role in marketing. In addition to a brand sending their products to a reviewer in the newspaper or a writer for a magazine, they might also send them to people who they see having an influence over the market. In a similar fashion to the way that a lot of drinks professionals who are writers or who have publications are offered products. Are these jobs so totally different?
In a scenario where businesses are trying to expand their customer base, the use of social media to get folk engaged with your industry can only be a good thing.
The argument I see a lot against influencers, is usually against those who actively contact breweries and producers trying to get free products in exchange for posts, or those who have travelled around the world in the middle of the pandemic claiming “work purposes”. These gripes are understandable, and I don’t think these behaviours are okay, but neither do I believe that all influencers behave this way. I am a bartender. Some bartenders are creepy, rude, condescending and abusive. Some bartenders steal, or drink on shift.
I am aware that these aren’t direct comparisons. Influencers are far more visible in their work than bartenders are, plus the problems within hospitality are often suppressed by upper management, low pay and almost zero unionisation. What I am saying is, there are professions in the drinks industry that are upheld by people who can cause others serious harm, which to me, makes the overall aggressive response towards the role of the influencer and the ongoing debate as to their worth within the industry extremely confusing.
By having an online presence and therefore a platform, aren’t we all influencing someone? After sharing James Lawrence’s scathing piece on influencers for wine-searcher (The Incurable Plague of Wine Influencers) my friend Emily pointed out: “he says that 'influencing' about wine is a pointless job... Isn't that exactly what he's trying to do with his writing, just without the pictures...?”.
Which takes us back to the question, are these jobs so totally different? From the interactions I have witnessed on Twitter, some drinks writers believe themselves to be better than influencers, to be above them in some way.
“I've been laughed at and mocked for my job. At the start of my career I had mocking things written about me. Not a huge issue but sort-of ridiculous. Like, why does it bother anyone that I do what I do?”
Amber Lucas wrote a piece in September 2020 for KQED about her experience as a woman of colour in the world of wine influencing, at the start of this piece she wrote something I haven’t stopped thinking about since. She said “But the influencer space is also female-dominated. It's an arena that gives women a platform on which to become very successful, and to be their own boss, with very little investment. That's part of why it's mocked, I believe: because it is a predominantly female industry.”
In a rebuttal to the James Lawrence piece, Sophia Lonhgi said “There’s a feminist issue wrapped up in all of this, too. The community of wine influencers is disproportionately female and perhaps posting an image to Instagram with a caption is a way for them to be seen and heard in an industry that is disproportionately male.”
It’s something that we have seen time and time again. Men mocking things that women like, and other women internalising that misogyny. This is a minefield that women tread throughout their lives. In my early teens I would have given anything to be told by a boy that I wasn’t ‘like other girls’. If anyone was to say that to me now, they’d get an earful and go straight into my mental trash bin.
For the past 10 years the word ‘basic’ has been thrown around a lot, which is another thinly veiled attempt to belittle the interests of women or queer people, often pointed at Instagram bloggers. After a quick google of the word, here are the items or activities that are most commonly associated with the word ‘basic’; rosé, prosecco, pumpkin spiced lattes, Starbucks, ugg boots, pastel, ‘bae’, wearing leggings or active wear when not exercising, paying for beauty services such as getting your nails done or tanning, but most importantly having a beautiful or popular Instagram account.
I can think of numerous people who like or engage with the activities in that list, none of whom I could possibly describe as basic - myself included thanks very much. Human beings can’t be basic, we are some of the most complicated creatures on this earth. To lay such reductive terminology against mostly women and queer people is offensive and shameful.
This behaviour is something that is being repeated with influencers and Instagram bloggers, and unfortunately on our very own drinks doorstep.
“People who do not meet the stereotype of the industry are treated as if they don’t belong, unequal. We couldn’t possibly know as much, or be capable as a bearded straight white cis male. It’s rare that anyone takes action after discrimination occurs as well. Victims aren’t believed, or are gas lit. Abusers go unpunished.”
“I could write a book on the amount of discrimination I’ve experienced and witnessed.” said Megan Stone, a very well known drinks influencer and brewer based in the US.
“People who do not meet the stereotype of the industry are treated as if they don’t belong, unequal. We couldn’t possibly know as much, or be capable as a bearded straight white cis male. It’s rare that anyone takes action after discrimination occurs as well. Victims aren’t believed, or are gas lit. Abusers go unpunished.”
Last year a member of the UK cider community decided to post a collage of cider influencers, all drinking ciders in their swimwear on the beach, in a post on Twitter mocking them. This person probably thought that they would be able to get away with it because he used pictures of women from North America and Canada. One of the women who had their image used within this collage was Tas Fraser who turned this experience on its head, starting the #noappleologies project. On the 7th December 2020, the cider community banded together and uploaded pictures of themselves drinking cider, in order to showcase the diversity of cider drinkers.
“Some men still only view women as sexual symbols and less than them. It’s really unfortunate, but that’s the nature of some people. They don’t see the hard work that goes into creating content for people to share and promote drinks they love. They think we just use our bodies because it’s the only way to grasp attention, and it isn’t. To people that remain ignorant, a woman’s body will always be sexualized. It’s going to take willingness to grow and learn for some people to knock off the misogynistic behaviors and beliefs.” Lauren Gertsen, cider blogger.
Back in January I posted a survey on Twitter and Instagram, calling for the experience of drinks industry influencers, with the option for anonymous or public responses. This survey was open to all genders, age ranges and beverages sectors. Out of these responses, 60% of people said that they had experienced discrimination towards their role in the drinks industry, 27% of people said that they had witnessed discrimination against other influencers/bloggers and only 14% of people said they had neither experienced or witnessed discrimination.
“Over the years I've dealt with more harassment on air and in job interviews. I've been told I'm too pretty to work in production, I'm not strong enough to work in production (but I am), and this role is more fit for a man. Just recently I was subjected to another misogynist situation. It seems like this will never end but my will to win will never end either”
Michelle Pagano, a gluten- free brewer, cider maker and influencer spoke very candidly about her experiences within the drinks industry,
“When I first got into the industry 10 plus years ago, a group of men weren't comfortable with how quickly I was moving up the career ladder. They libeled and slandered my name online (blogs, social media, professional forums) and on radio. They made up lies stating I slept with several industry people to get ahead. There shouldn't have been an issue if it had been true, but none of this had happened. I was alone and scared and didn't speak up. Luckily I had a small group of people to support me and I continued my journey in the industry.
Over the years I've dealt with more harassment on air and in job interviews. I've been told I'm too pretty to work in production, I'm not strong enough to work in production (but I am), and this role is more fit for a man. Just recently I was subjected to another misogynist situation. It seems like this will never end but my will to win will never end either!”
Out of the people who said they had either experienced or witnessed discrimination, 10% cited racial discrimination, 67% talked about gender discrimination and 33% said that they had either experienced or witnessed both racial or gender discrimination.
Miroki Tong, an Ontario based wine blogger and influencer, talked about the social gymnastics of having to prove her worth, not just within wine, but in beer and whisky too.
“A lot of it is so normalized across any industry I've worked in, it's almost hard to pick it out. I'm known for wine, but I love my beer and whiskey. I've always noticed colder behaviour towards myself when I visit breweries. It usually takes longer to serve me, and most servers do not seem eager to answer my questions.
I used to do a lot of wine trips on my own or with a very small group, but I took my partner's parents out this past summer (they're white), and I noticed the discrimination more. Even when they deferred to my expertise, many staff still chose to ignore me in favour of conversation with them. When I shared this experience with a few (white) friends, they noted that when I go to tastings with them, staff also instinctively spoke to them first. I was disconcerted that I have developed such strong survival mechanisms over the years that I do not even notice the bad behaviour anymore.
I work really hard at presenting myself well, acknowledging the inequity I will always face walking this Earth. I dress professionally, wear makeup, and when starting a conversation, I always chatter a bit to highlight that I speak fluent English, am not a "Chinese tourist" and throw in a few technical jargons to indicate that I understand wine. I guess I can say - I have learned the need to always prove my worth within 10-20 seconds in almost every interaction in my life.”.
Not all people felt that the discrimination against them was something regarding their gender or race, as one drinks writer anonymously stated:
“Not sure about discrimination, but I've been laughed at and mocked for my job. At the start of my career II had mocking things written about me. Not a huge issue but sort-of ridiculous. Like, why does it bother anyone that I do what I do?”.
Which I think this is where my general feeling and also conclusion comes in; why does it bother anyone what other people get up to?
There is a lot of passion across the drinks industry. It would be a wonderful thing if people could start to harness that passion to celebrate the good, and to address the problems that those who are most vulnerable need to be tackled. And if you want to be angry about influencers; be angry about the way that these women are being treated, virtually and in drinks spaces.
It is clear to me that influencers and Instagram bloggers are a surefire way to bring younger people, members of the queer community, people of colour and women into the industry. Doors are being opened into safer spaces (than actual bars and taprooms) that have not been there previously.
The joyful thing about social media is, that you can curate your feed to see whatever kind of content you wish to see. So if you do happen to find the work of influencers particularly heinous, then you can simply disengage from that content.
Thank you to everyone who responded to Influencers and Instagram bloggers survey at the start of this year. Keep doing what you’re doing x
