« Faites de votre passion un métier »

Abstract

Starting from Etsy’s slogan “Turn your Hobby into a Business”, the article discusses the meaning of the commodification of jewels or decorative items on the platform for its sellers who are predominantly women. It especially queries its alleged emancipatory effects. To highlight the diversity of the platform’s uses, a typology of three profiles is proposed: the hobbyists, the aspiring professionals and the successful sellers. These three types are crossed with four criteria to analyze work and its limits on web platforms: the income, the professional status or lack thereof, the vernacular designation of the activity and the place of the activity in space and time. The results are based on quantitative data – coming from web scraping on the 14,415 Etsy French shops – and qualitative data – especially 16 interviews with sellers.

Keywords

• empowerment
• handmade
• women
• leisure
• platform
• work