economy
A job that changed me: Working at a toy store was my teen feminist awakening
I loved the business of selling toys – it felt like I was selling joy. But my least favourite part was the gendered language
TL;DR
- The author's first job was at a fish and chip shop, which ended after a burn incident.
- She then worked at Toys R Us as a Christmas casual, performing tasks like processing transactions, assisting customers, and cleaning.
- The author found joy in selling toys but noted unpleasant aspects like vomit and urine in aisles.
- She disliked the gendered language used in the toy industry, actively challenging it.
- An anecdote illustrates a customer's insistence on 'boy' or 'girl' colors for balloons.
- The author observed hyper-consumerism, noting the artificial lighting used to disorient shoppers during long trading hours.
- She learned about collector culture and the repetitive music played in stores.
- Toys R Us Australia later entered administration and closed.
- The author considers her time at Toys R Us a radicalizing experience.