Is there a reason we don’t know what Sam Frost does for a job?
Pop quiz: What did Australia’s Bachelors do for a living?
If you have even a passing interest in the most enjoyable trashy TV of the year, you will have no problem answering that question.
Tim Robards was a chiropractor.
Blake Garvey was a real estate agent, with a sideline in topless waitering.
Sam Wood runs his own kids’ fitness business.
What about Bachelorette Sam Frost? What does Sam do for a living?
No shade thrown for not knowing. The truth is that no-one ever talks about Sam’s job.
We talk about Sam’s personality – funny, frank, down-to-earth, kind.
We talk about her appearance – openly gorgeous, wearing an endless array of awesome frocks.
We talk about her family – Her supportive sister, her four protective brothers, her nurturing stepdad.
But her job? Not a big selling point.
Her other life, the one in which she’s not being professionally eligible, barely rates a mention. Perhaps it’s because there isn’t that much to say? Since getting publicly heartbroken by Garvey, Frost has done what many, many other people would do in her position – she took advantage of the opportunities that came her way and changed direction. She took modelling gigs, charity ambassador roles and um, a starring role in a reality series that didn’t leave much time for a day job.
But no-one cares.
Unlike the men’s jobs, which sucked up a considerable portion of air time and pixel-width in the coverage about who they were. The fact that Sam Wood had his own business was raised again and again as reasons why potential suitors would, or wouldn’t work out. Was he a workaholic? Could he leave his business for romantic weekends, what did the fact her worked with children say about his suitablity as a partner, and a dad?
With Garvey, his career raised questions about his authenticity – was he REALLY a real estate agent, or a stripper? And if indeed he was a stripper, why did he need a more ‘respectable’ job as a beard?
The answers are obvious. A great deal of what’s considered ‘eligible’ in a man are still to do with status and power. Does he have a good job? Is he successful, a “winner” at life? Could he support you if he needed to? Does he, as your dad might ask when he dropped you home from a date in 1985 – have ‘good prospects’?
What makes a woman ‘eligible’? It’s barely a question.
But if you were going to define “eligible” for a female in 2015, you could do worse than simply running a photo of Sam Frost. On The Bachelorette she (appropriately) defines the word. She is funny and frank but not intimidating, confident but not pushy, strong but vulnerable (because she’s had her heart broken, dammit), and very, very pretty.
But career is not a thing.
An example of why Australia loves Sam:
*Me sitting on a chair at home* Expectation VS Reality pic.twitter.com/JJB5PiR2i5
— Sam Frost (@Sam_Frost) September 30, 2015
And Sam is not alone in not trumpeting her professional achievements when she talks about what makes her special. A piece on The Atlantic this week examined the words more likely to appear in male and female profiles on dating site OK CUPID.
Men were much more likely to include their profession, with some of the most commonly used words in their profiles being ENGINEER, COMPUTERS, SOFTWARE, ARMY, MUSICIAN.
Women? Only one profession ever referred to made it to their profiles: NURSE.
Of course, Sam Frost doesn’t need to define herself with a desk job. Sam Frost can be whoever she wants to be, and if a career of slashy-greatness awaits, she more than deserves it.
Sam taking what she deserves. Post continues below.
But it’s worth asking: If a male Bachelor didn’t have a career, would he make it through the vetting process?
Wouldn’t the powers-that-be, at the very least, invent a responsible-sounding job for him (sssssh, Garvey and the real estate/topless waitering condundrum)?
Would women line-up to be “chosen” by a man without a clearly-defined purpose? Would we happily accept that since being on the TV, they were dabbling in a bit of this and that, and making hay while the sun shines?
We hope so.
So. What does Sam do for a living?
Well, according to Channel Ten, our Bachelorette is an “account manager”.
And according to LinkedIn, she is a Marketing Co-ordinator at Mornington Peninsula Gardens & Lifestyle Magazine.
We can only imagine that the MPGL has a very generous leave policy.
Would you watch a Bachelor who didn’t have a job?