The Double-coding of Platform Infrastructure and Textile Patterns:A Case Study of Zhinv(Needlework Women)as Digital Gig Workers
Different from the mainstream framework that focuses on the examination of conflicts between platform companies and workers,this study turns its attention to the non-mainstream group in the digital gig economy-"Zhinv"(needlework women),that is,those who use platform infrastructure to engage in textile gig work.Drawing on online ethnography,in-depth interviews,and survey,this study found that"Zhinv"are composed of women with different backgrounds and skill levels.They have developed complex strategies and double-encoded manual labor and platform infrastructure to form an informal economic network that is both flexible and resilient.Starting from the labor and organizational practices of"Zhinv",the study further discusses how Zhinv digitalized the traditional textile gig work by making use of the platform infrastructure,and develops an imaginary of living labor based on their flexible strategies.Furthermore,a historical comparative perspective is introduced to connect the historical relationship between women and coding and its realistic paradoxes.This study hopes to provide empirical observations through the case study,supplement the gender perspective of the gig economy,and offer a more theoretically extensible vision for mapping aspects of China's gig economy.
gig economytechnology and genderdigital laborhandiworkplatform infrastructure
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