What You Do Is What You Are

The theme centers on how society unfairly judges individuals based on their occupation or employment status. The author, Nickie McWhirter, highlights that people are often valued not for who they are, but for what they do.

• Unpaid Work: Roles like "housewife" are undervalued because they don't earn money.
• Unemployed: Laid-off workers are treated as if they have lost their identity.
• Classless Society Myth: We claim to be a classless society, yet we rank people by their job titles.

In "What You Do Is What You Are," Nickie McWhirter discusses the tendency to define people by their jobs. She critiques the use of the word "just" (e.g., "just a housewife," "just a janitor"), which diminishes a person's worth.

She argues that our worth should not be tied to a paycheck. A retired teacher or a volunteer may contribute immensely to society but is often ignored because they are not "earning." The essay urges readers to respect all individuals regardless of their job title.

• "Cast in Bronze": The idea that once a person has a job title, it defines them permanently, like a statue.
• "Limbo": The state of being ignored or forgotten, often applied to unemployed people.
• "Uncatalogued System": The invisible, informal rules society uses to award respect based on job prestige.
• "Just" a...: A harmful label used to devalue roles like parenting, cleaning, or studying.

• Gerund: A verb ending in -ing that acts as a noun (e.g., "Judging people is wrong").
• Infinitive: The base form of a verb with 'to' (e.g., "It is wrong to judge").
• Participle: A verb form functioning as an adjective (e.g., "The laid-off worker").