Income Inequality

The countryside has long been seen as a “place of retreat, innocence, and healthfulness” where the “urban and suburban middle class are entitled to escape.”1 As discussed earlier, the onset of the pandemic created a desire for such escape from the reality of the virus and restrictions. The pandemic was not something that everyone could escape from, however. The Covid-19 virus disproportionately affected people of colour, migrants, and the poor.2 Essential and frontline workers were not afforded the opportunity to stay at home and avoid the virus. Essential workers included health professionals, other health employees, defence and public administration, retail sales and transport operatives. These groups composed 22.01% of all Irish employees. The majority of carers were female and a significant portion were migrants. 30% of workers in Irish meat plants were immigrants during this period. Employers in these industries could bypass responsibility for the wages and working conditions of their employees as they were often agency workers, meaning they had less rights and could be more easily exploited by employers.3This was not unique to Ireland,in the US 41.2% of frontline workers were black, Hispanic, Asian-American or otherwise non-white. More than one third of frontline workers were living in lowincome families.4

Looking at these numbers, the vision of lockdown explored earlier looks increasingly privileged and out of touch with reality. The comparison of the frivolous cottagecore aesthetics to Marie Antoinette and her rural escapes also feels increasingly appropriate. In the way that Marie Antoinette’s muslin dresses and pastimes at Hameau de la Reine were simply costume and fanciful roleplay, it is clear why some would feel the same about the imagery depicted on cottagecore Instagram and TikTok accounts. The division of workers into essential or frontline versus nonessential created a class divide that, as previously discussed, favoured some of the more privileged members of society. Spaces with cottagecore media were found to be a retreat from the relentless nature of Covid-19 updates. The curated nature of social media and the escapism inherent to cottagecore created the illusion that cottagecore content creators or other individuals engaging with them were insulated from the negative consequences of the pandemic and lockdown to those who have no other choice as a consequence of being an essential worker. This effect was magnified further by public figures engaging with rural romanticism.

The Guardian depicts an image of David Beckham taken from his Instagram that was featured in an article online for the Guardian. Most cottagecore imagery is more distinctly feminine, men are few and far between while browsing the of frontline workers were living in low-income families tags online. The subtitle describing the trend as conveying a “more romanticised ideal of masculinity” is of interest, as the image shown seems to depict a traditional form of masculinity that still very much exists in rural areas.5 That is not to say that all rural men walk around in flatcaps with staffs and thick knit sweaters, but that for many rural – particularly agricultural – workers, Beckham’s images are not from some fantasy world. The article does later elaborate that Beckham has idealised the agricultural worker and reimagined himself “as the gamekeeper from Lady Chatterley’s Lover.”6 This seems to be more-so that Beckham has romanticised agricultural living as opposed to masculinity in its whole. This sentiment certainly rang true with individuals that live with the realities of rural life on a daily basis. This article received a response that was later posted to the letters page of the Guardian:

“Thanks to your correspondent for introducing us rural folk to “cottagecore” – “the latest trend of whimsical outdoor living”. In Somerset, we call “the romantic sheen of rural life” by the name “mud”, or sometimes “cow shit”. As for city dwellers “daydreaming about pastoral settings, where one could be cosy and feel free from disease”, the farmer in our village who went to Cheltenham races is much missed. He was buried in our pastoral setting some weeks ago.”

– Terry Gifford7

This letter brings home the harsh reality that the countryside is not some place of purity or holiday retreat for the upper middle and celebrity classes to retreat to in times of plague or unrest. In fact, rural communities suffered from many of the same misfortunes as urban and suburban communities, only often with less resources to draw from and increased isolation.