But it also got me thinking. Ignoring “blue eyes,” “trust fund,” and “6’5.” (Bit too tall in my opinion, but to each their own.) Ignoring the fact that explicitly seeking out a rich man has a real the-bitchiest-Jane-Austen-character energy to it. It comes as a surprise that the women of TikTok are spending their summer publicly expressing their lust for men… in finance?
From American Psycho to Wolf of Wall Street to Industry to The Big Short to, I don’t know, heavily reported documentaries about the 2007/2008 financial crash, banker bros have long been portrayed in culture as society’s villains. Yes, they have power and wealth—that’s sexy—but are they nice people you’d want to go out with in the long term? No, they’re presented as bad dads yelling into brick phones as they rush around toy shops at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve; or vain, sex-addled psychopaths with a penchant for huffing powders; or at the very least stressed, overworked, and alcohol-reliant.
Obviously, this isn’t necessarily the reality. There are, I’m sure, lovely, sensible bankers. (And, as far as I’m aware, nearly all of them eventually go on to open vineyards, which is nice.) But whenever I think about the archetypal “man in finance,” it’s hard not to imagine anything beyond Leonardo DiCaprio shouting at a room of suited men to do unethical things, or Effie having a horrible time with her big-city colleagues in that short-lived Skins spin-off. Perhaps it’s down to growing up in the shadow of the recession and the way that shaped culture, but the idea of singing “I’m looking for a man in finance” on a night out feels deeply uncool to me.
It seems, though, that something has shifted. Finance bros are having a renaissance. Banking has become… somewhat trendy? One study found it was the number-one industry American college graduates wanted to go into, rising from fifth place in 2021. Meanwhile, The New York Times reported this week that “selling out” and working in finance is seen as a good thing among Ivy League Gen Z-ers. And it makes sense. It’s almost a cliché, now, to talk about how people are defining themselves less and less by impressive job titles—and careers that demand their entire creative selves in return for Free Pizza Fridays—and more by “having a nice life.” Combine this with the many rounds of redundancies rattling through tech and the creative industries, the increasing costs of living and education, and it’s perhaps unsurprising that, while some people are opting out of mega careers and capitalism, others are opting into industries that promise more cash and stability at the risk of being thought of as having the same Myers-Briggs Personality Type as Patrick Bateman. And it would also make sense that those people—the ones who can provide the cash and stability that finance offers—are becoming more attractive prospects. Because what’s better than selling out? Letting your partner sell out so you can afford to be a part-time artist and socialite, of course!
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