Reflection 3: Cutting In Line?—On the Rise of the Nepo Baby (8/13)

In recent years, the term "nepo babies" has greatly gained traction. The, mostly pejorative, term refers to the children of celebrities and influential figures who benefit from their family’s ties to entertainment, sports, politics, and other fields. And lately, they have been an easy class of people for critics to pick on. For example, many detractors view nepo babies’ privileged upbringings and industry connections as ways they “bypass” the struggles and hard work the rest of us must put in to achieve the same level of success. Of course, nepotism—the act of granting an advantage, privilege, or position to relatives or friends in an occupation or field—goes back thousands of years, especially amongst the privileged classes. Are nepo babies any different? And what about practices, such as legacy admissions? A fact of life or an unfair advantage—or  both? Finally, imagine you’ve achieved great success in a particular field. How, if at all, would you help your own offspring succeed in the same field?

Include at least two of the following in your reflection:

• "'Nepo Babies’ Claim Their Parentage is Overblown. Truth is, They’re Helped All the Way (Guardian)
• "Economist Tracks 'Nepo Baby' Effect on Young Americans' Earnings" (Phys.org)
  
• "Meg Ryan Defends Son Jack Quaid Against ‘Nepo Baby’ Label: ‘So Dismissive of His Work Ethic’ and ‘He’s More of a Natural Than I’ll Ever Be’" (Variety)
• Maya Hawke is Honest About Her Privilege. Why are Other Nepo Babies So Defensive?" (The Guardian)
• "If I’m a DEI Hire, When Can We Discuss Legacy Hires and Nepo Babies?" (Forbes)

Requirements:

• MLA Style, including parenthetical citations and works cited
• ≈500 words

Due: Fri 11.1 (via Canvas)