ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates whether the folk theories or assumptions that underpin the majority of PR research and practice to date by reinforcing traditionally male standards are still relevant to the profession today. Studying the lived experiences of female, Gen-X PR practitioner-entrepreneurs – the largest demographic in Britain’s PR workforce – through the lens of Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s (2007) black swan theory, reveals that the women featured in this research think about themselves and their work in post-feminist, rather than folk-theorised terms. This is problematic because while they may have ‘opted out’ of male organisational structures in favour of working for themselves, they ultimately continue to live in a patriarchal society which has left them with highly individualistic perceptions of success that do nothing to cultivate a feminist future for PR.
