From radical to retail: The self-care sellout

Self-care was initially rooted in anti-capitalist thinking. It stems from Black activists in the US in the 1980s, fighting to keep going, to survive. The Black feminist Audre Lorde, who initially coined the term, said self-care was about self-preservation and even called it “an act of political warfare” (1988). Especially to Black women, who are mostly exposed to intersecting forms of oppressions, self-care was always thought of as collective ways of survival. As a way to listen to our bodies and minds and really hear what they need, to take care of ourselves. Just for the sake of it. Without thinking about work, or social obligations, or whatever other pressures shadow us daily. It was supposed to be about freedom from societal pressure, from structural oppression of patriarchal and colonial systems. It was an act of defiance against always being "productive" and "sticking to the status quo". Self-care was supposed to be about making sure you stay alive, especially in times of adversity. 

Similar to the expression of women’s experiences in the #metoo movement, the concept of self-care also became popular amongst white women and underlined their needs. Self-care became a part of (corporate) feminism and highlighted unequal divisions of care work within families. The self-care movement moreover underlined the overwhelming amount of emotional work many women do in their families and friendships, a way of setting up boundaries.

Trans people, who similarly experience multiple forms of oppression in society, also use self-care as a way to deal with the unjust system and improve their mental health. And in a world where women and trans folks have little power, it was a way to reclaim the right to rest. 
Naturally, capitalism took this movement and made it profitable. Since especially (wealthy) white women found their voices in the self-care movement, it was easily taken over by capitalism.

Self-care became the wellness industry, resting meant going to the spa and trying out a new scrub. It was suddenly no longer about breaking out of the system, it was about regenerating to perform better in the system. In the new narrative, self-care is suddenly equal to self-optimization. Taking care of yourself means being a more productive worker, a more productive caretaker in the community, a better workforce to exploit. So, as capitalism always does, it turned care into a mindset of pressure. It almost became a mantra: “You need to take care of yourself so you're healthy and productive”. Activities relating to self-care that used to be free, like resting or moving your body, turned into expensive luxury items. Self-care now includes a range of new products and services to consume.

Suddenly, self-care was something that liberals support, a way to improve the performance of their workforce. Self-care activities act as personal resources to both increase your well-being but also cope with work demands. Now your employer wants you to take care of yourself, so you don't burn out. And not just your employer, society in general wants you to take care of yourself, so you have more time to take care of your family and friends as well. So you can volunteer in your time off work, make sure you are useful in your personal environment. So that you can fulfill your duties in society better: as a worker, as a family member, as a partner, as a neighbor and even as a community member.

Nowadays, caring for ourselves might seem like another to-do item on a long list of responsibilities. It might feel like an addition to all the invisible care work women do. In the capitalist system, you now get your time to do self-care, but it is always related to invisible strings. If you are allowed to take time off for self-care, you need to prove that you will perform better in your workplace. Now, turning this responsibility around that capitalism expects you to be productive and "useful to the labor market" means that you feel bad if you cannot. Calling in sick, in a way, feels like you are disappointing others, probably even yourself. You might be scared that you seem ‘weak’ and ‘lazy’ if you don’t work.

As a result of this capitalist brainwashing, guilt and shame around resting is not easy to get rid of. Studies even found that this sick-guilt makes people work while being sick rather than disappoint their bosses, especially since working from home is so common. Similarly, taking off days and going on vacation can feel like something you need to deserve first. Like it's not something that you feel like you have a right to have. Taking time off is in a way of course a privilege, but it is also a right. It is a right that people have fought for.

And when I say it is a human right, I mean it is a part of humanity that we should not underestimate, that we should treasure and cherish. We have a right to do more than be "productive" and spend our free time working for the community or helping out our friends/family. We have a right to be unproductive. And while caring for yourself is important and meaningful in its own way, it is also still in the tradition of neoliberal thinking to put your individual needs first.

If we think of care for our bodies and minds as something that is solely our own problem that we need to fix, we might feel overwhelmed. We might look for individualized ‘cures’ that capitalism can offer, using capitalist options such as going for a spa weekend to escape capitalist claws. But when we think of our own wellbeing as being deeply interlinked with other humans, we can imagine caring for ourselves as a collective action.

When we think of a broader movement that moves away from self-optimization and colonial forms of individual self care (“I need to look after me”), we can follow the idea of an anti-capitalist approach to collective care (“We need to look after each other”). As humans, we can move away from notions of suffering through the pressures of capitalism or patriarchy alone and explore how to care for ourselves both on our own and especially collectively.

This feeling of being unwell in the current system is something we all share and that unites us.  And while it might feel far-fetched that the care system does not rely on individuals to take over most of the work, we might be able to start in small acts of communal care. And at the same time, we can loosen the pressure on ourselves to engage in capitalist ways of self-care. Because the truth (that capitalism doesn’t want you to know) is: You don’t need to consume any products or use services to take care of yourself.

Capitalism wants you to constantly compare yourself with others around you, it wants you to want the wellness products that others use, the life that others live. It wants you to dream big, always want more. But, do we dare to dream small? Do we dare to be happy with what we already have in front of us? Do we dare to actually cherish our bodies and minds, not for what they achieved, but what they are? Do we dare to use (self-)care as a way to collectively break out of the system again and take care of each other? Do we dare to defy the patriarchal and capitalist system the way Black feminists did

I’ll leave you with the thoughts of a woman who believes in the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice. In the words of Black feminist Tricia Hersey (founder of the nap ministry) from her book “rest in resistance”:

Your body is a site of liberation.It doesn’t belong to capitalism.Love your body. Rest your body.Move your body.Hold your body.

Photo by Roberto Nickson