We often hear the phrases ‘self-care’ and ‘treat yourself’ in today’s society. Whilst these principles are positive in nature, it appears that the very notion of looking after yourself has come to be commodified and exploited for profit.
Roots of Self-Care: Audre Lorde
When discussing the very concept of self-care, it feels necessary to give a nod to Audre Lorde, a black civil-rights activist, lesbian and feminist. In 1988, Lorde wrote:
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare”
For Lorde, self-care was a way of preserving herself in a world that was inherently hostile to her identity and being.
In order to understand self-care as it is now, we first need to recognise the roots of its popularisation and how this concept has been adapted and reimagined by white cultures, and later commodified to best suit a capitalist society.
Self-Care and Retail Therapy
“when the simple act of caring for oneself becomes intertwined with capitalist enterprise, spending on the self also means spending money […] A capitalist society works in opposition with self-care, we are encouraged to work hard, often to the point of burnout, and spend more time working than relaxing, both of which make indulging in ‘calming’ products all the more necessary”
Therefore, from this viewpoint, self-care and capitalism can be seen to work in tandem; caring for yourself helps to soothe the pains of working too hard, which encourages the continuation of overworking.
Many companies are profiting off this self-care movement as we have become to associate caring for oneself with spending money.
Research conducted by Heath et al found:
“self-gifts can be used to escape or distract from problems or stress endured […] in most cases the self-gift is viewed as a reward, which is earned after an accomplishment that demanded sacrifice and/or effort”
In fact, one of the respondents of their study said:
“I had to work really hard for something […] So, I just said: I’ve got to shop now to say this is what I earned in that horrible time I had”
So, in this instance, the act of treating oneself acted as a kind of soothing balm for the stresses caused from overworking. The key takeaway here is that we are encouraged to work to the point of stress and exhaustion and then funnel our earned money into ‘taking care of ourselves.’
Self-Care is Not just for the Well Off
Because of these ideas of self-care being a reward for working hard and earning money, some who earn less, or who have more in the way of expenditures and financial responsibilities, may be tempted to view self-care as something entirely unattainable for them.
However, this is not the case; self-care does not have to cost much, if any, money. In its most basic form, it is simply an act of looking after yourself or putting yourself first.
Affordable forms of self-care:
- Yoga
- Having a bath
- Reading a book
- Going on a walk
Whilst you may not initially consider these things acts of self-care, they are, because they are examples of allowing yourself to be free from stress whilst doing something entirely for yourself.
To care for yourself is not synonymous with spending lots of money, it’s just about looking after your wellbeing.