I am not okay. But Instagram convinced me that all that I now need is a 5-step skincare routine. I am not okay. Because the sunscreen is double the cost of my meals per day. I am not okay.
What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘self love’? An expensive coffee? Luxury skin care products? Are you convinced that a branded sweater worth 2 grands will calm your anxiety down? Or have you thought that it is just a matter of privilege?
Well, your opinions may differ, but all those aesthetic, but expensive commodities that the media made you familiar with in the name of self love, or self care, isn’t really doing the job equally for everyone. But rather, they are some of the tools used by oppressive structures like capitalism, to profit from our insecurities, pushing the underprivileged to the edge.
To pour out a little background to the whole trend, the self-care movement has its roots in the 50’s women's movement in the US. The movement was carried by the marginalised communities and people of colour to battle poverty and the lack of health facilities. They associated it to a necessity rather than a luxury. Isn’t it ironic that the idea made popular by the marginalised, now marginalises people on monetary terms? Well, that’s how capitalism works.
Addressing sensitive topics like loving oneself, should be sensitive too, not materialistic. The role of social media platforms like Instagram in propagating this trend, is enormous. People try to fit in the Instagram aesthetics by getting themselves the materialistic pleasures, often don't try to or want to look at how raw and ugly is the process of self-love is. It becomes worse for the underprivileged, when they don’t have the monetary sources to keep themselves up in the race.
"Self-love today is conceived in a materialistic way, like either putting serum on your body or working out,” says Archanna Prasad, a journalist and a social activist. “The advertisements have a very big role to play in this as it describes self-love to be something related to consumption. We are of the idea that our self growth is based on the materials that we own, but not about how we think about ourselves,” she opines.
On the other hand, it is not argued that the companies should not market or people should not use the products, but rather these should not be sold or represented as a quick fix to the battle within ourselves. Self-love should be discussed with all its flaws. It is necessary to be told that being comfortable with oneself is the first step to self-love and this includes knowing about our own parts that we are too shy to show to the world. It is also important to acknowledge that self-love is not a permanent way of being. It is okay to love yourself at one point and to not feel great about yourself at another point.
“I think it is all commodified now, self-love isn't actually self-love. It's more like sabotaging the relationship and convincing us to hyperfocus on ourselves at the expense of connecting with other people. This can really distort the actual essence of self love and I guess it places more emphasis on external validation or material possessions. And I think it's important to recognize and cultivate genuine self-love beyond consumerism,” says Gayatri Rajan, a 19-year-old.
So, next time when an Instagram influencer tries to convince you that having a 5-step skin care routine will heal you, scroll down, because that is not self-love, but luxury.
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