Self-care is a concept that is only really possible in the context of first-world, middle-class privilege. Photo: File.
The term ‘self-care’ could be considered a defining feature of millennial identity.
The notion that putting yourself and your wellbeing first, and actively protecting yourself from the strains and drains of modern life, is one that many of my generation have embraced with gusto.
Self-care can look like any number of things. Taking a bath after a long day of work. Eating healthy food OR eating unhealthy food, because you’re choosing to absolve yourself of the negative feelings of guilt or shame usually associated with it, as an act of self-care. Deciding to forego a social outing in favour of self-care, which could mean sitting in bed with a cheeseburger and Netflix instead. Or doing yoga every morning, meditating before bed, exercising regularly.
Ultimately, the concept of ‘self-care’ is based on prioritising your needs and wellbeing, actively and unapologetically.
I wouldn’t be the first commentator to point out that self-care is a concept that is only really possible in the context of first-world, middle-class privilege.
My parents have no notion of self-care because they’re both immigrants who grew up in a developing country in circumstances of poverty, where basic necessities were scarce. So the luxury of caring for oneself at the expense of working for money or productively contributing to the household was unheard of.
Similarly, for many Australians who aren’t privileged with free time and spare income, the idea of choosing themselves over their obligations to things like work, study, and other people’s expectations, is probably absurd.
And in the way the term has come to be interpreted in contemporary contexts, it really is about choosing oneself over others.
I have friends who have taken sick days as an act of ‘self-care’ because, by their justification, the frustration of covering their work that will fall to the rest of their team is justified in their quest for peace and respite when they’re feeling a bit ‘burnt out’. They’re taking care of themselves. It’s completely valid and, in fact, should be applauded. It’s not an act of laziness, but an act of empowerment.
Similarly, a friend who has been frankly terrible when it comes to communication, empathy and being available to her networks all year has advised that this was because her work and (optional) extracurriculars were so demanding, she was exercising self-care in choosing not to reply to messages or be actively present in her friends’ lives.
To me, both of the above acts aren’t about self-care, they’re about self-indulgence.
Taking unwarranted time off work with no notice when you’re not genuinely ill or incapacitated is selfish and impacts your colleagues. Yes, mental health is vital and a very valid reason to use personal leave allowances. But in this friend’s case, she was hungover and tired from a weekend of voluntary travel. I’m sure most of us would prefer a day off to heading into work on occasion, but we show up because we know that reliability is important to workplaces and it’s the right thing to do.
Similarly, we all have to take time away from our friends and relationships when other priorities impose on our time. But dressing it up as ‘self-care’ is a smug way of saying that you just care more about yourself than the friends you neglected – which is a choice people can make, but they shouldn’t expect to be validated for it.
Ultimately, it’s a free country and people can choose to exercise self-care however they please. I understand this, and that for some people the way they do that will have negative impacts on others, which they simply won’t care about.
It’s more the tone of self-righteousness around the self-care rhetoric that annoys me. It reinforces the idea that the most important thing in society is the individual, not community, and that we should be prioritising our own needs without regard for others. In fact, putting ourselves first is a generous act of caring (if only for yourself) that should be applauded.
I’m calling self-care out for what it is – another way to pathologise and justify a selfish, entitled approach to wellbeing that places empathy and compassion below satisfying our own needs.
It could be argued that one of the driving forces behind economic and social inequality is a tendency to put ourselves first and over others. The only way to counterbalance this is to question this cult of the individual and promote a community approach to wellbeing in its place.
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