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By Jalana Harris | February, 2022

Self-care is a term de jour, but what does it really mean? It's frequently conceptualized as taking care of one’s emotional, physical, and mental health.  While a more wholistic approach is growing, self-care is still frequently operationalized simplistically, as bubble baths, nature walks, and other such activities. Self-care is popularly framed as personal.

However, in important ways, it is political, too. As such, self-care requires radical transformation with respect to our socialization.

Self-Care and Liberation

     For those who are members of marginalized groups, self-care is wrapped up in our liberation. The early stages of liberation require conscientization, an active awakening resulting from questioning the status quo. This process of decolonizing our minds includes examining who loses when we practice self-care. It requires recognizing who’s served by our consistent prioritization of other’s needs over our own, and how and why this dynamic is perpetuated. This process can be complicated when acts of self-denial and extreme self-reliance by marginalized groups are socially rewarded.

The U.S. values of rugged individualism and the Protestant work ethic reward us for ignoring our self-care instincts. The myth of meritocracy suggests that this is the key to success. As a result, sleepless nights, endless cups of coffee, and general self-abnegation are seen as reasonable steps toward becoming a respectable and successful human being.

     This fallacy has a damaging impact on all of us, but particularly on those of us who hold marginalized and subjugated identities. Engaging in this cycle of abuse seems most necessary for those who are already deemed subhuman and less worthy, based on the identities held. Seemingly, the only way to attain success in this framing is through maintaining the status quo and being complicit in one’s own oppression, while believing that if you aren’t successful it’s your fault. This framing of the keys to success ignores the experiences of those who live at the intersection of multiple marginalized identities. It ignores the systematic and systemic oppression that contributes to the marginalization and powerlessness of these individuals. These truths are ignored in favor of a narrative that feeds oppression, capitalism, and patriarchy and reframes trauma responses as cultural grit and resiliency. This narrative shames those who engage in activities that support self-preservation.