Women’s Self-Care Has Never Been About Women

Our self-care has been sold to us as a mechanism of assimilation

I hesitate to take life lessons from a global pandemic. It seems incredibly shortsighted and disconnected. If a global pandemic managed to have a positive effect on your life, you live at the absolute zenith of privilege. Much like myself.

Maybe not, but I hate the idea that a pandemic had a positive effect on me. Thus, I’ll attribute the self-discovery I’ve had about self-care to the fact I’ve been working from home.

Self-care often has different definitions for men and women. For men, it’s largely to do with fitness. And keto. Lots of protein and muscles. For women, it often centers on hair and skincare. Neither of these focuses is bad. Both are self-care.

We should be taking care of ourselves, for ourselves. Are we not the only ones living in our bodies?

In the time I’ve spent discovering self-care, it feels like what’s focused on for women is less about being healthy and more about looking good.

Who do we take care of ourselves for?

Throughout this lockdown, working from home means that many of us haven’t had to see…