If Your Wellness Isn't Intersectional Then You're Not "Well." You're Racist.

“I didn’t sign up for this newsletter to read about politics. It’s CLEAR you have an opinion but I suggest you keep it to yourself.”

“I came here to read about wellness and high-vibe stuff. I am so not interested in reading more fake news and I am unsubscribing because this is NOT what I thought it would be. You should be more thoughtful!!”

The thing about writing a newsletter every week for 141 weeks straight is that sometimes, you get hate mail. Well, hate e-mail. Good news? Emails like the ones above are really easy to delete. whoosh

I was recently asked a question during a live masterclass about how I navigate running a wellness brand that takes a strong ethical and political stance. The question made me pause for a second because I don’t think you can possibly have an authentic apolitical wellness brand. Which is why I laugh (right after I cry, because #pisces) when I get emails like the ones above.

Wellness is inherently, innately, inextricably political because it has EVERYTHING to do with race, sexual orientation, gender identity, class, and ability. To pretend that these factors don’t affect our 1) need for well-being and 2) the ability to access well-being resources is delusional. Straight up.

It is currently a privilege to be able to make choices for yourself that serve your well-being. Although it should be a right, it’s a privilege to be “well” because of institutional systems of oppression that are set in place to prevent people from having the opportunity to achieve well-being.

So if you want your wellness, your astrology, your high-vibes, your “manifestation,” without any political messiness … I suggest you hold onto your butt! This is gonna be a bumpy ride for you, but if you stay with me, I promise I’ll give you a triple dose of high-vibing mystical theory at the end.

“Wellness” is a Scam

I'm writing this because, although for a long while, Holisticism has considered itself a place for all types of people — BIPOC, LGBTQA-identifying, and white-identifying accomplices — to meet and discuss all things well-being, I realized that our stance may lurk only in the subtext of our work.

In 2020, I'm not really settling for subtext. Considering calling this year MY YEAR OF ALL CAPS! (It's just a working title I’m playing with, open to suggestions)

To effectively do our work here at Holisticism of making well-being accessible to all, an important truth must be addressed: Well-being, and wellness, are not available to all people, in large part because the Wellness Industry thrives on white supremacy, heterosexism, and racism.

Part of our job at Holisticism, then, is to not just provide access to wellness and well-being practices through resources, educational materials, events, and more; part of our job is to dismantle the systems of oppression that exclude access to the opportunity to be "well."

Interestingly enough, this means that sometimes, we must rail against the very industry in which we operate. Tricky!

I'm certainly not the first person to say that the Wellness Industrial complex can be incredibly harmful and marginalizing, nor do I hope to be the last. I hope that we can continue to address the collective Shadow of the wellness industry — that it's racist and problematic AF.

The Shadow Side of the Wellness Industry

Addressing our collective Shadow starts by acknowledging that if we are active participants in Wellness and are not doing anything to dismantle systems of oppression inside this industry, then we are complicit in oppressing others through systems of oppression like racism, classism, sexism, ableism, cissexism, and heterosexism that run rampant in the Wellness Industry.

You’re probably racking your brain for examples of oppression in wellness, crossing your fingers that you haven’t perpetuated anything too harmful. Well, unfortunately, you probably have. It sucks, but we’re all guilty of it.

Complicity in oppression in wellness looks like a lot of things, but here are some top-of-mind examples:

Following or promoting spiritual teachers who “don’t see race” (erasure, gaslighting, and bypassing)
Appropriating cultural and spiritual traditions without acknowledgment, study, or permission to practice those traditions
Supporting exclusively priced wellness opportunities that provide no scholarship or support for marginalized groups
Subscribing to and purchasing from publications, brands, and organizations that only represent white or light-colored heterosexual people in their imagery and branding
Centering only white stories and experiences of trauma
Supporting institutions or individuals paying teachers and practitioners the bare minimum so it’s nearly impossible for them to do their work full-time without some form of privilege (i.e. family help, financial support from a partner). [Similarly to the fashion industry, which notoriously pays little and has an unsaid unpaid intern policy, which prevents marginalized people who may not have generational wealth to supplement their meager salaries from the opportunity to progress their careers in these industries as easily as their wealthier counterparts]
Patronizing a yoga studio, retreat center, or company that has zero BIPOC members on staff, let alone in leadership roles

As a white, cis woman in wellness, I know that I’m guilty of all of the above, and because of that, I have caused harm to other people. It is my responsibility to do better, to wield my privilege to actively dismantle oppression.

Listen, it’s 2020.

We are no longer interested in political wellness.

We are no longer interested in wellness that is not intersectional.

Intersectional Wellness Or Bust

The brilliant feminist lawyer and antiracist scholar Kimberelé Crenshaw created the word intersectionality in 1989 to express the intersection point of multiple sites of oppression. "And we all know that, where there's no name for a problem, you can't see a problem, and when you can't see a problem, you pretty much can't solve it," she says. Then this genius woman created a damn word to help solve that problem. What a legend.

Intersectionality "is a qualitative analytic framework that identifies how interlocking systems of power affect those who are most marginalized in society."

A super-simplified example of intersectionality:

If you are a woman, you experience oppression as a woman.

If you are a black woman, you experience intersectional oppression as a woman, as a black person, and as a black woman.

If you are a black queer woman, you experience intersectional oppression as a woman, as a black person, and as a queer person. And then, as a black woman. Then, as a queer woman. Then as a queer black person. And then as a queer black woman. Compounding, intersectional marginalization.

Often, we use the term intersectional feminism to describe a form of feminism that is inclusive to all humxns and does not simply center the experiences and marginalization of middle-class, cis, heterosexual white women.

We can apply the term to wellness. Intersectional wellness is inclusionary, actively antiracist, and shares the stories and experiences of all types of people. It recognizes that my well-being is innately tied to your personal well-being, so I goddamn better care about your well-being, too, even if it does not reflect my personal experiences.

If your wellness practice is not intersectional, then I don't want it.

Wellness Is Collective

One more time: If your wellness practice is not intersectional, then I don't want it.

In fact, I would go as far as saying that if your wellness practice is racist and exclusionary and centers only on YOU, it is not a wellness practice at all. You may be practicing something, friend, but it sure ain't wellness. Let's just be honest about that.

Because wellness and well-being do not start and end at the individual. Sure, that’s where the seed is planted. But if we are all One, as the late great Ram Dass loves to remind us, if my neighbor is unwell, then I am unwell.

If we are all One, then we can only rise together.

Yes, put on your oxygen mask first. FOR SURE. But you can put on your oxygen mask without being racist (or sexist, or classist). I've seen it done, it is possible! Let the people know!

They say the first step to owning your Shadow is acknowledging it. Our greatest gifts and opportunities lie in our Shadow selves. When we befriend the Shadow, we’re able to see our darkest darks. They play counterpoint to our lightest lights—not dimming our light, but instead amplifying it even more.

I wonder, if the wellness industry loves to talk about Shadow so much, why are we not talking about this, “owning” this, and alchemizing our shadow into something far more powerful?

Conclusion

So, yes, wellness is a political act. It is a rebellious act in a society that rewards people for using complacency to uphold white supremacy and that keeps racism intact by distracting us with things that don’t matter as Instagram likes, algorithms, and oversized hats.

And the key to your wellness, your well-being, and your personal sovereignty? It’s in you, it’s in the choices you make every single day, and it’s in the people who surround you on this planet. Healing is not solitary, and it’s not one-dimensional—nothing really is.

Suggested Resources:

Places to Begin Supporting Intersectional Wellness With Your Dollar*:

Maryam Ajayi’s BIPOC Wellness Fund
Rachel Cargle’s Therapy Fund for Black Girls and Women
Donate to support Native Wellness
Become an investor at Reclamation Ventures

*Please feel free to add other intersectional wellness organizations in the comments below — this list is just a jumping-off point, and I encourage you to do your own research on the incredible work many are doing.