OPINION:
Shove it, Goop In a society that commodifies self-care, is it possible to value wellness in a way that doesn’t center capitalism? Two words: vagina candle. I’d (maybe naïvely) assume that most of us are familiar with Gwenyth Paltrow’s wellness and lifestyle brand’s collaboration with fragrance company Heretic, which took the world by a very confused, slightly intrigued storm when it launched just over a year ago. “This Smells Like My Vagina,” Goop simply titles the candle’s scent, which they refer to as “funny, gorgeous, sexy, and beautifully unexpected.” While — we have to agree with the Goop team on this one — the idea of a candle that smells like Gwenyth Paltrow’s vagina is undoubtedly a bit funny, the fact that this item is one of many overpriced wellness products that Goop recommends to its audience is not so funny (and actually a bit problematic). First of all, I want to make it clear that I am not trying to say Gwenyth Paltrow and her team are stating you must purchase this candle in order to achieve total physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. They are definitely not — that would be ludicrous, even for them. Rather, I am simply making the argument that this candle, along with the other expensive “wellness” products that Goop endorses, represents an exclusive, unrealistic idea of wellness that isn’t accessible. Yes, Gwenyth Paltrow is an incredibly wealthy middle-aged white woman, and I’d assume that most of Goop’s followers fall into the same demographic. Despite this, I’d argue that Goop being one of the biggest names in modern-day wellness has the potential to be somewhat harmful to communities outside of this one. A quick trip to Goop’s online storefront will show that some of the wellness products they put forward include a $200 vibrator, a $1,300 “rainbow mat” (?), and a $55 set of “love cards.” And it’s not just Goop; companies like Ritual, Noom, and Calm are raking in billions and billions of dollars from wellness products and services. If you have the resources to spend your money on wellness, go right ahead, but where do those of us who don’t and may never have these kinds of funds get our wellness? And what if we don’t want our wellness to be white-washed and commercialized? The fact that there is a “wellness industry” in the first place exemplifies this, and shows how far we’ve strayed from what it actually means to “be well.” Communities outside of the ones that Goop or Ritual represent and target have been “doing” wellness that doesn’t center capitalism for centuries. For example, Indigenous Americans have been harvesting and creating natural medicines from a plethora 18
