Health Update: Health Update: Wellness or well-off? ‘It could be a celebrity, an influencer or a medical doctor, but wellness culture is rooted in trying to sell a product’ – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
From Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop to shows like ‘The White Lotus’, wellness has become a multi-trillion-euro industry. Led by a cohort of well-meaning white women profiting off privilege and indigenous practices, has it lost its moral compass?
The many faces of the well-meaning white woman, from left, Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus, Nicole Kidman as Masha Dmitrichenko in Nine Perfect Strangers and founder of Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow. Graphics: Clare Meredith
She’s either on social media with her mermaid blow-out and tips for optimising your life, or entertainingly reimagined for laughs on TV. The ‘well-meaning white lady’ is an official main character of the multi-trillion dollar wellness industry – and you probably find her aspirational, insufferable, or a bit of both.
Affluent, educated, good-looking, she’s convinced you can improve your life by buying expensive stuff she swears by and sells, like weird supplements, ‘skincare’, crystals, yoni eggs and ceremonial retreats. She has a husband and children, great muscle definition and zero self-awareness. “I call Gwyneth Paltrow the godmother of contemporary wellness culture,” says Dr Jorie Lagerwey, professor of television studies at University College Dublin, whose latest research explores small screen representations of these well-meaning white ladies. “Wellness in general is a lot about vibes and not so much about scientific research.”