Kawaii Riot 101: Radical Self-Care
What does self-care mean to you? Is it putting on a face mask and listening to some podcasts, or perhaps an extra therapy session?
We often see self-care as a form of product consumption, thanks to the many companies that try to sell us an extra face mask pack to help us de-stress and “fade blemishes” on our skin. Self-care has become yet another excuse for businesses to make profits without responsibility.
However, self-care is also a form of survival. Did you know that the history of self-care goes back to the radical Black Panther Party that used it to survive against unjust imprisonment and harassment by the police? That’s why the term “radical self-care” is used to refer to the form of self-care that is done to rest up and refuel in the fight against an oppressive, capitalist society.
Let’s learn about the radical history of self-care and how we can take self-care into our own hands.
The Radical History of Self-Care
The Black Panther Party was a political group founded by college students in 1966 to defend Black communities against police brutality. In addition, the group was also known for running social programs such as free health clinics, schools, and free food programs for Black communities in the US.
Image Credit: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni
What exactly did these community programs have to do with the group’s political activities? According to the group’s website:
“The Black Panther Party instituted or envisioned starting all of these programs as part of a process to help African Americans and other oppressed peoples meet their basic necessities so that they might organize to acquire the resources for self-determination and empowerment. Some of these programs still exist or were models for many of today's human and community service programs.”
The Black Panther Party believed it was essential for Black and other marginalized communities to be able to take care of their health and well-being with community-run resources in order to truly be prepared for political organization. The group hoped to make self-care accessible for everyone.
Image Credit: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni
The group recognized that systemic racism contributed to the huge health inequality that Black and Latino communities experienced. Black patients experienced medical abuse and families impoverished by years of racist laws lacked access to proper health care. The Black Panther Party was determined to “serve the people body and soul”. Listen to Ericka Huggins discuss how mindfulness helped her in her political activism:
The idea of self-care as political resistance continued to inspire Black feminists throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In A Burst of Light, Audre Lorde’s essays about her battles against cancer, racism, sexism, and homophobia show the many ways that society endanger her existence as a Black, lesbian activist:
“Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
- Audre Lorde
How to Practice Radical Self-Care Today
Radical self-care is recognizing your internalized biases and its negative influences on you. It’s about focusing on your own importance over the values of a capitalist society. It’s the act of resting up in order to take further action on social justice for all.
Rethink Self-Care
Who’s profiting from your latest “splurge”? Is the social media feed that you seek escape in diverse enough? Self-care has become yet another excuse for businesses to make profits without responsibility. While retail therapy can often feel like self-care, perhaps there’s something more meaningful and beneficial for your health that you can do. Plus, not everyone can afford these kinds of spending habits!
There are many ways to take care of yourself that go beyond buying something new. Think about what you truly need. Is it more self-confidence? Start your day by reciting a list of self-affirmations to yourself. Spend some time decluttering your room to give yourself more breathing space (and appreciating what you have in the process!). If you do want to treat yourself to something new, check out some local or Black-owned businesses that need your support.
- Practice Self-Love
Society constantly demands perfectionism from you. But you don’t have to measure your worth by your productivity, physical appearance, or social life. Love yourself because there’s nobody else like you. You’re strong and deserve to catch your breath once in a while. So let yourself take that extra break during a work day. Give yourself permission to enjoy doing nothing on your day off. You don’t have to have a hobby that keeps you productive. You can love yourself by accepting all parts of yourself that society rejects.
- Move Towards Collective Care
You can only be free from a prejudiced, capitalist society if you fight to ensure that everyone is free from its oppression. Realize that margainalized groups of people may lack equal access to self-care due to systemic discrimination. Radical self-care means taking breaks when you need to, then coming back stronger than ever to fight for a more loving, inclusive future.
Radical Self-Care Resources
The Body Is Not An Apology: “The Body Is Not An Apology is an international movement committed to cultivating global Radical Self Love and Body Empowerment.”
Therapy For Black Girls: “Therapy For Black Girls is an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.”
Caring For Yourself Is A Radical Act: Self-Care Guide For Youth Working in Community
Fireweed Collective: “Fireweed Collective offers mental health education and mutual aid through a Healing Justice lens.”
Works Cited
Black Panther Party. (1971). The Bobby Seale People's Free Health Clinic [Pamphlet]. Berkeley, CA: It's About Time: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni.
It's About Time: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni. (n.d.). Programs of Survival. Retrieved from http://itsabouttimebpp.com/Survival_Programs/survival_programs.html
Lorde, A. (2017). A Burst of Light: And Other Essays. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications.
Nelson, A. (2011). Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
The Black Panther. (1971). Sickle Cell Anemia [Pamphlet]. Emeryville, CA: It's About Time: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni.
