Consumerism, self-care shopping at Target, and our relationship with what we buy
Something to read whilst waiting for Taylor pre-sale.
One of my most conflicting habits is my default to consumerism for, well, just about anything. Whether I'm bored, happy, celebrating, cheering myself up or unsure what to do with myself, I will generally find that the shops in (online or off), provide an ‘answer’ to my problems.
Consumer culture, and our messed-up desire to commodify everything means that menial tasks such as buying a toothbrush for the sole purpose of keeping your teeth clean can now become an aesthetic moment. In the western world, this now takes a basic human function and turns it into something it’s not, a shareable, mindful moment for us.
This also does what social media, reality TV and portable technology have been doing since forever, and that is making the private public.
Further to this, it sees that the fruits of our labour must be in fact productive and provide a physical item at the end of them. But then without us even realising the product we buy are categorised, socially, not literally, and these categories get confusing. Mind you, these aren’t official, just the categories as I see them. So without further ado:
The little things
These are the things we buy ourselves for getting through something. The purchasing of the thing does not guarantee a higher level of success or participation but allows a small moment of joy. These are generally, getting through the meeting, going to the gym in the morning etc. These tend to be in the form of something edible; a donut, a candy-coloured foamy drink and/or something alcoholic.
The motivational things
Items which enhance or co-opt us in to participating in something that is generally good for us, but that is simply not enough. Examples of this are, new gym gear to maintain an exercise routine, or get back into one, an overpriced or over-pretty water bottle to drink more water, a new notebook when returning to school or work, a new desk so you sit at one and not on the couch, a new book to get us into reading etc.
The treat before the treat things
Generally, things we purchase for a holiday, or to wear when we go out. The things we have already are fine, but the trip or dinner needs something ‘new’ for the purpose of making us feel like we are a different version of ourselves. Generally, these are a new top for a dinner, shoes you haven’t broken in before a holiday, a new hat you’ll never wear but assume you will when on a different content, so on and so forth.
The reward things
For this category, you need to think of big-ticket items that come after a sustained period. Completion of the work itself does not create enough of a signifier so you justify a completely unrelated thing. An example of this is when I bought myself a designer bag after finishing my Honors thesis, or when women are given diamonds in the form of a push present, the new car after a promotion, that kind of thing. People should not feel a need to be pregnant for nine months and in labour for five days to receive a diamond. And this brings up a lot of discussion around ‘presents’ and, in heterosexual relationships, who can spend money and how.
The self-care things
This is where things get confusing.
Self-care things fall into any of the above categories, but also allow us to trick ourselves into thinking that they also fall into the classification of doing things for your health/mental health. The skincare people interact with are aesthetically pleasing, novel in some way (either limited edition, cheap or being used for something it wasn’t intended for), and for the purpose of clear, glowy aspirational skin.
At the moment, buying things as *self-care* has formed the basis for a lot of content. For example, if you were to look up ‘self-care shopping at Target’ you could expect to get a result of almost 35 million videos which are all named something like the following:
· ‘let’s go self-care shopping at target’
· ‘let’s go self-care + hygiene shopping at target’
· ‘let’s go self-care shopping at target!!’
· ‘let’s go to target and buy self-care products’
· ‘let’s go self-care shopping (wasting all my money at target)’
· ‘let's go shopping for SELF CARE at target *hygiene + skincare essentials*
Comparatively, if you were to search for ‘self-care shopping at Sephora’ you would be presented with around 8 million results, and the titles are nowhere near as consistent as those you see above.
Target in America seems different to the Target we have in Australia. Not only do they appear to have groceries (?) but they have a huge amount of skin and body care which we would maybe have at Sephora, Mecca or Priceline. The price ranges vary but there is a range of products and price points which don’t seem to exist in Australia. When I think of the beauty section of Target, I just generally picture dark empty shelves, or ripped up boxes, the result of the products being stolen. This does not seem to be the case in these videos.
The thumbnails for this content usually features the YouTuber standing in a brightly lit aisle with candy coloured products framing them either side. In addition to this, products (which I imagine are trending on TikTok) are photoshopped to frame the content creator, who may be looking directly at, or off to the side of the camera, whilst holding a large loofah or a bottle of something that could be mistaken for dessert. The title of the video is written in a bubble-gum cartoon font, and the term self-care is often encased with asterisks. These appear to emphasise the phrase and/or acknowledge that this is the phrase people have searched for to find this content in the first place. I am sure this is linked to some things that are happening on TikTok. I refuse to get the app so I’m not entirely sure, but I feel confident I know enough about the social media eco system to assume this is what’s happening*. Also, if anyone says to me ‘they saw it online’, my brain automatically translates that to, ‘I watched a video on TikTok’.
Everything about the video is cute and fun. Whether you buy stickers in the shape of stars to cover your acne or a miniature bottle of something. Even the ‘flavours’ of the deodorant are pleasing, coconut, pomegranate, lemon. **
The purpose for the self-care shopping is to make content, but as viewers we are encouraged to treat ourselves. The treat is in the shopping, the engagement (time and process) of the ‘self-care routine’ (another popular springboard for content), and finally we get the treat of having been cared for. Once we have done this, we can then go headfirst into whatever else is on our ‘to-do list’ (there are lots of videos for that too).
The self-care process is not the same as taking care of oneself because it seems to exist in isolation from our everyday lives. It is for when we are feeling rich, both financially and in time. It is also an incredibly gendered space. The idea that as women, we perform tasks which keep us looking, smelling, and feeling (smooth, dewy) socially acceptable in the time which we are trying to take care of ourselves is laughable. Undertaking the shopping and providing products for use in your home is generally a woman’s role. As is organising them. ***
Buying a lot of things, and then clearing those things out, is another opportunity for content creators and businesses alike. I’m pretty sure it’s the Nextflix documentary by The Minimalists that says you shouldn’t need to buy more stuff to keep your stuff in. You just need to have less stuff. Hilariously, this article encourages people to streamline their skincare routine, but first you must buy the ultimate ‘skinstreaming’ products first. So, you can have less, you just need to have less of the wrong things and more of the right ones.
I am guilty of justifying every single treat that comes into my life. One, because I feel like there must be a reason for everything, and two because I as I have provided examples of above, I am stuck in this headspace, but I am working on it.
For example, recently bought tickets to the Barbie movie. Great. Then, I was walking past a display in the middle of the shopping centre and saw mannequins wearing Barbie merchandise. I nearly bought as much as humanly possible to wear to the Barbie movie but then had a stern talking to with myself. Anyone who has ever been anywhere near a Barbie knows that this doll is an icon in the consumer space. She had so many cars and houses, and outfits!
In Sad Girl Novel, protagonist Kim is talking to her friend Bel about writing. Bel thinks Kim’s desire to write a book is linked to Kim’s obsession with productivity and desire to see the result of her time, in this case, the result would be a book. Perhaps our desire to buy products that embody certain times in our lives or share our thoughts via a novel is linked to our lack of religion as a society, perhaps it is a way to give our paycheques a purpose. The reason we justify sharing our thoughts in mini press conferences the same way the news does.
Unsurprisingly I think about this, and my relationship with the things I have often. My older sister suggested that I don’t need to get rid of what I own to have less, she suggested I need to be happy with what I have. I once had a session with a stylist, as a part of this, she was going to send me links for recommended items. I didn’t receive any. When I emailed her, she said she thought I didn’t need anything. So, I went and bought more of the same of what I had instead.
There’s a four-part documentary series on Netflix called Working. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, the documentary follows workers across different levels of a range of businesses. As an audience, we go from the service entry up to the C-Suite. I questioned the state of the work force and my relationship with it. Barack talks about a desire for purpose, for meaning. In one of the interviews, a daughter of a woman who is in middle management talks about the role of work, and more to the point, money in her life, she stated a good life to her is one where you have everything you need and half of what you want.
I have thought about this numerous times since I heard it, so much so it’s making my head spin. Might have to go to Target and buy some face masks with panda faces on them so I can take a break.
Would love to hear your thoughts on consumerism, self-care and our relationship with things.
*How embarrassing if it’s not.
** This reminds me of Jess DeFino’s piece, I want you to lick me, about, amongst other things, Jessica Simpson’s skincare line.
***Merchandising The Void is a great piece about Khloe Kardashian’s pantry and organising spaces by Kelly Pendergrast.
Really loved this one!