goop: The Cult of Wellness

goop:The Cult of Wellness

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

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Cult

goop: The Kelsey Robinson MA Culture, Style and Fashion 18/19 Wo r d C o u n t : 1 3 7 4 4

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Wellness

Figure 1: Weir, Grace Wales Bonner (2016)

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

Contents

1 The Enchanted World of gp 14-27 goop Analysis gp: The God of LA Modern Disenchantment

2 Confess Your Sins, Purify Your Toxins 28-37 Detox Purify Your Toxins Streamline Your Life

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3 The Quantified Life 38-47 Body Ideals The Quantified Self Entrepreneur as Aspiration Thou Must Practice Self-Care

4 Selling Spirituality 48-59 The Swinging Pendulum of Spirituality Spirituality on goop Visual Analysis

Figure 2: goop, The Minimalist: Earthquake Survival Kit Essentials (2019)

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

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Synopsis Following the completion of my BA at Nottingham Trent University in Fashion Communication and Promotion I became fascinated by the deeper cultural factors which shape our lives, leading me to study the MA in Culture, Style and Fashion. I am passionate about language, the understanding of lifestyle culture and the ways in which these ideas key to the fashion industry, are communicated to the wider public. I have explored a wide variety of outcomes, my initial piece of research was in the form of an academic essay which explored the meaning of style and understanding the changing codes of dress, this was followed by the production of a film which explored alternative and sustainable practices of glamour. I selected the long-form journalism piece when given a choice of outcomes, which I feel has enhanced my skill set by pushing me to understand how to adapt my tone of voice for the relevant audience. The research methods project enabled me to further understand both the implications and power of research. Using an inductive qualitative approach, I was able to creatively discover ideas that I feel were incredibly interesting to research. Within this project, I was given the opportunity to interview two widowed women and discuss their taste and identity following this huge change in their lives.

Each research project I have completed has naturally fallen into areas of class inequality, feminist perspectives about the female body, and alternative practices like spirituality. Each of these has informed the research I intend to produce within this thesis.

A key element to my thesis is an investigation of the lifestyle brand and platform ‘goop’ founded by celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow. I aim to analyse the goop brand and how it commodifies wellness, explore the relationships between capitalism, spirituality, religion and contemporary feminism, and question: to what extent does the goop brand demonstrate asceticism (the avoidance of material attractions in pursuit of spiritual practices) in contemporary consumer culture?

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Alongside the production of a 12,000-word thesis, I have taken part in the production of the exhibition, building on the skills developed during my undergraduate studies understanding how academic ideas and concepts are translated to the wider public. I have shared the exhibition production with one other student, and my personal focus has been primarily on the zine production and the PowerPoint which will be displayed at the show. My 12,000-word thesis will critically analyse the supposedly positive discourse surrounding ‘wellness’, in relation to neoliberal-postfeminism and will be aimed at both the academic, and journalistic field. I will produce a show statement for the 2019 Nottingham Trent University Masters Show which will consist of an assortment of ‘wellness’ themed items contained within a box to represent the capitalist accumulation of ‘stuff’ encouraged by the type of ‘wellness’ promoted on goop.

Not only has this project provided me with valuable academic writing skills which will equip me for any future career from the confidence gained, but it has also highlighted an area I would like to continue working within. The popularity of the ‘wellness’ phenomenon has grown and will continue to gain popularity, making it a valuable area of expertise.

I would like to pursue a career within this sector, within the editorial field, and with the potential to teach students in the future.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

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Introduction In this thesis I introduce the results of a case study on the phenomenon of ‘wellness’ taking place today across Western society, primarily focusing on the lifestyle brand and platform goop founded by celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow. I have used the method recommended by Gillian Rose (Rose, 2001) to conduct a semiotic analysis of the products and visual imagery on the goop website, this is followed

by Rose’s method of discourse analysis (Rose, 2001) to evaluate the language of the product descriptions and articles on the goop website. I have chosen to not use ethnographic research for this thesis because I intend to focus on how goop has chosen to present itself as a brand, rather than how it is perceived by the public, this will enable me to better understand the brand’s motivations.

Durkheim in their work discussing The Sacred and The Profane in Consumer Behaviour, “The sacred... cannot, without losing its nature, be mixed with the profane. Any mixture or even contact, profanes it,... destroys its essential attributes” (Durkheim in Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989:6). This emphasises Durkheim’s argument that whilst The ‘Profane’ is not considered to be sinful, it is still to be segregated from The ‘Sacred’ for fear of contamination.

Alongside the image and language analysis, a general study of the article content on the website using signifiers is conducted in order to draw key themes. The three key themes that emerged are Detox, Femininity and Spirituality, these are explored further within this thesis and are supported by secondary research using the relevant literature. Additional research is undertaken using online journalistic articles written about Gwyneth Paltrow and the brand which enable me to further understand the discourse surrounding the ‘wellness’ phenomenon.

As multiple scholars have noted, (Wimbush and Valantasis, 1998; Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011) the characteristics of asceticism vary within different religious traditions, but universally it involves “commitment, dedication, singleness of mind, purity of heart, and self-discipline in prayer or mediation; that extends into practices of pilgrimage, fasting, vigils, celibacy, poverty and obedience… ”(Wimbush and Valantasis, 1998:ix). For the purpose of this research, when discussing asceticism I will be referring to a broader definition of the avoidance of material attractions in pursuit of spiritual practices, self-discipline and fasting.

Building on sociologist Emile Durkheim’s dichotomy of ‘The Sacred’ and ‘The Profane’, I have found that it underpins each of the three key themes drawn on within this thesis and will contribute to its general structure. In the opinion of Durkheim, this binary was what he considered to be a central characteristic of religion, he states that “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them” (Durkheim, 2001:62). For Durkheim, ‘The Sacred’ is not considered good, nor ‘The Profane’ evil, but it is about recognising something as sacred and seeing it special and separated from everyday life. However, as Belk et al quoted

I aim to analyse the goop brand and how it commodifies wellness, explore the relationships between capitalism, spirituality, religion and contemporary feminism and question the extent the goop brand demonstrates asceticism in contemporary consumer culture?

Upon researching goop I became fascinated by the contradictions between the zen philosophies that the products represent and the capitalistic reality of goop being a profit-driven brand. Not to mention that the products are completely unaffordable for the 99%. I am interested in how goop uses ‘aspiration’ as a mask for its blatant elitism, yet it is the subtlety of this which is most concerning. There is a logic of empowerment and resisting capitalism which is what makes it so seductive, yet this is contradicted by the constant options and encouragement for readers to purchase goop-approved products. The popularity of goop, however, is also part of a wider movement in which society is looking for sources of ‘enchantment’.

Figure 3: Dazed, Grace Wales Bonner: A Time For New Dreams (2019)

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

In the early 20th century informed by enlightened reason and the demystification of modernity, sociologist Max Weber coined the term ‘Disenchantment’ (1918). Weber was referring to the secularisation of society, the decline of magic and the increasing rationality of modern society following the advancements in science and technology, a decline in mystery dominated by the belief in absolute truth (Jenkins, 2000). It appears that ‘wellness’ has come to fill the ‘enchantment’ shaped void in secular Western society for some individuals. ‘Wellness’ is a practice which has historically been deemed as ‘alternative’, and I want to understand how this cultural phenomenon is becoming mainstream, aided by large capitalist corporations like goop.

Founded in 2008 by actress and celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow, goop has progressed from a weekly e-mail newsletter to an established and extremely successful lifestyle brand. Expanding across multiple sectors from goop branded products to luxury retreats, goop opened its first London pop-up shop in 2018, located in Notting Hill which is now set to become a permanent shop. Gwyneth Paltrow is not the first celebrity to market her entire life as a lifestyle brand, take Martha Stewart for example and her company Martha Stewart Living. And like Martha Stewart Living, goop utilises the idea of the celebrity, exploits the idea of the ‘it’ girl, argued by performance scholar Joseph Roach as: “by It I mean the easily perceived but hard-to-define quality possessed by abnormally interesting people” (Roach, 2000:555).

Articles with gp’s signed note document her beauty routine, or what she has for breakfast, and items in different categories, from protein powders to rose quartz face rollers to books are offered for sale. If a consumer buys from each of these, they can ‘goopify’ their entire life allowing them to imagine themselves closer to the celebrity and acquire a taste of ‘it’.

This form of self-sacrifice is evident in the purging of items masked as “streamlining” or “minimalist” on the goop website, where, following Marie Kondo’s ethos, readers are encouraged to discard items that do not “spark joy” and are of course, unsurprisingly followed by links to purchase “multi-functional” items.

An emphasis on self-improvement and an obsession with restriction can be found everywhere, from diet and food to ideas about femininity. Feminist scholar Rosalind Gill argues that

“a postfeminist sensibility includes the notion that femininity is increasingly figured as a bodily property; a shift from objectification to subjectification in the ways that (some) women are represented; an emphasis upon selfsurveillance, monitoring and discipline; [and] a focus upon individualism, choice and empowerment” (Gill, 2011:4).

Many of these are prevalent on goop, for example, the self-monitoring encouraged through meticulous diet restrictions, intensive disciplinary fitness regimes, and journals which encourage users to track every aspect of their lives.

This thesis proceeds with a discussion exploring the development and popularity of the goop brand and an analysis of the brand’s tone of voice and aesthetics, the power of Gwyneth Paltrow’s celebrity

Detox is associated with the need to “balance” out the fun and indulgence of the year, or “holiday excess” as Gwyneth Paltrow states in an early 2008 newsletter (goop, 2008). Professor of Religion Marie Griffiths compares this type of behaviour to historical religious abstinence in her work, stating

“Restraint in eating, like other forms of self-control, was a sacrifice that elevated practitioners to a higher humanity and an improved fulfilment of their social and domestic roles” (Griffith, 2004:114).

Figure 4:

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status, how this is understood by scholars, looking at Joseph Roach’s definition of ‘It’ and how Paltrow’s aura is used within the website. Paltrow’s presence on the platform and the declining nature of that is discussed, alongside the idea of exclusivity and limited edition being exploited by goop. This is followed by an exploration into the current ‘wellness’ phenomenon as the swinging pendulum of society revisits the irrational and spiritual. When discussing ‘wellness’ I am referring to the popularity of yoga, the saturation of self-care and the commodification of spirituality.

This is followed by an analysis of the omnipresent theme of detox and minimalism prevalent on goop.

I look at ideas around how the internal purging of toxins and the external purging of ‘stuff’ echoes ascetic ideals and purity. This is followed by an exploration into the history of the negative discourse towards dirt, disease, illness, clutter, and bacteria, and how goop utilises these to enforce feelings of anxiety on the readers.

Then, I turn to the notion of contemporary femininity, in which I discuss characteristics of neoliberal post feminism evident on goop, the disciplined lifestyle that this entails and the exclusionary nature of that.

The development of the lean body image within body ideals is discussed alongside the lack of diversity seen on goop. The websites prevalent emphasis on the body as a project of the self is explored, looking at the extremely intense disciplinary diets and fitness programmes that goop promotes. The entrepreneur as an aspiration is discussed as well as an exploration into the supposedly positive discourse surrounding contemporary feminism.

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I then examine the theme of spirituality, one which is having a resurgence within women’s culture.

The goop website sells a form of aestheticized and commodified spirituality, which if it were truly spiritual would be attainable for all, yet is not for the average consumer. The lack of traditional methods of purification has meant that individuals are looking for a socially acceptable way to be purified. Not only does goop provide these rituals through the physical purging of toxins and excess weight, but the mental self, by cleansing the soul.

Finally, to conclude I explore the importance of focussing the increasingly blurred lines between capitalism, spirituality, religion and contemporary feminism.

Figure 4: Patrick, In Goop Health Figure 5: goop, Annual goop Detox Figure 6: goop, goop Beauty Figure 7: Weir, Grace Wales Bonner

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(2019) (2019) (2019) (2016)

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The Enchanted World of ‘gp’

Figure 8: Patrick, In Goop Health (2019)

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chapter one

In this chapter, I provide a discussion on the development and the increasing popularity of the lifestyle brand and platform goop. An analysis of the language and aesthetics of the brand image is conducted alongside an in-depth study of the goop weekly newsletter (May 2019). I explore the impact of the brand being pioneered by celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow, looking at the declining nature of her presence (her physical image and voice on the website), how it monetises her aura, and what defines that. Paltrow’s fading presence and personal anecdotes, together with the limited edition products sold on the website make exclusivity key to goop. I then explore the wider cultural movement in which individuals are increasingly looking towards less traditional religious disciplines for sources of ‘re-enchantment’ (Weber 1918) like ‘wellness’.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Figure 9: goop, In goop Health (2018)

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goop Analysis

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chapter one

In 2008 the first goop newsletter was sent to 10,377 subscribers, which featured recipes for turkey ragù and banana-nut muffins, 2009 was the first goop detox, recipes included broccoli and arugula Soup and a blueberry almond smoothie, in 2010 Gwyneth Paltrow added learning to meditate to her New Year’s resolutions, alongside writing about her experience with postpartum depression, introducing an essay from American actress Bryce Dallas and an article from a psychologist. In 2011, Paltrow produced her first cookbook, My Fathers Daughter and hit the New York Times bestseller list, the newsletter subscriber list also hit 400,000, Paltrow went on to publish her second New York Times bestselling cookbook, It’s All Good, which features a lot of gluten-free, sugar-free recipes (goop, 2019).

The Atlantic calls it a “Bible of Laughable Hollywood Neuroticism” (Zuckerman, 2013), writing that she “might just have gone over the edge” (Zuckerman, 2013). Star Magazine calls Paltrow the most hated celebrity the same week People names her most beautiful (Miller, 2013). goop, then expanded from e-commerce and newsletters to real-life events, the first goop pop-up shop opened in the Brentwood Country Mart, and later grew to hold their first wellness summit, In goop Health which debuted in LA in 2017 (fig 9-13).

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The summit is run annually across various locations globally and is set to come to the UK for the first time in 2019. Comparable to a festival, it is comprised of talks, panels and workshops with people ranging from spiritual healers to celebrities to CEOS. The prices range beginning at £1000 and go up to £4500 which of course, include a VIP workout with Paltrow herself (goop, 2019).

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Figure Figure Figure Figure

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goop, goop, goop, goop,

In In In In

goop goop goop goop

Health Health Health Health

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

The goop newsletter (fig 14) which reaches readers inboxes weekly has an aesthetic calmness, it echoes the design style of the popular independent slow-lifestyle magazine Kinfolk (fig 3) which is designed to be looked at just as much- if not more than, read, due to its picturesque visual language.

Kinfolk is most known for being a pioneer of slow living, this is “reflected in Kinfolk’s content through the absence of any evidence of mass consumption or technology” (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:83).

Kinfolk’s aesthetic uses “grainy, warm-toned images, many set under the gray skies and flat light of the Pacific Northwest” (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:83) (fig 15-17). This aesthetic is often accompanied by messages of ‘alternative’ health practices like veganism as well as an association with the well-known ‘hipster’ stereotype, and has come to be repeated by other brands in response “to millennials’ demands for sustainability and authenticity” (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:82).

Figure Figure Figure Figure

14: 15: 16: 17:

goop, May goop newsletter (2019) Lai, La Dolce Vita, Kinfolk (2018) Kinfolk, Issue 29 (2018) Ingerstedt, The Kinfolk Home (2015)

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As Bean et al state in their paper discussing Kinfolk, the magazine’s authenticity declined following the inclusions of advertisements, “Advertisements for highend luxury brands of clothing, furniture, lighting, and housewares are still grouped in the early pages of the publication, but no longer are they seamlessly integrated with the magazine’s aesthetic; instead they are the same advertisements that appear in other publications targeting the luxury market” (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:85). This style is more comparable to what is seen in goop, as the aesthetic is minimal, yet there are still inclusions of advertisements. Whilst goop attempts to position itself as rejecting over-consumption and capitalism, this is a reminder that like Kinfolk, goop is subject to, and a participant of, the capitalist system.

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

Like Kinfolk, goop’s font is a soft serif typeface, yet is all lowercase, this alongside the intimate referral to Paltrow as ‘gp’ within the newsletters evokes a soft and gentle tone of voice. The newsletter is organised around seven themes, the same as those which categorise the website, ‘shop, beauty, food, style, travel, wellness and work’ and when clicked on direct the reader to the online platform. A 2019 newsletter featured articles such as “Your Strong Suit: Six Takes on Summer Swim” (goop, 2019), accompanied by sensorial language which can draw even the most sceptic reader in. “We all have our dreamy summer escape: traversing the rugged shores of Chilmark, floating in the bath-temperature water along Bali’s sandbar, dipping your feet in the nearest rooftop pool” (goop, 2019).

Simply reading the description, the reader is taken on a visual journey imagining themselves within one of these luxurious settings. goop provides a feeling of friendship to readers, offering advice which has a personal touch, “While we’re big fans of sticking to what you know, this season’s swimwear trends- forever classic, full-on adventurous, somewhere in the middle- make this summer especially ripe for testing unchartered waters” (goop, 2019) allowing the reader to comfortably relate to one of these variants of the prescribed spectrum, goop lends the invisible hand in encouraging the reader to venture into buying a new piece of swimwear- conveniently sold on their website.

Accompanied by the text is an image (fig 18), the background of the image shows a beach, with a muted and soft colour palette of blues, greys and beiges. Elevated at the foreground of the image is an incredibly striking young model, illuminated by what appears to be an artificial imitation of natural light which feels stark and aggressive. Her position is angular creating crisp negative space to the background, assisted by her strong facial features, prominent jaw and lean and toned figure. The model’s gaze is outwards, as though looking toward something, yet her expression is still, evidencing her comfort, termed by Erving Goffman in his 1979 case study, Gender Advertisements, as ‘Licensed Withdrawal”, Goffman states: “Women more than men, it seems, are pictured engaged in involvements which remove them psychologically from the social situation at large, leaving them orientated in it and to it, and presumably, therefore dependant on the protectiveness and goodwill of others who are (or might come to be) present” (Goffman, 1979:57).

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Exclusivity is ubiquitous on goop, this is evident through the releases of limited edition collections

by Paltrow’s fashion brand G. Label, the exclusive to goop sector on the website which sells various beauty and fashion items with collaborations with fashion brands like Chloe, and the fading of Paltrow’s personal touch. The early newsletters for goop were initially focused around Paltrow’s advice and recommendations, a 2009 article titled: Spring Fashion on Paltrow’s personal worries regarding what to wear in LA, following her going back to her “day job (filming a movie)” (Paltrow, 2009) features photographs of Paltrow modelling the advised clothing items and is signed off with her personal note, “Love, gp” (Paltrow, 2009). As the brand has transitioned from newsletter to large corporation, Paltrow’s personal anecdotes and photographed image have decreased. In an interview for Vanity Fair in 2016, Paltrow explains this distance from the brand was intentional stating: “So I always think how can I grow the brand, how can I separate myself from the brand and I think it’s going to be more its own brand. More and more I would like it to be its own brand—my dream is that one day no one will remember that I had anything to do with it” (Duboff, 2016).

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A contrast to the inviting tone of the text for the article, the model’s gaze away from the camera creates a disconnect to the viewer, as though she is superior, yet still vulnerable by giving all control to the photographer. Within this image underlies part of the history of women’s depiction within the media, and although Goffman’s study was published in 1979, in a time when society might not be considered to have been quite as liberal as today, images within contemporary media culture do not differ much from those categorized by Goffman (fig 19-22). The newsletter’s images are predominantly white, and whilst this appears to be an attempt at inclusivity with the inclusion of a black model, the model still demonstrates the controversial, yet common characteristics which continue to be presented within contemporary media of beautiful and thin women. goop does not pretend to be egalitarian, it commodifies exclusivity and limited edition, they aren’t selling to everyone and they know it. As journalist Taffy Brodesser-Akner said in her in-depth interview with Paltrow for the New York Times, “goop’s ethic was this: that having beautiful things sometimes costs money; finding beautiful things was sometimes a result of immense privilege, but a lack of that privilege didn’t mean you shouldn’t have those things… If this bothered anyone, well, the newsletter content was free, and so were the recipes for turkey ragù and banana-nut muffins” (Brodesser-Akner, 2018).

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chapter one

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Figure 18: goop, May goop newsletter Figure 19: goop, May goop newsletter Figure 20: Goffman, Gender Advertisements Figure 21: Goffman, Gender Advertisements Figure 22: Chloe, advertisement campaign

(2019) (2019) (1979) (1979) (2019)

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gp: The God of LA goop’s initial popularity can certainly be attributed to Paltrow’s celebrity status. Multiple scholars (Roach, 2000, Alexander, 2010) have explored the phenomena of the celebrity, and what makes one more extraordinary than the other. Sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander states that “Celebrity-icons are objects of worship” (Alexander, 2010:325) and “they are mythical creatures” (Alexander, 2010:330).

Alexander goes on to draw on a particular example of when Julia Roberts remarked about fellow actor Gwyneth Paltrow, “‘She’s got a face you want to look at for a very long time; you want to absorb it’” (Alexander, 2010:325). There’s something distinctive about Paltrow which makes her celebrity aura shine brighter. Termed by performance scholar Joseph Roach as ‘It’, meaning

(Roach, 2000:555).

Roach goes on to draw on Paltrow’s history as an “it girl” in 2000 (Roach, 2000:558) as an example.

Roach’s concept of “It” is reminiscent of the “sacred persons” (Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989) discussed by Belk et al, “Some sacred persons have prophetic charisma that gives them magical power over followers (Weber 1968 in Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989:12). It is worth noting that there are multiple online journalistic articles that report Paltrow’s God-like glow.

Although Paltrow has created a cult-like following (goop has been said to be worth $250 million (Brodesser-Akner, 2018)) it has been subject to many criticisms, from both the general public and the authorities. goop’s most known and outspoken critic is obstetrician-gynaecologist Jen Gunter who specialises in women’s health and pain medicine.

Gunter’s online blog fact checks what she describes as goop’s “pseudoscience” and is often very critical (Gunter, 2018). In 2016 health and science expert Timothy Caulfield released his book, Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? In which he separates the absurd advice from the evidenceinformed and usable.

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In an interview for Jimmy Kimmel Live (YouTube, 2019) (fig 26), when asked about these claims, Paltrow initially makes an attempt to legitimise the advice, then later admits “I don’t know what the f*** we talk about!” (YouTube, 2019). Her body language is reserved as she sits back in the seat, and her tone of voice is sarcastic, verging on embarrassed, as she laughs off the claims. It could be argued that this is part of Paltrow’s attempt to distance herself from goop, as discussed previously, and Jimmy Kimmel Live is known for its comedic tone. However, this does not excuse Paltrow’s blatant elitist manner and irresponsibility for the false medical claims made by goop.

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Figure 23: GP’s New Overnight Routine (2019) Figure 24: goop, Paltrow make-up free (2017) Figure 25: goop, Drink Your Way To Glowing Skin Figure 26: Paltrow on Jimmy Kimmel Live (2017)

chapter one

“the easily perceived but hardto-define quality possessed by abnormally interesting people”

In 2017 consumer advocacy group Truth in Advertising filled a complaint with the government regulatory agency regarding over 50 health claims made by goop as false (Truth In Advertising, 2019). goop’s collaboration with Conde Nast to produce their magazine did not come to fruition due to their need to ‘fact-check’ (Brodesser-Akner, 2018).

In a seminar for Harvard Business School Paltrow was quoted saying “I can monetise those eyeballs” (Brodesser-Akner, 2018), here Paltrow is referring to the clickbait that goop’s more controversial claims cause- which brings traffic to the goop website.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Modern Disenchantment goop came of age within a time in which society’s openness towards less traditional religious disciplines began to increase. Participation in traditional religious practices like going to church is declining in the UK, a 2017 article for The Guardian reported a piece following the release of statistics from The Church of England; “The number of people attending the Church of England’s Sunday services fell again last year, to 722,000 – 18,000 fewer than in 2016 – continuing a trend seen over recent decades” (Sherwood, 2018).

Yet there has been an increase in participation of alternative practices like ‘wellness’ such as astrology, meditation, yoga and crystal healing.

It could be argued that what is being experienced within contemporary Western culture, is a search for ‘re-enchantment’ in a ‘disenchanted’ world.

Weber’s concept of ‘disenchantment’ (Weber, 1918) is what he used to describe the process that he was living through, his perception was that modern life had become magic-less. During this time, there was a “secularisation and decline of magic” (Jenkins, 2000:12), and “all areas of human experience [had] become experienced and understood as less mysterious; defined, at least in principle, as knowable, predictable and manipulable by humans” (Jenkins, 2000:12), in a disenchanted world, everything becomes logical and rational.

The pendulum of modern culture is consistently swinging from side to side as trends bubble up and trickle down. Elizabeth Wilson’s exploration of the interchange between the natural and artificial is another example of this. Wilson states; “When we examine the two aspects of fashion, underwear and cosmetics, that are particularly associated with sex in the popular mind, we find that fashion is, among other things, a continuous dialogue between the natural and the artificial” (Wilson, 2009:95). ‘Wellness’ is one of the many trends that speak to societies’ desire for reenchantment, like with many aspects of culture.

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The present experience of ‘disenchantment' is comprised of various new and ever-changing difficulties. Increasing globalisation involved mass production and consumption, resulting in "Alienation" (Marx, 1964). "Alienation" was a term coined by philosopher Karl Marx, he states: “Since alienated labour: (1) alienates nature from man; and (2) alienates man from himself, from his own active function, his life activity; so it alienates him from the species. ... For labour, life activity, productive life, now appear to man only as means for the satisfaction of a need, the need to maintain physical existence” (Marx, 1964:16).

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Figure 27: Burtynsky, China, Manufacturing #11 Figure 28: Burtynsky, China, Manufacturing #16 Figure 29: Burtynsky, China, Manufacturing #18 Figure 30: Burtynsky, China, Manufacturing #4

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goop:The Cult of Wellness

Figure 31: Burtynsky, China, Manufacturing #11

“A hundred years ago 'to be modern' meant to chase 'the final state of perfection' -- now it means an infinity of improvement, with no 'final state' in sight and none desired” (Bauman, 2000:88).

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Here Marx is referring to the capitalist process in which the workers’ labour becomes a commodity, and the product of this process is more beneficial to the capitalist than to the worker. There are few occupations in contemporary society that encourage the labour/production/completion cycle in which the worker will experience each stage of the product creation, and sell direct to consumer, most of those are reserved for middle/upper class i.e. fine craft work. Often individuals are distanced from the products of their labour, and consumers distant from the workers, thus, encouraging feelings of alienation.

Individuals are now, even more so experiencing the feeling of being moving parts of the capitalist machine. Society is supposedly more connected than ever due to technological advancements and social media yet individuals are feeling increasingly disconnected. According to figures published by the Office for National Statistics in their latest 2018 survey, 2.4 million British adult residents, suffer from chronic loneliness (Ons.gov.uk, 2018).

There is an abundance of choice in liquid modernity, which is reflected in the modern adaptation of spirituality, labelled as a “spiritual supermarket”

by David Lyon (Lyon 2000). This, alongside the individualised nature of postmodern society, has meant that people are constructing their own form of religious practices. For Lyon, religion has shifted to become a part of consumerism, where individuals consciously consume parts of religion that they resonate with most. Lyon argues that this process (the growth in less traditional forms of religious beliefs and practices in the form of spirituality) is societies' longing for ‘re-enchantment' (Lyon, 2000).

This favouring towards spiritual consumerism could be further understood by using Belk et al’s concept of “The Sacred” (Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989) within consumer behaviour as discussed formerly. They state: “Religion has become secularized, and the secular sacralized in contemporary Western society. In this context,

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Historically, individuals had stricter roles within society and a pre-determined sense of identity, yet now following the industrial capitalist era of mass production, people are more likely to construct their identity through consumerism. Due to the alienated nature of liquid modernity, individuals are more desperate in their quest for meaning. The modern experience of spirituality in Western culture appears to not be associated with a specific religion but is rather about choosing and consuming different religious items. ‘Enchantment' through ‘wellness' is one of the ways that some individuals are invited to feel part of something larger, offering a source of value in an increasingly fast-paced and disconnected life. ‘Wellness’ has appeared to fill this void for some, gaining cult-like followers and resembling a religion with practitioners, instructors, and coaches as its priests, imams, and rabbis. ‘Wellness’ includes modern dieting like detoxing, a focus on the exterior body, achieved through discipline, empowerment within feminism and self-care, and the commodification of spirituality. goop exemplifies—and has monetised— these multiple recent trends.

Concluding Discussion The analysis of goop’s aesthetics and direct to consumer marketing examined within this chapter, evidence goop's intended brand image as friendly and positive through its offering of personal anecdotes and Paltrow's mystical aura. However, Paltrow's attitude in her interview for Jimmy Kimmel Live and the subtle judgement underlying the positivity, show the beginning of the unravelling of this mask. Through offering ‘wellness’ related products and articles, goop taps into modern society’s desire for ‘re-enchantment’.

‘Wellness’ has traditionally been seen as ‘alternative’ and goop offers individuals an accessible way (not in price) to enter the sphere through globalising this phenomenon. In the following chapters, I intend to unravel what lies beneath the shiny veneer of ‘wellness’ that goop presents.

chapter one

In addition to this, individuals are experiencing a constant need for renewal within society, termed

by Philosopher Zygmunt Bauman as: ‘Liquid Modernity’, to describe this cultural movement he states: “A hundred years ago 'to be modern' meant to chase 'the final state of perfection' -- now it means an infinity of improvement, with no 'final state' in sight and none desired (Bauman, 2000:88). This is describing the condition of constant change within identities, relationships and economics globally within contemporary society.

consumption may become a primary means of transcendent experience. Rather than experiencing the kind of extraordinary meaning previously attained primarily through religion, contemporary consumers define certain objects or consumption experiences as representing something more than the ordinary objects they appear to be” (Durkheim in Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989:13). Following the secularisation of Western culture, the definitions of ‘The Sacred’ and ‘The Profane’ have become blurred and consumerism is offering some individuals a source of meaning.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

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2

Confess Your Sins, Purify Your Toxins

Figure 32: goop, Annual goop Detox (2019)

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chapter two

“Modern asceticism appears a paradox” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:227) states Julia Twigg in the book Beyond Pleasure: Cultures of Modern Asceticism.

Twigg’s exploration of modern asceticism and contemporary body culture argues that surprisingly, modernity did not rid of the restraining ascetic impulses premodernity, but that “asceticism appears to be part of the modernist project, carried forward at its heart” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:227). Within this chapter, I explore the theme of detox which saturates the goop website, looking at ideas of food in relation to religious ideas like guilt and sin. I show how goop demonstrates modern asceticism, followed by a discussion on literature from Marie Griffith who examines the relationship between religion and physical perfection, alongside insights from Julia Twigg on the focus shifting from the soul to the body. The online community shows the goop detox as a challenge, competitively achieved through extreme discipline. Alongside the dietary restrictions, the omnipresent theme of minimalism is discussed exploring how these ideas are translated into all aspects of individuals lives. The Sacred/Profane dichotomy is once again discussed within this chapter to reveal how goop promotes certain lifestyle ideals.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Figure 33: goop, Annual goop Detox (2019)

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Detox In an early 2008 newsletter titled: Detox, Paltrow writes, “It is that time of year, folks, I need to lose a few pounds of holiday excess. Anyone else? I like to do fasts and detoxes a couple of times during the year, the most hard-core being the Master Cleanse I did last spring” (Shop.goop.com, 2008).

The tone of the newsletter is clear in its advice to the reader, that an individual must balance out the fun of the holidays or parties with a “fast or detox” (Shop.goop.com, 2008), in this, weight gain is associated with having fun, and detox with balance. This reinforcement of the idea that indulgence must be followed by fasting highlights the regulation of pleasure being prescribed to the readers. Using terms like “hard-core” (Shop.goop.com, 2008) and “Master” (goop, 2008), the commitment to the detox is understood as intense, self-sacrificial, and that there must be a form of devotion to it. Paltrow’s obvious presence through her personal recommendations is an exploitation of the readers’ trust, using her friendly tone of voice, “Anyone else?” (Shop.goop. com, 2008) as though these intensive practices are to be seen as the norm. If she can do it, why can’t they?

The Annual goop Detox (2019) is evidence that goop continues to promote these enforced ideas of balance reading,

The aesthetic style is similar to Kinfolk’s as discussed in chapter 1, in particular, what Bean et al identify as “artful mess” (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:85). “This form shows a process in action, highlighting a moment in practice rather than the end result. Artful mess can take the form of a half-eaten piece of pie with crumbs extending from the plate in a gradient… Kinfolk’s artful mess invites the reader to seek and appreciate beauty in the mundane (Bean, Khorramian and O’Donnell, 2017:85). This type of aesthetic commodifies the rugged and natural, which of course, has its own implications, yet makes it easy to replicate, as investigated later within this chapter where the online goop community is discussed.

Figure 34: goop, Annual goop Detox (2019)

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chapter two

“2018 was a year of incredible, nourishing, healing food here at goop, but in the spirit of balance, we also indulged in some less-than-clean favorites (like lasagna, schnitzel, waffles, and so many fun cocktails). Again striving for balance, we’re recalibrating this month with our annual January detox program” (goop, 2019).

The images accompanying the text (fig 33,34) are mostly flat-lays, a photographic style in which items are placed on a (usually) plain background. Plastic-free, and spilling out of what is most likely an organic cotton bag, vibrant raw fruits and vegetables contrast the stark concrete background. Alive, fresh, vital, healing and of course, natural, the detox environment is inviting to the reader. Smoothies which are bright purple (with the promise that there is spinach in there), have consistency so thick and creamy that they create their own form, and are staggered emulating a piece of ceramic art.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

goop treats The Annual Detox (2019) as a “recalibration” (goop, 2019), a reset that is necessary for the body. It is evident throughout the research discussed within this thesis that goop communicates the idea that indulgence leads to a feeling of instability, and the reset gives individuals the illusion of regaining control. The plan eliminates caffeine, alcohol, dairy, gluten, corn, tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, potatoes, soy, refined sugar, shellfish, white rice and eggs to be replaced with “nutrient-dense leafy greens [and] cruciferous veggies” (goop, 2019).

Underneath the ‘empowering’ message guilt is subtly implied each time ‘fun’ (eating well) is followed by the need to fast. Of course, guilt and gluttony have historically gone hand in hand, The Catholic Church considers it the fifth of the seven cardinal sins, and Christian morality strongly condemned ‘those whose god is their belly’ Philippians 3:19. Historically, food has been seen as a temptation and self-control must be used in order to remain free of sin.

Abstaining from pleasures such as food or sex has historically been observed as a form of asceticism, which in doing so, was often in the pursuit of spiritual goals. Asceticism can still be seen within contemporary mainstream practices of religion, take Islam for example, in which fasting takes place during Ramadan and individuals abstain from food and water from sunrise until sunset. Yet as religious belief and practice declined in the twentieth century, Professor Julia Twigg, in her historical analysis of modern asceticism argues “these impulses increasingly took on secular, this-worldly forms” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:240). These were seen through the focus on the body rather than the soul and “creating and shaping the body in particular regimes of exercise, diet and body work” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:240). Late modernity’s project of the body meant that individuals were increasingly required to monitor and discipline their bodies in pursuit of the slim and lean ideal.

The extreme standards of the goop yearly cleanse are normalised for the many thousands of dedicated goop readers, if not completing the detox with friends, they are supported by each other online through the ‘goop gang’ on Facebook or the hashtag #goopdetox on Instagram (fig 35). Creating a community of fellow goop fans, individuals can share images of their detox process. A post from the Instagram account @vegukate with the #goopdetox hashtag reads,

“Another rainy day, another giant salad filled with leftovers - AKA my favorite lunch. This one’s packed with ghee roasted veggies, wild salmon, arugula, avocado, and the world’s greatest tahini dressing: all thrown together in less than 5 minutes. Now I’m cooking literally all the things for the week, the blog, and then some. How are you spending your Sunday? #vegukate” (Jenkins, 2019) (fig 36).

The caption appears to be positive through the use of encouraging language, “my favorite lunch” (Jenkins, 2019) and “the world’s greatest” (Jenkins, 2019), yet there is an underlying narrative of exclusivity, “all thrown together in less than 5 minutes” (Jenkins, 2019), clarifying that this lifestyle is easy and achievable for all, and for whom it is not, there are no excuses. The question, “How are you spending your Sunday?” (Jenkins, 2019) is subtly armed with judgement for the readers. For those who participate in the detoxes, this creates a competitive environment to succeed in, and find pleasure in it, even though the prescribed detox is obvious in its lack of this through the labour-intensive recipes and extreme calorie depletion. For those who are not part of this elite community, there are encouraging feelings of insufficiency.

Even individuals not deemed the typical goop consumer make an attempt at completing the goop detox, in an article for People Magazine in 2019 titled, We Tried (and Survived) Gwyneth Paltrow’s 2019 Detox Plan—Here’s What You Need to Know, language such as “I volunteered as tribute”, “Here’s how it all went down for me, and a few suggestions to make it more enjoyable for you (if you dare)”, and a “level of difficulty” (Calderone, 2019) rating is used. In this article, the detox is seen as a way to test the body’s ability to be pushed to its limits through a self-sacrificial challenge. The recipe list is as challenging to source as to produce, the article stated: “I had to make fives trips during the week for things I either forgot or couldn’t find at first and still had to place an Amazon order, so just know this: You’ll likely need to order the sweet potato vermicelli and coconut aminos online” (Calderone, 2019).

Not to mention the price of which was over $300 (Calderone, 2019), the sourcing of the ingredients is a pilgrimage in itself.

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chapter two

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Figure 35: Instagram, goop detox search (2019) Figure 36: Instagram, @vegukate (2019)

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Whilst articles like this highlight the comedy that can be found surrounding the controversy of detoxing, there are more serious issues regarding the promotion of orthorexia to be discussed.

Orthorexia was a term defined in 1997 by Dr, Steven Bratman which he describes “indicates an unhealthy obsession with eating healthy food” (Bratman, 2014). goop’s repeated detoxes through eliminating foods they deem ‘unclean’ and a focus on a small group of approved foods show signs of the characteristics of orthorexia. goop has faced criticisms with multiple journalistic articles also raising this issue.

In an article for The Independent, Dr Christian Jessen, most known for his appearance on British television stated that goop’s recommendations are “indistinguishable from pro-anorexia websites” (Pells, 2017), he then goes on to say, “Clean eating and wellness websites advocated by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Deliciously Ella are contributing towards eating disorders and other mental health problems in teenagers and young children” (Pells, 2017).

According to Griffith, “Participants in devotional diet culture rarely imagine health and thinness as final ends; rather, they pursue bodily fitness as a vehicle for developing close, satisfying relationships with a beloved whom they aim to please through obedient self-discipline” (Griffith, 2004:5). It could be argued that the goop cleanse is not far from the self-restraint performed by individuals in preindustrial, spiritual Western society in order to strengthen one’s faith. In which “Abstinence was the key to individual and social regeneration because it inculcated both virtue and fortitude. Restraint in eating, like other forms of self-control, was a sacrifice that elevated practitioners to higher humanity and an improved fulfilment of their social and domestic roles.” (Griffith, 2004:114). The overabundance and enticement to ‘indulge yourself’ through consumer cultural ideologies of hedonism have made it necessary to self-monitor in a way unimaginable for most ordinary people until after World War Two.

“Participants in devotional diet culture rarely imagine health and thinness as final ends; rather, they pursue bodily fitness as a vehicle for developing close, satisfying relationships with a beloved whom they aim to please through obedient self-discipline” (Griffith, 2004:5).

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Purify Your Toxins

This overabundance has been termed by Peeters et al as the “modern abundance” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:229) of the West which is a result of declining levels of physical activity due to the mechanisation of work and transport, changing and fragmented eating patterns, and more readily available foods- in which individuals are presented with constant opportunities to eat (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011). Peeters et al go on to say, “this has created an obesogenic environment that shifts the onus of responsibility on to the individual” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:229). Previous patterns of eating gave structure to individuals lives, and the lack of this has meant that they are required to constantly monitor themselves and have selfdiscipline. The participation in the goop detox may be in pursuit of bodily ideals or by completing the fast, an individual might feel closer to the aspired to figure: Gwyneth Paltrow, as though she is God-like, as mentioned previously- the multiple journalistic accounts in which she has been described to have an angelic-glow.

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Articles about detoxifying on goop are often accompanied by the use of the adjective ‘clean’, for example, “Clean, Nontoxic Beauty”, “The Eight Best Clean Sunscreens”, “3 Sexy, Clean, Nontoxic, goop Approved Lubes”. goop is even selling a selfcleaning showerhead, the editors write, a “must for healthy living”, it “solves a problem you might not have been aware of” (Shop.goop.com, n.d.).

The shower head’s pop open function discourages the accumulation of bacteria and mould. It is certainly the case that culture has historically been concerned with cleanliness, argued by Twigg to have been “reinforced in the nineteenth century by technological developments, in the form of the fixed and plumbed-in bathtub (located in rooms specifically designated for cleaning)” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:235). Twigg goes onto say that these “purifactory regimes” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:236) are even more prolific today. She explains this is because individuals shower daily and this has ascetic tendencies, there are “ideas of cleansing that is both bodily and spiritual” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:236).

Figure 37: Gursky, 99 Cent, mass consumption (1999) Figure 38: Miereles, Insertions into Ideological Circuits, mass consumption (1970)

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chapter two

The promotion of detoxing on goop is often followed by the demonising of ‘toxins’ through multiple articles, for example, “The Water Filtering Guide”, “And What Might Be in Your Water”, “There May Be Toxins in Your Child’s Baby Food”, “Is Your Clothing Toxic?”, “Could There Possibly Be a Link Between Underwire Bras and Breast Cancer?” This article’s claims are based on the idea that bras restrict the flow of “toxins” (goop, 2017) and even irresponsibly suggests that they might be linked to cancer). A recent article in 2019 titled “Are Tampons Toxic?” states, “So, most cotton tampons—at least 85%, certainly any cotton that is not organic— contain glyphosate, which is problematic because it is a known cancer-causing agent” (goop, 2019). Of course, the move away from using tampons is an important one, with movements like The Cup Effect, which encourages women to use the menstrual cup over other sanitary products in an effort to promote more sustainable materials (The Cup Effect, 2018).

However, 1 in 10 girls can’t afford to buy menstrual products according to Plan International UK (Plan International UK, 2017), and goop’s use of the fear of toxins evokes a sense of panic for the readers, many individuals can hardly afford sanitary products, much less, goop approved organic ones.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Streamline your life Minimalism is a defining characteristic of goop’s aesthetic identity as discussed in chapter one, and this style saturates the website. Not only are individuals required to eliminate food items from their diet, but there are endless options on the goop website which give advice on how to remove items from all aspects of their lives. This ranges from skincare, to style, to lingerie and even “minimalist’ earthquake essentials (goop,2019). Contradicting the traditional minimalist’s ethos of less, the user is encouraged to achieve this aesthetic through the accumulation of more things- conveniently sold on the goop website.

If not tagged as “minimalist”, this purging of items is masked as “streamline” on articles on goop, “streamline your morning”, “streamline your kitchen”, “streamline your workday”.

The modernist idea of streamlining originated in its application to the design of automobiles to maximise efficiency. An example of this is Norman Bel Geddes’ “teardrop” form (Maffei, 2009) (fig 40). Although Maffei states that Geddes was not the pioneer of this innovation, he was known “as a leading prophet of streamlining, an aesthetic he believed conformed to the principles of modernism, including simplicity, efficient use of materials and visual harmony” (Maffei, 2009:143).

Through applying this physical property of an object to people’s lives, there is an implied message that through purchasing these items, an individual’s life will be quicker, faster and easier. However, this raises concerns about how damaging this narrative is, there is a wider cultural movement in which individuals are methodically planning their lives and work days giving little time for relaxation or any feeling of being ‘free’ (an area which is discussed further within the next chapter), and the promotion of these products further adds to the notion that goop is suggesting that this is how one should live their life.

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Concluding Discussion The fragmentation and liquidity of modern life have meant that many individuals are feeling a sense of a loss of control, detoxing and streamlining are presented to consumers as a way to regain stability through balance. The dieting presented on goop is extremely eliminatory and coded in religiosity, the meal prep is parallel to prayer, the denial of appetite parallel to fasting and the ‘cheat meal’ is symbolic of feasting. Elimination of certain foods and the streamlining of individuals lives in the name of minimalism is comparable to the real type of poverty seen globally.

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It remains unclear whether this purging is spiritual or bodily. Historian of religion Mircea Eliade stated that; “For nonreligious man, all vital experienceswhether sex or eating, work or play- have been desacralized. This means that all these physiological acts are deprived of spiritual significance, hence deprived of their truly human dimension” (Eliade, 1987:168). Eliade’s work explores what he considers to be a continual pursuit of The Sacred within culture, whether this is consciously or not. Perhaps, these examples are evidence of the subconscious yearning for spiritualism in a disenchanted world.

In The Cult of Wellness, The Sacred are clean products, healthy organic food and minimalism, and The Profane are toxins, bacteria and clutter, the body is considered sacred and must avoid contamination.

Figure 39: goop, Buy Fewer and Smarter (2019) Figure 40: Norman Bel Geddes Teardrop Design Figure 41: goop, Everyday Wardrobe Essentials (2019)

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chapter two

Lack of food and clothing is not a choice for many individuals, in order to feel comfortable throwing out old things, there needs to be the comfort that more can be purchased. Termed by Kyle Chayka for New York Times Magazine as: “The Oppressive Gospel of Minimalism” (Chayka, 2016), in which he states: “perhaps it’s a method of coping with recession-induced austerity, a collective spiritual and cultural cleanse because we’ve been forced to consume less anyway. But as an outgrowth of a peculiarly American (that is to say, paradoxical and self-defeating) brand of Puritanical asceticism, this new minimalist lifestyle always seems to end in enabling new modes of consumption, a veritable excess of less. It’s not really minimal at all” (Chayka, 2016).

goop:The Cult of Wellness

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3

The Quantified Life

Neoliberal feminism continues characteristics of post-feminism through the “emphasis upon self-surveillance, monitoring and discipline [and] a focus upon individualism, choice and empowerment”(Gill, 2007:225). Yet neoliberal feminism differs from postfeminism in the ways that it overthrows second-wave feminism and comes to be seen as an “entirely new version of feminism” (Gill, 2011:118).

Catherine Rottenberg argues that “this subject is feminist in the sense that she is distinctly aware of current inequalities between men and women. This same subject is, however, simultaneously neoliberal, not only because she disavows the social, cultural and economic forces producing this inequality, but also because she accepts full responsibility for her own well-being and self-care.” (Rottenberg, 2014:420). goop endlessly promotes the entrepreneurial woman, deeming her an aspiration. I explore how this particular mode of feminism correlates with the rigorous puritan ethic which echoes ascetic ideals, alongside a critical analysis of the self-care that is encouraged by goop. Underpinning the discussion is the ongoing binary of The Sacred and The Profane.

Figure 42: goop, goop Beauty (2019)

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chapter three

Within this chapter, I explore the development of body ideals and how women are presented on goop. The discussion is gendered towards women as goop’s content is primarily aimed at women. I also demonstrate how goop shows aspects of neoliberal feminism, building on the work discussed on detoxing in chapter two.

Women’s bodies are frequently seen as projects, there is a large emphasis on selfimprovement and an obsession with restriction. These ideas are masked by the message of empowerment- which is increasingly prevalent within contemporary feminism more generally where women are encouraged to become self-acting agents of their own bodies and lives. There have been debates about the increasing compatibility of mainstream feminism with neoliberal ideas, discussing that aspects of postfeminism have spawned into a new form of neoliberal feminism (Gill, 2011; Rottenberg, 2014, 2018).

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Body Ideals Throughout the twentieth century, women’s body ideals continuously changed. The slim ideals seen within contemporary Western culture began following the demise of the lace-up corset after the First World War which allowed women to be freed from the structured constraints of the garment.

The number of women engaged in paid work grew, which meant that they were required to fit into more masculinised worlds (Welters and Cunningham, 2007). Additionally, the increasing image of the ‘lithe’ silhouette presented within fashion meant that many women felt pressure to work hard to achieve the lean and slender look (Welters and Cunningham, 2007) (fig 43).

Figure 43: Vanity Fair, Body Ideals (1934)

Drawing on Gill’s work discussed previously, generally women progressed to feel as though they had regained control of the male gaze in the twentyfirst century because of a “shift from objectification to subjectification … [and a] ‘resexualization’ of women’s bodies (Gill, 2011:4). This re-sexualisation of bodies depended on “depictions of women as ‘knowing, active and desiring’. However, following this empowerment, some women were characterised as “narcissistic” (Gill, 2011:204) and not rid of judgement, but victims to the critical “self-policing” nature of individuals own selves throughout postfeminism (fig 44).

Figure 44: Instagram, Sex and The City (2019)

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Figure 45: goop, Fitspiration (2018)

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Most notably, the trend “fitspiration” (fig 45) has gained traction over recent years. The images are often posted on online platforms like Pinterest, YouTube or Instagram and depict an individual’s fitness routines through images or videos. The content will often frame the individual’s body in the best possible way, highlighting their toned physique. A 2016 study: “Skinny is Not Enough’ explored these contradictions, finding that “messages encouraged appearance-related body image standards and weight management behaviors more frequently than health-related standards and behaviors” (Simpson and Mazzeo, 2016:560), the article then goes on to suggest that these messages are “problematic” (Simpson and Mazzeo, 2016:560).

Although “fitspiration” gives positive connotations of health, there are often deeper (even subconscious) narcissistic motivations.

chapter three

The hugely popular online platform Instagram is exemplary of and has monetised the narcissistic and critical way in which culture has transmuted.

Whilst the platform has given way to many positive additions to society like helping small businesses grow (a topic discussed brilliantly by Ana Sofia Elias, Rosalind Gill, and Christina Scharff in their book: ‘Aesthetic Labour’ (2017)), it also emphasises many of the concerning issues surrounding mental health and body image. Instagram is revolutionary in the way that it created a world in which everything has become aestheticized, homes are Instagrammable, cafes are set up to fit in a tiny Instagrammable square, bodies are smoothed to an uncanny perfection, even faces are nipped and tucked to create that perfect selfie.

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Pioneered by Gwyneth Paltrow, a white beautiful celebrity, it is not surprising that goop presents a very stereotypical feminine ideal of slender and beautiful women (see fig 47, 48). The majority of the images show white models, with most non-white models being featured on the ‘good Samaritan’ page of the website which promotes stories of women volunteering. A lot of these are similar to those posted on the Instagram account @nowhitesaviours which calls out perceived incidents of ‘white saviourism’ (Instagram.com, n.d.). Take for example, an 18-year-old American girl is allowed to adopt 13 children in a foreign country while a 23-year old married Ugandan woman with more than adequate finances has struggled to even begin the process of adoption. Children being adopted are often treated like trophies and fetishized for their exotic birth countries and the ‘parents’ are praised for ‘saving’ them. The goop Guide to Volunteering (goop, n.d.) (see fig 46) is saturated with accounts like these, the editor writes, “Corny though it may sound, it’s also a fact: Volunteering is good for us. It makes us happier, it makes us healthier, and it even makes us more attractive, according to one study in BMC Evolutionary Biology” (Goop, n.d.). This clearly emphasises the benefit to the volunteer rather than the recipients .

Not only are the women slim, but they are also lean and toned, the toned body shape is the evident result of “disciplinary activity in the form of focused exercise, gym attendance and other body work” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:229). Not far from the restraint of the external corset of the nineteenth century, the restriction has become internalised to present a “clearly defined and bounded ideal” (Peeters, Van Molle and Wils, 2011:229). It could be argued that things have changed for worse rather than better since this text was written in 2011, in light of the increasing pursuit of bodily perfection, an example of this is the previously discussed ‘fitspiration’ trend.

The physical activity necessary to achieve the body images presented on goop is clearly documented within the health and fitness section of the website which advises readers about exercise. In line with the intense detox programmes (discussed in chapter 2), the physical activity is extreme, according to a book purchasable on goop, “strong is the new pretty”. Body-monitoring and discipline create an environment in which the body is a project, to tweak and mould until it is deemed perfect- with the idea that there are no limits to self-improvement. Developing a bodily project becomes an activity of intense labour. An article on how to lose weight fast with Tracy Anderson flaunts hardship and difficulty, individuals are encouraged to take extreme measures just for that “fast approaching vacation” (Anderson, 2017).

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“The best way to jump-start weight loss is to work out every single day until you actually crave the workout. Plus, get off gluten and go very low carb. You are how you move, you are how you eat. Ideally, you want to be regular and strategic with the design of your body and your weight management all year…

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For those with sluggish metabolisms, whose emotional taste buds were brought up on packaged cookies, candy bars, muffins, and chips—the “journey to balance” can be a real mountain that just doesn’t even look possible to climb” (Anderson, 2017).

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Figure 46: goop, goop Guide To Volunteering Figure 47: goop, goop Body Ideals (2019) Figure 48: goop, goop Body Ideals (2019)

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The article advises readers to ”work out every day” (Anderson, 2017), meaning that they must have the free time to be able to do so, and even that might not be enough. This form of work-out takes both mental and physical willpower- although the stress of which is described as being less so than the alternative of “excess weight”- this could be interpreted as offensive, or argued as not due to its subtlety. The article goes on to advise readers to “cut almond milk from your morning coffee” (Anderson, 2017) and it is clear that this is the excess weight of already very thin women with assumedly little ‘excess weight’. The process is even more mentally draining for those who have not grown up with the privilege of expensive, organic fresh foods but “packaged cookies [or] candy bars” (those with “sluggish metabolisms” (Anderson, 2017)). Working and middle-class women’s lack of privilege means that they are faced with greater hardships which leaves less emotional energy to conform to what is expected of them, and advised on goop.

chapter three

If you have weight to lose, you can effectively do a fourteen-pound weight loss in four weeks. This requires focus and physical, mental, and emotional willpower. You will experience short-term stressbut this can end up being less stressful than living with the stress of excess weight …

goop:The Cult of Wellness

The quantified self The contemporary feminist characteristics of self-surveillance and body monitoring (Gill, 2011) are prevalent on goop, The Wellness Journal, purchasable on goop and created by wellness coach and RASA founder Mia Rigden enables users to track their food habits. The product description insists it is “not about calorie counting… guilt or judgement [but a] mindful [way to understand] the relationship between food and other areas of your life” (goop, 2019), yet goes on to note that “studies show that simply self-monitoring-without making any deliberate changes to your diet- is associated with weight loss” (goop, 2019). The calorie counting guilt-inducing tracker is masked by the vicious notion of ‘empowerment’ a term so distinctive to neoliberal postfeminism. Terms like ‘choice’ and ‘empowerment’ are consistently associated with this particular mode of feminism (McRobbie, 2007; Gill, 2011). For example, Sheryl Sandberg’s book: Lean In, which has been widely popular, depicts women as entrepreneurs, and they are encouraged to ‘Lean In’ to their lives through internalising success. This puts incredible pressure on individuals, particularly those who are of a lower class and have not been afforded the opportunities those of middle and upper-class might have had, neoliberal feminism is, therefore, ultimately exclusionary.

This form of tracking is part of the goop mentality but does exist beyond it, ‘Instagrammable’ stationary brand CDG London sells items such as a ‘365 day gratitude journal’, a ‘making it happen’ mug, and a pen that is sold at £10, this fairly standard pen in a currently trending rose gold colour which professes to “get stuff done” (CGD LONDON, 2019) demonstrates little difference to standard pens. Their best-selling (according to their website) ‘Getting Stuff Done’ journal appears frequently on the brands Instagram account, with users sharing their documented lives. The journal is laid out with various encouraging boxes to fill in each day, in one user’s diary (fig 49) the quote box is filled in with: “Dream, Believe, Achieve”, the planner proceeds with a section for that days plan, a food plan, shopping list, expenses, daily exercise, water intake, self-care and personal notes. The brand’s idea is that through an individual documenting their goals, this will help them to achieve them. The website states that their ethos is centred around designing products that “remind you that you can do anything you put your mind to” and they provide the “tools to help you stay on track” (CGD LONDON, 2019). Their tag line reads, “Anything you want, no matter what background, you can achieve it” (CGD LONDON, 2019). Despite their attempt

at encouragement, this ultimately reduces serious social-political issues regarding class inequality to a motivational phrase, therefore, making them appear even more superficial. Also, when individuals participate in these control-rituals, it is often to compulsively angst out of anxiety, which is an oxymoron in itself, it is reminiscent of the saying ‘fighting for peace’ or ‘shouting for silence’.

Not only are physical properties like weight tracked on goop, emotions are “managed” (goop, 2019), postnatal depletion is ‘cured’ through self-help books which also endlessly market happiness, the titles read: “it’s all good”, “it’s all easy”, “the happy medium”, “the opposite of hate” (goop, 2019). The promotion of happiness in relation to neoliberal governmentality has been discussed by Sociologist Sam Binkley, he argues that happiness has “emerged as an object of analytic clarity, measurable and actionable” (Binkley, 2011:371), he goes on to say that “the phenomenon of positive psychology and the new discourse on happiness exercises a uniquely productive effect in the shaping of autonomous, agentive neoliberal subjectivities” (Binkley, 2011:372). Additionally, Rottenberg (2014) highlights this correlation between happiness and neoliberalism in relation to women achieving the work-family balance. Women are encouraged to succeed in their career before focusing on having children (suggesting that they should want to have children), and that this must be done through precise life planning- creating incredible pressure on individuals to make the “‘right’ choices” (Baker, 2008 in Gill, 2011:285) to create the right path.

Contemporary existence is now more than ever, submitted to an economic rationality, as political theorist Wendy Brown states; “Not only is the human being configured exhaustively as homo oeconomicus, but all dimensions of human life are cast in terms of a market rationality” (Brown, 2003:40). The technologizing of happiness (Binkley, 2011) and the self, mark a turn in rethinking human emotional wellbeing and the body through economic principles.

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Entrepreneur as Aspiration Essential to neoliberalism is the entrepreneurial subject and goop ‘empowers’ women through the proliferation of female success stories praising ‘career women’. According to Brown “neoliberalism normatively constructs and interpellates individuals as entrepreneurial actors in every sphere of life. It figures individuals as rational, calculating creatures whose moral autonomy is measured by their capacity for “self-care” (Brown, 2003:42), in doing so, it ensures that individuals are fully responsible for themselves.

Christina Scharff, in her study on the psychic life of neoliberalism, argues that “by relating to itself as a business, the entrepreneurial subject establishes a distance to its self and can subsequently work on it” (Scharff, 2016:112). goop celebrates those fortunate women who appear to have succeeded in achieving the perfect work/life balance and there are endless articles dedicated to them. For example, goop’s Female Founders series which praises women in industry, or the case studies which are produced in the form of a day in the life on female CEOs like Jennie Baik, Cofounder of online clothing website Orchard Mile.

These evidence that for goop the entrepreneur is deemed an aspirational figure (goop, 2019).

In an article for goop, “Ambition Isn’t a Dirty Word” (2017) Paltrow discusses her collaboration with fashion designer Tory Burch on their campaign #EmbraceAmbition.

The campaign aims to change the assumptions, conversations, and behaviours surrounding women and ambition, yet goes on to say, “Only 4 per cent of the CEOs in this country are women (ours is), yet we’re 47 per cent of the workforce—we all need to embrace ambition if that’s ever going to change”(goop, 2017). Whilst it may appear that goop is progressive with the promotion of a strong female identity, here Paltrow is more suggestive of the neoliberal mentality that change must come from individual success, blatantly disregarding the structural inequalities that might obstruct many women.

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chapter three

Figure 49: CGD Getting Stuff Done Journal (2019)

Thou Must Practice Self-care

goop:The Cult of Wellness “Optimizing the space we spend so much time alone

goop promotes a form of ‘wellness’ which capitalises on and is exemplary of, the widely known selfcare movement currently having a resurgence within contemporary Western culture. The hashtag #selfcare on Instagram draws up 15,805,296 posts (Instagram, 2019). Self-care was once simply a term to define an individual taking care of themselves, yet is no longer just meditation and journaling. Everything is now self-care, seeing friends is self-care, taking a bath, getting a manicure, going to the gym, even eating and drinking must be done ‘mindfully’. As Arwa Mahdawi wrote for the Guardian; “as with many zeitgeisty phrases (think: “cleaneating” or “wellness”), the vogue-ishness comes with a certain vagueness. Self-care seems to mean anything and everything: if an activity (or inactivity) makes you feel better, in body or mind, then it’s selfcare. It could be yoga or cooking or simply turning off the news” (Mahdawi, 2017).

It could be argued that putting these activities parallel to serious health-coping strategies undermine the real meaning of self-care, as this suggests that there is no difference between getting a manicure and taking real care of oneself. In 2016, it was estimated that 268 million people worldwide experienced depression and 275 million people experienced an anxiety disorder (Ritchie and Roser, 2018). Reasons such as improper medical advice and a lack of free health care for some may help to understand the immense popularity of the self-care movement.

Many individuals are looking for guidance within a system they might feel dissatisfied with, and goop appears to position themselves as ‘alternative’ to the ‘mainstream’. An article; “Ten Minutes To Yourself” on goop reads,

in–where most of our self-care often happens—can make a huge difference in how we feel, and not just when we’re in it. Start the day surrounded by a space you love, or look forward to coming home to it after a wild week, and the sense of well-being you feel extends way past the time in the bath. Whether optimizing involves adding a product that transforms a chore into a ritual (hello, Instant Facial), breaking out the special towels, redesigning the whole room with gorgeous tiles and fixtures, or simply placing some flowers at the side of the sink, the effort always pays off” (goop, 2018).

The article proceeds with items for readers to buy such as a £4,699 freestanding bath, a £51 candle, a £55 cotton Turkish towel, a £119 stone diffuser along with various other expensive items (goop, 2018).

What is most unsettling is the friendly tone of their instructions, just “ten minutes” (goop, 2018) in the shower (space must be perfected first) against the stark contrast of the fact that to realistically achieve this form of self-care, an individual must be able to afford to do so. Unsurprisingly, the alternative offering to those individuals being the instruction to “simply place some flowers at the side of the sink” (Goop, 2018), doesn’t quite measure up to the bathroom image accompanying the text which looks more reminiscent of a real spa than a standard bathroom (fig 50). The ritual of self-care presented on goop gives the impression that it is less about aiding an individual to work on their self from within, but more along the lines of goop-care, only attained by purchasing the items advised.

Figure 50: goop, Ten Minutes To Yourself (2018)

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Similarly to the previously discussed omnipresent theme of empowerment within contemporary feminism (Gill, 2011), goop’s presentation of self-care also focuses largely on the individual to practice selflove and self-acceptance. This is perhaps an example of the individualistic nature of women’s liberation more generally as formerly discussed (Rottenberg, 2014). Critics of the ‘wellness industry’ have similarly likened this new morality towards the mind and body to neoliberalism, in which the aim is the production of a healthier, happier, entrepreneurial and even narcissistic self where “individual responsibility and self-expression are morphed with the mindsets of a free-market economist” (Cederström and Spicer, 2015:9).

Concluding Discussion This chapter has demonstrated that the feminine body presented on goop reflects a particular trend in which bodies are becoming more and more machinelike, streamlined and efficient, yet the authenticity of this is questionable when created for an audience online. This streamlined body is achieved through

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Self-care has come to be reduced to a hashtag, and easily consumable commodity. By deeming commodities like expensive bath salts and real therapeutic help equivalent to each other, this is ultimately damaging for the actual wellness of individuals. Also, the boundary between selfcare and list making appears to be a blurring of boundaries, is this form of life-documenting and planning truly helpful? It doesn’t feel particularly nurturing. goop presents a specific feminine body type, slender and toned- the result of extreme fitness which resonates with the ethics of Puritan asceticism.

Self-surveillance and body monitoring is masked by ‘empowerment’ yet a focus on just empowerment leaves little room to develop an awareness of the complexity of socio-political issues. The neoliberal postfeminist subject is responsible for her own wellbeing and self-care. Emotions are managed, happiness is measurable- all dimensions of human life are cast in terms of market rationality, making them capital. Entrepreneurial feminist subjects are rational, self-acting agents of their lives, relating to oneself as a business to establish distance and work on the body as a project.

However, the assumption that being a CEO is an ideal is perhaps a measure of equality in a world dominated by white men in power, but maybe men need encouragement to engage in ‘softer’ professions too. As many feminist scholars are continuing to discuss, goop encourages this particular mode of feminism which is seemingly a neoliberal postfeminist subject. Rosalind Gill notes the damaging effects that this may have, she argues: “Drawing on Judith Butler’s work, McRobbie argues that this double entanglement facilitates both a doing and an undoing of feminism. (Young) women are offered particular kinds of freedom, empowerment and choice ‘in exchange for’ or ‘as a kind of substitute for’ feminist politics and transformation (McRobbie, 2009 in Gill, 2011:4).

In The Cult of Wellness, The Sacred is the body, designed through control and The Profane are those who lack the strength to do so. The subject must remain disciplined and self-aware.

chapter three

Of course, as the phenomenon of self-care grows, like goop, more and more brands are capitalising on its success. As well as high-end brands like goop, mid-range brands have also taken the ‘wellness’ approach. In 2018, beauty retailer Superdrug held a pop-up event in Shoreditch, London, which sold exclusively vegan and cruelty-free products in promotion for the re-launch of their beauty line ‘B.’.

Up until 2017, this range was not vegan or crueltyfree, showing that this was in response to the current trend towards appearing as ethical. In an interview for the magazine Vegan Food and Living, Simon Comins, Superdrug Commercial Director, stated: “We’ve embraced the vegan movement at Superdrug and are delighted that we now offer a thousand products under our own label” (Vegan Food & Living, 2018). In the same year, dominant UK health and beauty retailer Boots launched a year-long wellbeing-themed campaign “Little Boost”, to assist consumers’ “holistic health” (Brownsell, 2018). The campaign included in-store activity, digital display, print ads, social media and PR alongside the further inspiration, support and advice which were provided on an online hub at Boots.com (Brownsell, 2018).

The online website still includes a wellness segment under their ‘inspiration and advice’ section which includes articles on mindfulness, wellbeing and sleep.

meticulous life planning in the form of ironically named ‘well journals’ which really are more guiltinducing than positive.

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Selling Spirituality

Figure 51: Weir, Grace Wales Bonner (2016)

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chapter four

Within this chapter the history of culture’s openness towards spirituality is looked at, discussing the swinging pendulum which continues to underpin the workings of society. As trends bubble up and trickle down, contemporary western society is experiencing a time in which many individuals have returned to embracing an openness towards spirituality. The form of spirituality that is presented on goop is then explored, looking at the popularity of crystals, and celebrities’ obsession with these objects. This is followed by a discussion on how crystals have infiltrated other sectors, i.e. the beauty sector, looking at Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s concept of spiritual materialism to understand the consumption of these. The saturation of spiritual themed content online is analysed, evidencing the popularity of this phenomenon, however, as goop’s aesthetic is different to other popular spiritual accounts, this is analysed looking at what it signifies about the brand.

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Figure 52: Vogue Archive (1998) Figure 53: Fitzgerald, The Fairy’s Lake (1866) Figure 54: Getting It Straight In Notting Hill Gate (1970)

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The Swinging Pendulum of Spirituality Whilst it feels as though there has recently been quite the dramatic shift in openness towards these ‘alternative’ practices, this is not new. Spiritualism and Western culture have experienced an extensive changing relationship throughout history. An early form was the Victorian fascination with fairies, this was “demonstrated by the art, drama and literature they created and admired. Their abiding interest shows in the numerous, uniquely British fairy paintings that flourished between the 1830s and the 1840s…” (Silver, 2009:3). The spiritualism movement flourished throughout the late nineteenth century to the early twentieth century (1850-1939) (Byrne, 2010).

“Spiritualism was a system of belief that offered answers to questions about what the afterlife was like, who went there and what happened to them”(Byrne, 2010:3). The movement’s central principle was that the living and dead could communicate with each other, and encouraged a change in the way that religious beliefs perceived the afterlife (fig 53).

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The particular mode of spirituality seen on goop appears under the umbrella of ‘wellness’ and an extension of the New Age movement which developed in the 1970s (fig 54). New age spirituality looked particularly toward Asian culture combining Eastern mysticism with Western rationalism, often describing themselves as ‘spiritual, not religious’ and their core beliefs were centred around understanding mind, body and spirit to reach spiritual and overall well-being, often achieved through meditation (New Age Religion and Western Culture, 1996). The swinging pendulum of spiritualism again remodelled itself in the 1990s as ‘bohemian-chic’; a fashion style which was inspired by festivals and the ‘hippie’ movement (fig 52).

goop:The Cult of Wellness

Spirituality on goop The secularisation of society has meant that the traditional religious methods of purification, i.e. baptisms have become less acceptable, thus, individuals are increasingly looking for a socially acceptable way to be purified. Not only does goop provide these rituals through the physical purging of toxins and excess weight, but the mental self, by cleansing the soul.

From articles on crystal healing, mindful yoga and astrology, to items purchasable on goop. Under the “cosmic health” section of the website, goop sells a number of traditional spiritual items with a modern aesthetic and design, one being their popular range of crystal water bottles. The £78 amethyst bottle (fig 55) designed by the brand Glaycee professes to give “spiritual support” (goop, 2019) and helps buyers to tap into their own intuition, whilst also cutting down on waste, (their unique selling point is that their crystals actually touch the water unlike their competitors).

Crystal healing is an alternative medical treatment which can be traced back thousands of years, it saw a resurgence during the New-Age movement, and most recently it has come to signify ‘wellness’.

Crystals are used differently dependant on the type, for example, advocates of the technique believe that the black obsidian keeps people grounded, that rose quartz activates the heart chakra and promotes positive energy, or that amethyst rids negative energy. Whilst there is little scientific evidence that crystal healing can be used to cure real medical issues, their popularity continues to rise. Celebrities like British singer Adele, Model Naomi Campbell, David Beckham, and Katy Perry have all publicly announced their use of crystals (Ma, 2019). In 2013 Lady Gaga filmed herself at a three-day retreat in New York in which she participated in a series of exercises designed to heighten her awareness of her physical and mental experience- the video features Lady Gaga hugging crystals whilst naked (Vimeo, 2013). Most recently, in 2019 Katy Perry released the music video for her single “Never Really Over” (YouTube, 2019), which strongly resembles a wellness retreat similar to Paltrow’s retreat: In goop Health.

Alongside the popularity of crystals within celebrity culture, their influence (what has now been reduced to just a trend) can be seen within all sectors of consumption, especially within the beauty sector.

Online beauty retailer Cult Beauty sells a wide variety of crystal inspired items such as rose quartz body oil, quartz bath salts or a crystal contour

tool by beauty brand Odacite (fig 56, 57). The item description professes that the tool will “breathe new life into skin… reduces sagging, blotches and bags and lines around the eyes…closes pores for a more even appearance” (Beauty, 2019). It is highly unlikely that the tool can achieve all of these claims, it is natural for skin to age, and skin needs pores in order to function correctly, not “closed” in the aim of achieving the increasingly popular desire of a smooth robotic-like surface.

The examples discussed all evidence the commodification of spirituality but to varying levels.

Spiritual materialism was originally termed by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1973) in his seminars, and documented later in his book; Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. It is used to describe the consuming of spirituality in the same way that goods might be consumed. Stephen, J. Gould’s work explores the breadth of differences between spiritual materialism and spirituality, he argues that there are four key levels of material-spiritual orientation to be discerned: “(1) completely materialistically oriented without a spiritual connection, (2) asceticism, (3) spiritualized self-transformation, and (4) spiritualized self-liberation” (Gould, 2006:66).

Building on the work of Stephen, J. Gould, some examples discussed within this chapter show evidence of materialism without a spiritual connection i.e. the Odacite Crystal Contour Tool (fig 20) which is used to pursue beauty and youth rather than any authentic spiritual meaning. goop demonstrates a mix of both asceticism and materiality as defined by Gould (2006). goop sells a form of commodified and aestheticized spirituality whilst marketing purchasable objects for the consumer to buy, contradictorily to ascetic values of minimal consumption and the current ‘minimalist’ ideology of paired down consumption. These items are only attainable for those elite few making this a type of luxury religion. goop positions itself ‘alternative’ to the ‘mainstream’ yet combines contemporary capitalism with spirituality for the mass-market.

These are just some of the contradictions that goop demonstrates, and they are what makes the brand so distinctive.

Figure 55: Amethyst Watter Bottle Figure 56: Odacite Crystal Contour Figure 57: Odacite Crystal Contour

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The ’wellness’ phenomenon has not gone unnoticed by the mainstream media, there has been an increasing proliferation of ‘wellness’ themed content online evidencing its popularity with multiple companies dedicating entire segments to the trend.

Dazed Beauty, launched in 2018 as an extension of the Dazed Media corporation, features a section on the website named “Digital Spa” which includes articles such as “An Introduction To Positive Affirmations” (Dazed, 2019), “A Lesson With Chroma Yoga” (Dazed, 2019) (fig 58) , and “How Can You Improve Your Sexual Wellness” (Dazed, 2019). In 2018 Vogue UK introduced a segment, Vogue Witchy Week, and as part of mental health awareness week in 2019 and i-D magazine’s “safe + sound” fortnightly column which “investigates different new-age therapies” (Peter, 2018).

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In 2019, menswear designer Grace Wales Bonner presented her exhibition: A Time For New Dreams at Serpentine Galleries which invited artists, musicians and filmmakers to produce work that explored themes of mysticism and ritual through black identity. The exhibition stemmed from Wales Bonner’s belief in humanity’s need for spirituality and was comprised of a multi-sensory collection featuring installations and spiritual shrines which were translated literally to visitors through meditation workshops and classes (fig 60, 61).

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There are multiple social media accounts dedicated to the trend, the Instagram account @thehoodwitch has 416,000 followers and is run by a woman named Bria Luna who identifies as a “modern witch” (Luna, n.d.). The account has features such as “Tarot Tuesday”, “Witch Tips and Horoscopes”, “Crystal Meditation” and “Goddess of the Week”, each visualised in the most beautiful and mystical images (fig 59). Or the Instagram account @ goddessrising which is run by Achintya Devi who is a yogi and massage therapist. Devi organizes the online community Goddess Rising, which describes itself as a “gathering of all priestesses, medicine women, gypsies, goddesses, yoginis, change agents, mothers, daughters, wives, witches, sisters, dakinis, mermaids, peacemakers, rebelles, earth angels, wisdom keepers, empresses” (Goddess Rising Mystery School, n.d.).

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Dazed, Chroma Yoga (2019) The Hoodwitch (2019) Wales Bonner, A Time For New Dreams (2019) Wales Bonner, A Time For New Dreams (2019)

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Visual analysis The aesthetic form that spirituality takes on goop is distinctly different than that Bria Luna, Grace Wales Bonner and Dazed, thus, requires visual analysis. The enchanted world of Bria Luna and Grace Wales Bonner creates a vibrant environment. Although they differ in colour schemes, with Wales Bonner’s being more natural and organic, and Lunas more typically ‘feminine’ (fig 62-66), they both are similar in the ways that they present a mystical and magical environment. Although Luna’s images are so vibrant they are almost sickening- a type of ‘girly’ eye-candy, they are constructive. Luna provides a sense that being magical and being interested in these subjects is fine and acceptable and not something evil. It is also interesting to consider the dichotomy between predominantly female-led and male-led spirituality. Since monotheistic and patriarchal religions have dominated in most of the world, feminine spirituality outside of those prescribed religious practices has either been considered evil or ‘alternative’ or both. Tarot cards, mediums, witches, love spells, herbs for conception or abortion. Attraction to the enchanting femme fatale and repulsion and derision for the common known stereotype of the ‘crazy cat lady’.

But those tarot readers and village witches always had to eat- so these magical services were always a commodity and always marketed with attractive occult glitz. It’s when the profit becomes corporate that it starts raising concerns.

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Figure 67: goop, Astrology (2019) Figure 68: goop, Working Girl Detox (2019) Figure 69: goop, Successful Women (2018)

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A stark contrast to the spectacle of Luna and Wales Bonner’s world, the aesthetic world of goop sticks to its ‘minimalist’ commandments. The images of beautiful women look as though they are straight out of a stock website, clearly staged, meaningless, reminiscent of the empty imagery which saturates contemporary culture. This, alongside the fact that goop is a corporate business driven by profit, adds to the inauthenticity of the brand.

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There are clear attempts at obtaining some authenticity and softness through the naive illustrations which accompany some articles, i.e. “what astrology teaches us about self-acceptance” (fig 67), see fig (68, 69) for more examples. Fig 67 has a plain beige background, adorned with scattered and randomly placed constellations. In the foreground is a pattern made up of images which relate to different star-signs like a lion for leo or a crab for cancer. The design appears to be hand drawn, using painterly and organic strokes, with a colouring which appears uneven as though as it has been created using watercolours. The different images do not look as though they are aligned up perfectly, giving a less structured pattern and the illustrations don’t appear to fight each other within the space. The hand drawn style of the images is a signifier for something more personal and authentic.

It makes the viewer aware that these were (or appear to be) drawn by an actual person- not photo shopped on computer. The image appears playful due to the loose structure, and childlike, reminiscent of images seen within Nordic children’s story books. This gives the images a softer and less intimidating feel, which is potentially one of the ways goop that is attempting to appear more approachable.

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The constant opportunities for readers to buy raise questions regarding the authenticity of the spirituality promoted on goop, spirituality should be for everyone, yet it has come to signify the whiteupper class woman using it as evidence of her ‘depth’. Corporations like goop provide individuals with a socially acceptable way to purify themselves, both the physical and mental properties of the body.

Undoubtedly, the celebrity influence on the rise of spirituality is important, but this also highlights the wider movement of openness within society towards more alternative practices. Whilst the goop website features articles which encourage a more authentic notion of spirituality, it cannot be ignored that most of these are followed with items to buy, making the alternative-to-mainstream anti-capitalist approach not seem quite so authentic. However, in a society fearful of environmental catastrophe, massive inequality, future fears concerning technology and artificial intelligence and the instability of jobs, embracing spirituality may be a form of escape, there is a longing for some form of guidance and spirituality offers a comforting stability lacking in the many changes and choices which appear to individuals daily in Liquid Modernity (Bauman, 2000) as discussed in chapter one.

In The Cult of Wellness, The Sacred are those who evidence a commitment to spirituality and The Profane are those of the ‘mainstream’ who do not.

Individuals needs must be fulfilled using the veneer of spirituality.

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Concluding Discussion

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Conclusion Within chapter one I discussed the brand aesthetics and language alongside analysing the various influences that have aided the brand’s success.

Joseph Roach helped us to articulate Paltrow’s unique presence, terming this as ‘It’ (Roach, 2000) Paltrow’s the celebrity that people love to hate, yet she has ‘It’. A difficult term to define, but is comparable to charm or personality. We then looked at the current movement in which culture is returning to embracing spirituality. Max Weber’s concept of ‘dis-enchantment’ (1918) was explored, looking at how this is being experienced within contemporary society. With the rise of social media and the decline of organised religion, individuals are increasingly looking for a form of ‘re-enchantment’.

Belk et al (Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry, Jr., 1989) argued the point that there has been a decline in the sacred of everyday life, meaning that it has evolved to take on new forms, stating that consumerism has come to fill the religion-shaped void.

Chapter two looked at the idea of ‘detox’ which is prominent on goop, I have demonstrated that goop is ascetic in the ways that it encourages users to eliminate various lifestyle choices like eating foods that they consider to be unhealthy, yet it is distinct in the way that this elimination is followed by items for users to purchase in order to achieve this lifestyle, thus providing an accumulation of more items which is contradictory towards traditional ascetic and minimalist ideals. The work of Marie Griffith (2004) helped us to understand modern asceticism, as she argues that the modern diet practices are comparable to the characteristics of traditional asceticism (Griffith, 2004). Julia Twigg (2011) raised the more recent argument that following the secularisation of Western society abstaining from pleasures became less about the soul, and more about the body, in line with the modernist pursuit of the lean and slim body.

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Since both works were written bodily perfection has continued to mutate. More and more individuals are having plastic surgery in order to achieve the endless pursuit of enhancement. It is apparent that pre-modern ideas of sin and guilt accompanying food still exist on goop, evidenced through the demonising of toxins and bacteria, yet it remains unclear whether the motivations of goop consumers are bodily or soul. As argued by Eliade, these motivations may also be subconscious (Eliade, 1987).

In the opinion of Eliade’s; “The polarity sacredprofane is often expressed as an opposition between real and unreal or pseudo real” and it could be argued that this quote places goop and Instagramwellness-spirituality into the profane category since social media is pure pseudo-reality.

In chapter three we looked at the presentation of women on goop, although the brand presents its self as positive towards women, my research on neoliberal post feminism within this chapter has shown that this form of feminism is not necessarily progressive.

In addition to the discipline enacted on the body through diet and fitness, the promotion of the controlled female life is evidenced on goop, emotions are managed, days are meticulously planned and there is a large emphasis on empowerment which masks the more sinister ideas of self-improvement that are distinct to contemporary feminism as argued

by Rosalind Gill (2011) and Catherine Rottenberg (2014, 2017, 2018). This particular mode of feminism is not limited to goop, but it is a projection of the real type of feminism that is developing, particularly in the Western world.

I find this form of feminism concerning, it presents itself using ideas of self-love and self-acceptance, whilst encouraging self-disgust and self-rejection.

It recognises gender inequality, whilst denying

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that social-political structures continue to cause the inequality that many people experience. Class inequality has been a key influence throughout this thesis, and goop is an example of one of the many systems that flourish within this divide. Of course, there are always going to be some forms of inequality, but Paltrow’s claims that the brand is ‘aspirational’ and that there is ‘free content’ is what makes the brand appear so insensitive as this simply disregards the many problems that people of lower privilege face. Self-care was also explored within this chapter, it is difficult to determine whether these items really do help individuals as a lot of the products sold on goop depend on self-rejection and without these qualities there would be less motivation to buy them.

In chapter four I discussed the commodification of spirituality, building on the exploration of Weber’s ‘dis-enchantment’ (1918) discussed in chapter one.

The popularity of crystals was also explored more generally and I think this highlights an important moment currently. In an increasingly secularised society, individuals are looking to socially acceptable ways to be purified, be that through the internal purging of the body, or the soul. People want answers, they need someone to sell them something that will help them, and goop offers this through the multiple items available to purchase. It comes as no surprise that individuals are looking towards alternative sources for guidance, and I can’t deny that goop may offer this to some, however, this use of the welcoming veneer of spirituality to capitalise on peoples insecurities is concerning. This, however, does mark a turn in society in which individuals are increasingly troubled by the challenges appearing in daily life, and spirituality may offer some form of guidance needed to manage this. Like a lot of the content on goop, this form of spirituality is only attainable for those who can afford (or have the time for) £38 bath salts qualifying it as a luxury, and thus, removing it from any authentic notion of traditional spirituality.

Spiritual practice has always been filled with both truth (freedom, genuine spiritual experience, liberating teachings) as well as the pseudo-truths, the empty ritual, the mechanisms of control. It’s just that until it was removed from orthodox religion and commodified, you didn’t have to pay for it.

And something that we desire so much, something invisible and hard to describe, was inevitably going to be commodified, reduced and made safely laughable to our materialist-rationalist paradigm.

As discussed in chapter four, culture is influenced by the consistent swinging pendulum in which this desire bubbles up and trickles down (like many aspects of society). This system depends on repeat purchases of trend-driven lifestyle related objects, for now, goop is able to provide what is ‘trendy’, however, this particular mode of enchantment will eventually fade and there will be something different to replace it.

As a student, I have found myself subject to the allure of goop and Paltrow’s lifestyle, as it is currently unobtainable. However, as I have discussed throughout this thesis, there are subtle hints of judgement, elitism and exclusivity embedded throughout the case studies examined, which are reminders that these messages are not positive or really about empowerment.

Further research is needed to determine whether the motivations of goop consumers are bodily or soul, this could be achieved through additional studies focusing on primary research. This research clearly illustrates that self-monitoring and bodily trackers are justified as ‘self-care’, but it also raises the question: Is this type of monitoring becoming blurred with ‘self-care’? If you care about yourself does that involve lists and tracking? This doesn’t feel particularly nurturing, but rather rigid leaving less space for real care of the self. As this line continues to become blurred, this marks an important area to be investigated further. As I have noted, women are more linked with the ideals of asceticism, they are more likely to participate in diet culture, and are symbolically associated with the ‘perfect’, gendered connections which are deep-rooted within history which meant that the focus for this research was primarily focused on women. However, in June 2019, Gwyneth Paltrow launched a men’s section of her lifestyle brand. goop is predominantly feminine, so an analysis of this addition of a men’s section could produce some interesting directions of research for future projects, particularly, how does goop portray the image of masculinity? And what does this say about their hyper-feminine perception of men?

Figure 70: Dazed, Grace Wales Bonner: A Time For New Dreams (2019)

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Figure 29: Edward Burtynsky, (2005), China, Manufacturing #18 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www. edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/china [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 30: Edward Burtynsky, (2005), China, Manufacturing #4 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www. edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/china [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 31: Edward Burtynsky, (2005), China, Manufacturing #11 [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www. edwardburtynsky.com/projects/photographs/china [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 32: goop, (2019), Annual goop Detox [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/food/detox-2019-newyear-detox/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=social-owned&utm_campaign=ED&utm_content=Food-Detox-Image-Lifestyle%20food-- [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 34: goop, (2019), Annual goop Detox [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/food/detox-2019-newyear-detox/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=social-owned&utm_campaign=ED&utm_content=Food-Detox-Image-Lifestyle%20food-- [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 35: goop, (2019), Annual goop Detox [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/food/detox-2019-newyear-detox/?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=social-owned&utm_campaign=ED&utm_content=Food-Detox-Image-Lifestyle%20food-- [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 36: Instagram, (2019), goop detox search [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/goopdetox/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 37: Instagram, (2019), @vegukate [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/vegukate/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 38: Andreas Gursky, (1999), 99 cent [ONLINE]. Available at: http://100photos.time.com/photos/andreas-gursky-99-cent [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 39: Cildo Miereles, (1970), Insertions into Ideological Circuits: Coca-Cola Project [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/meireles-insertions-into-ideological-circuits-coca-cola-project-t12328 [Accessed 1 July 2019].

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Figure 40: goop, (2019), Buy Fewer and Smarter [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/wellness/ food-planet/conscious-consumerism/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 41: n/a, (undated), Teardrop Design [ONLINE]. Available at: https://external-brain.redwolf.com. au/2014/04/14/teardrop-car-norman-bel-geddes/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 42: goop, (2019), Everyday Wardrobe Essentials [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/style/outfitting-ideas/everyday-style-essentials/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 43: goop, (2019), goop Beauty [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/beauty/skin/supercharge-your-moisturizer/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 44: Instagram, (2019), Sex and The City [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ Bv3glHnnImx/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 45: Vanity Fair, (1934), Body ideals [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/photos/2013/09/photos-1930s-fashion-sportswear#4 [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 46: goop, (2018), My Morning Routine, Fitspiration [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/beauty/ my-morning-routine-switched-up-serums-health-drinks-and-workouts/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 47: goop, (undated), goop Guide To Volunteering [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/work/ civics/the-goop-guide-to-volunteering/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 48: goop, (2019), goop body ideals [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/beauty/ask-jean/everyday-sunscreen/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 50: Jason Ykobosky, (2019), goop body ideals [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/wellness/ mindfulness/unlocking-the-mind-with-yoga/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 51: Instagram, (2019), Getting Stuff Done Journal [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram. com/cgdlondon/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 52: goop, (2018), Ten Minutes To Yourself [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/beauty/personal-care/ten-minutes-to-yourself/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 53: Harley Weir, (2016), Wales Bonner: The Love With Which I Wash [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/31362/1/tripping-through-grace-wales-bonner-and-harley-weirs-india [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 54: Vogue Archive, (1998), Fashion: The Bohemian Life [ONLINE]. Available at: https://search.proquest.com/vogue/docview/904355614/E99D29AD7FAC407FPQ/4?accountid=14693 [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 55: John Anster Fitzgerald, (1866), The Fairy’s Lake [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/ art/artists/john-anster-fitzgerald-185 [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 56: n/a, (1970), Getting It Straight in Notting Hill Gate [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.bfi.org. uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/still-life-hippy-britain [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 57: goop, (2019), Amethyst Bottle [ONLINE]. Available at: https://shop.goop.com/shop/products/amethyst-bottle?country=GBR [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 58: Cult Beauty, (2019), Odacite Crystal Contour [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.cultbeauty. co.uk/odacite-crystal-contour-gua-sha-blue-sodalite.html [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 59: Dazed, (2019), Chroma Yoga [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/soul/ article/44474/1/digital-spa-chroma-yoga-class [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 60: Instagram, (2019), The Hoodwitch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thehood-

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witch/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 61: Dazed, (2019), Grace Wales Bonner, A Time For New Dreams [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/42989/1/grace-wales-bonner-time-new-dreams-serpentinemagic-realism-shrine-reflection [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 62: Dazed, (2019), Grace Wales Bonner, A Time For New Dreams [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// www.dazeddigital.com/art-photography/article/42989/1/grace-wales-bonner-time-new-dreams-serpentinemagic-realism-shrine-reflection [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 63: Instagram, (2019), The Hoodwitch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thehoodwitch/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 64: Instagram, (2019), The Hoodwitch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thehoodwitch/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 65: Instagram, (2019), The Hoodwitch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thehoodwitch/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 66: Instagram, (2019), The Hoodwitch [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/thehoodwitch/?hl=en [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 67: Yasmin Imamur, (2019), What Astrology Can Teach Us About Self-acceptance [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/wellness/spirituality/astrology-and-self-acceptance/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 68: goop, (2019), Working Girl Detox [ONLINE]. Available at: https://goop.com/food/wellness-detoxthe-working-girl-detox-2019/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 69: goop, (2018), Productivity Hacks of 4 Successful Career Women [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// goop.com/work/productivity-hacks-of-4-successful-career-women/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 70: Harley Weir, (2016), Wales Bonner: The Love With Which I Wash [ONLINE]. Available at: https://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/31362/1/tripping-through-grace-wales-bonner-and-harley-weirs-india [Accessed 1 July 2019].

Figure 71: goop, (2019), The Minimalist: Earthquake Survival Kit Essentials [ONLINE]. Available at: https:// goop.com/wellness/food-planet/earthquake-survival-kit-essentials/ [Accessed 1 July 2019].

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