‘Mindfulness for modern life’: The blending of Orientalism and neoliberal self-care strategies in the branding of Rituals
Ira Solomatina
European Journal of Cultural Studies October 13, 2024 DOI: 10.1177/13675494241284637 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Orientalism Neoliberalism international relations Aesthetics Postmodernism Gender studies Social science Psychotherapist Literature |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that Rituals' branding merges neoliberal self-care with Orientalist spirituality to disguise its demand for female labor and depoliticize global inequalities. |
Abstract
This article interrogates the conflation of neoliberal imperatives to self-care and Orientalist fascination with Eastern spirituality in the branding of Rituals, the Dutch self-care and cosmetics brand. Focusing on the brand’s online presence as well as its self-presentation through its flagship store, the article contextualises the Ritual’s calls for mindfulness, gratitude and positivity within the neoliberal ‘psychological turn’. At the same time, it demonstrates how the brand mobilises Orientalist and neocolonial discourses to incite its consumers to exercise emotional self-control and self-care. Neocolonial and neoliberal narratives in the branding of Rituals serve to portray the brand as the site of pleasure, quiet and calm, disguising its exigency for female labour and depoliticising the issue of global inequalities.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |