Wellness of Weirdness? Who gets to be 'well'?

27 Oct 2025 • 18 min • EN
18 min
00:00
18:28
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Recently, we talked about how wellness has become performative. How it was more about looking serene than actually feeling or being it. This week, I’m taking that idea further. Because wellness isn’t just performative, I think it has become exclusive. It’s a club with an unspoken dress code, a price tag, and a very specific aesthetic. From £300 yoga mats to Alo tracksuits and the sacred Stanley cup, the modern wellness world isn’t about health, it’s about belonging. We’ll talk about:Why 'inclusive' wellness is often just clever marketingThe new uniform of wellbeing (and why trainer socks are apparently an indicator of age/being out of fashion)How thin privilege and class still shape who gets to be 'well'Why you never see wellness marketed to men - and what that says about who the industry’s really servingAnd how ancient cultural practices became content for Instagram This isn’t a takedown of self-care, it’s a reality check on what wellness culture has become: a glossy performance that often leaves people out. Maybe real wellness isn’t something you can buy, post, or prove. Maybe it’s the small, unfiltered things that actually keep you human. 🎧 Listen now for a wry, honest look at the business, aesthetics, and quiet absurdities of modern wellness culture. 🌿 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emmaguns/ 📰 Substack https://emmaguns.substack.com/ 🎧 Listen to past episodes https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-emma-guns-show/id1102982843 Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From "The Emma Guns Show"

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