Authenticity, A Marketing Conspiracy?
Hey there consumer, call me paranoid, but I think authenticity is a trap.
BY: MALIKA DAYA
How many self-help books preach that once you find your authentic self you’ll be set free to dance in the rain or be spontaneous with your life and quit your job to travel the world for 6 months?
How many fucking self-help books do we need to realize that they’re ineffective and prescribing to a formula to be authentic doesn’t enable you to find the “real you?” That really our “generous” capitalistic economy, is feeding off our insecurities and inability to feel complete as millennials and gen z’s and making tons of profit exploiting us.
And honestly guys, I’m having troubles even believing that there is a “real me.” I am seriously having post-break up stress from my failed relationship with the word authentic. But maybe that is something I should be sorting out with my therapist and not on a public forum.
But really.
How many of you - and be honest - have seen something in a fashion catalogue that’s a little out of the realm of what you usually wear and go “oh this will help me express who I really am?” Oh yeah, that Aritzia scarf that 90% of the women at UTSC own, will definitely make you a more authentic version of yourself.
Oh - hey here’s a good one. How many of you have gotten a tattoo done and thought, this is me. This tattoo will enable me to be my true fucking self, a badass queen. Okay maybe not that dramatic but hey, I’m guilty - I have three and counting.
Look I don’t want to get all preachy but I’m truly just here to share a conspiracy theory that I, along with other underground activists and artists are cooking up. Take it or leave it, but I think the self-help industry and authenticity are a trap. How much of who we are, do you think is actually who marketing companies and venture capitalists want us to be?
But wait a minute, let’s slow down, what even is capitalism? Well okay, so capitalism is essentially a political ideology that according to Merriam Webster means the following:
Essentially, capitalism promotes values like individualism, competition, efficiency, and the idea that if you work hard enough you’ll succeed. It’s the reason we have mass production of apple products, it’s the reason clothing stores exploit labour workers in Bangladesh “paying them” inhumanly low wages to make your basic ass clothing, it’s essentially why everything is at your convenience all the time.
It’s also the reason we have insane wage gaps between the wealthy and the poor. An often spoken about statistic in the States is that, according to the Seattle Times, the Nation’s top 1 percent have more wealth than the bottom 90 percent.
Via Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang’s article Decolonization is not a metaphor
And the whole “if you work hard enough, you’ll succeed” bullshit is just not the lived experience for some many folx. We see this so vividly playing out in the Blacks Live Matter movement, where race is front and centre and we are beginning to finally focus on how our capitalistic system privileges the white race over People of Colour.
For an example, let’s look at the unemployment rate in the United States. According to the Centre for American Progress, the Black unemployment rate from 1972-2019 is twice that of the white race.
Via the Centre for American Progress
Essentially capitalism and honestly the structure of the United States was made by white men, for white men. How could we expect minorities to succeed, when the system isn’t made for them, and in many cases is working against them?
Now look, I need to caveat this, no I am not saying we overthrow capitalism and all go live in the wild. I’d love that but sadly, I don’t think we have enough forest left for that to happen. And personally, I think it is an argument that takes up a lot of space but doesn’t have a tangible path paved ahead of it. And right now, we need tangible action.
I also know that I benefit off of capitalism all the time. The fact that I’m using an apple device to write this to you, the fact that I am a student, who has immigrant parents, paying for a very expensive education, are all testaments to the fact that capitalism serves me well. Capitalism is the reason, in many ways - I get to live the life I do.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be critical of it and call out the inequality it causes and perpetuates. We need to be taking responsibility, thinking of innovative ways to restructure and rebuild so that we are caring for our communities - locally and globally. Otherwise, capitalism has the power to destroy us all, it’s just not sustainable. In fact it is destroying us, even in the ways we are unaware of.
A prime example - the trope of authenticity. I swear to god, it’s a marketing scheme. What does it mean to be authentic? Well let’s explore a few definitions together.
Authenticity according to Merriam Webster can be described as the following:
True to one's own personality, spirit, or character
Conforming to an original, so as to reproduce essential features
Okay but what the fuck is my true personality, spirit, or character? How does one determine that? For many of us we have been infiltrated by the media and huge companies that are super-imposing their products on us from young. They’re in a warped way selling to us who we want to be and making us feel like if we just buy x product, we will be free and more ourselves.
They’re smart. They are attacking our pathos. Our emotions. Check this out.
(Disclaimer: I love my Lululemon leggings. Okay? I just needed to say that before I go on. Please don’t ban me from your store).
Let’s take a look at some of Lululemon’s marketing for a moment.
Lululemon’s first global campaign was structured with the intent of making the audience, the consumers like you and I, feel like their campaign wasn’t advertising. If I were to think about Lululemon as a brand, I think they’re extremely successful in this mission. Instead of thinking about the hundreds of dollars I spend on their clothing, I think about the person I’ll be when I do yoga in my new leggings. Will I feel more me? Will I be motivated to find my soul?
Former executive vice president of the brand and the community, Duke Stamp in an article with Globe and Mail is quoted to have said, the global campaign aims to bring into a sight a new perspective on yoga, “that would not only spark conversation but would actually allow people to live a life of purpose and potentially deeper meaning.”
Okay but for real Lululemon, am I really going to find a deeper meaning in life through purchasing a pair of leggings? Or a scrunchie for $14 dollars. I don’t mean to demean the products, they’re great but what I think is a little sketchy is the fact that Lululemon's advertising makes me think that with their products I’ll be able to be whole. Be free. Be happy.
Here, see for yourself.
Via Wordpress @tjphotoessay
What does this image solicit for you? What feelings arrive? Do you want to buy a pair of leggings and do yoga on the beach? Do you wanna explore yourself and arrive to your self-worth? If so, go buy a pair.
I’m just joking, you can if you want, but let’s be real all you’re going to really get is a pair of pants and some instant gratification. You’re not going to be any more free or authentic, in fact thousands of other women probably own the same pants as you.
To complicate this a little more, Lululemon hosted a “Decolonizing Gender Workshop” which aimed to “unveil historical erasure & resist capitalism.” The irony. Woke humans on Twitter obviously had a lot to say about the fact that a multi-million dollar company that sells one singular pair of leggings for up to $168 is talking about resisting capitalism. What. A. Fucking. Joke.
Via Daily Mail UK
So what’s all of this to say about authenticity? If I had to pick a definition of authenticity I think it’d be the latter, “Conforming to an original, so as to reproduce essential features.” The marketing companies choose what’s authentic, and then make us feel like we are the one’s creating an authentic version of ourselves through our consumer choices. But really we are just reproducing a beauty standard, an expectation of what it means to live a “whole” life.
I’m sorry but I don’t think in a world that’s infiltrated by capitalism, that you will ever be 100% authentic. We’re all frauds, copies of what we see around us and products of our environments. A pair of yoga pants isn’t going to make you free. Jay Shetty’s self-help books, won’t set you free. None of these consumer purchases have the ability to make our generations feel whole again.
We have to figure out how to do that ourselves. And maybe the first step is finding ways to entangle ourselves from our complex relationships with capitalism. Maybe learning more about your internal wants and needs comes from closing some of those shopping tabs and just sitting with yourself for a few moments. Listening. Breathing. Being.
And while you do that, I’ll be drowning my sorrows by purchasing my next pair of leggings.
