Sociologist and WELLNESS CULTURE author Stephanie Alice Baker joins us to discuss the rise of wellness influencers, why people are attracted to guides and gurus, the false dichotomy between expertise and personal experience, how the concept of intuition is used to market wellness products and practices, how wellness culture has become a gateway to medical misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, and more.
The part about a lack of trust in experts and “lived experience” vs. scientific data brought to mind some of my own experiences with traditional Western medical doctors who have acted like trust is a one-way street: they asked me to trust their advice, while at the same time they told me I couldn’t possibly be feeling a symptom that I reported because it didn’t fit into their diagnosis; that if a medication didn’t work, it must be because I didn’t want to get better; or because they had never heard of a particular side effect, it couldn’t possibly be caused by a medication they prescribed. These are all real experiences that I had in the past. This kind of treatment can lead people to turn to those who tell them to trust their lived experience rather than experts.
Fortunately, all my current doctors treat me as a reliable collaborator with them, and I in turn trust their expertise.
Great listen. I’ve been saying lately that wellness gurus are more marketers than anything else, even if they have a medical degree. A lot of what was said here seems to support that.
Great listen. I’ve been saying lately that wellness gurus are more marketers than anything else, even if they have a medical degree. A lot of what was said here seems to support that.
This is a great, nuanced discussion.
The part about a lack of trust in experts and “lived experience” vs. scientific data brought to mind some of my own experiences with traditional Western medical doctors who have acted like trust is a one-way street: they asked me to trust their advice, while at the same time they told me I couldn’t possibly be feeling a symptom that I reported because it didn’t fit into their diagnosis; that if a medication didn’t work, it must be because I didn’t want to get better; or because they had never heard of a particular side effect, it couldn’t possibly be caused by a medication they prescribed. These are all real experiences that I had in the past. This kind of treatment can lead people to turn to those who tell them to trust their lived experience rather than experts.
Fortunately, all my current doctors treat me as a reliable collaborator with them, and I in turn trust their expertise.
Great listen. I’ve been saying lately that wellness gurus are more marketers than anything else, even if they have a medical degree. A lot of what was said here seems to support that.
Great listen. I’ve been saying lately that wellness gurus are more marketers than anything else, even if they have a medical degree. A lot of what was said here seems to support that.