Gendering in the Holistic Milieu: A Critical Realist Analysis of Homeopathic Work

Abstract

Increasing attention is being paid to the economic sector known as the holistic milieu, in which alternative or New Age spiritualities are transformed into commercial products and services. Made up of a wide variety of activities and products, many marketized, this milieu is dominated by women as producers and consumers. The discourses of holism and wellbeing that underpin activity offer promises of gender equality and the freedom to develop subjectivity according to individual preferences. Despite its economic and cultural significance, little is known of why women in particular enter this sector. This article presents a critical realist analysis of how five women negotiated structural conditions and agency when leaving a mainstream occupation or organization to move into homeopathy, a key activity in the holistic milieu. I suggest that while there are numerous tensions and contradictions involved in this move, it is nonetheless a form of action that offers a different subject position and altered gender relations, based on embodied identity and exercise of agency. Whether the holistic milieu offers more equitable gender relations is less clear, but this seems less important for respondents than the other benefits the move implies.

“Power From Within” and Masculine Language: Does New Age Language Work at Work?

“…The theoretical framework suggested in the studies focusing on women’s involvement at CAM, a context in which women are often self-employed, tend to overlook the complexity involved in the context of work in large organizations. In our view, the “power from within” perspective (Keshet & Simchai, 2014; Wong, 2003) and Taylor’s (2010) argument for the New Age premise about individual responsibility for coping with the demands of contemporary work seem to be relevant to our case. Yet, they fall short of explaining the complexity involved in women’s use of NAS in work organizations.…”

“…These sets of ideas have been translated into texts and practices, creating a growing market of workshops and seminars claiming to enable spiritual self-development at work (Bell & Taylor, 2004; Taylor, 2010; Zaidman, Goldstein-Gidoni, & Nehemia, 2009).…”

“…A review article focusing on the use of CAM and holistic spirituality practices yielded similar results. It was found that despite some constraints, these practices are constructed as empowering women, facilitating economic entrepreneurship, and challenging social perceptions that ground women and femininity in positions of inferiority (Keshet & Simchai, 2014, quoting others; Taylor, 2010). From most of the reviewed articles, it emerges that women perceive CAM and the holistic milieu as “feminine,” in accordance with conservative gender perspectives; they focus on personal empowerment rather than on collective action or endeavors to change gender relations.…”

“…According to Taylor (2010), the holism of New Age capitalism emphasizes individual responsibility for coping with the demands of contemporary work and society. The discourses surrounding holism might then be seen as mediators for the contradictions experienced in the pursuit of meaningful work in large organizations, where instrumental values are dominant.…”

New Scope for Research in Traditional and Non-conventional Medicine Comment on "Substitutes or Complements? Diagnosis and Treatment with Non-conventional and Conventional Medicine"

“…Joint use of both methods often enables the research to handle all 3 dimensions together: the micro (behaviour, options, and features of those resorting to CAM); the meso (how and how far the various health systems affect use of CAM, to what extent they encourage or obstruct such behaviour, if and how they leave room for health professionals incorporating CAM in their practice); and macro (how and how far globalised processes of social and cultural transformation tie up with the growing demand for CAM). Other potential research avenues regard the characteristics of practitioners, who the literature claims are increasingly women, 4 not just on the issue of how close to or far from the biomedical model they are, but how much they practice a community approach. Little, too, is known about the various professional groups and associations (homeopathy, chiropractic, phytotherapy, etc.…”