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As I sit down to write this article, I feel that writing about anything other than the global coronavirus crisis would lack the critical awareness we all need at this moment. We know that coronavirus, as with all health issues, impacts people in ways that benefit some groups and disadvantages others due to disparities in the distribution and access to resources, such as health care, food, housing, etc. Moreover, coronavirus has impacts far beyond its impact on physical health.
Media is also bringing to light the ways in which precautionary practices and coping can be a gendered and racialized issue, as reflected in the concerns of Black men who fear for their safety if they were to wear bandanas or face coverings (Aviles, 2020). These concerns bring to light how suggested ways of protecting oneself against coronavirus are misaligned with the reality of racism in America. Additionally, feminist scholars have called coronavirus a “Disaster for Feminism”, as self-isolation has threatened women’s financial impendence and pushed them into increased unpaid labor tasks within the home that are tied to traditional feminine gender roles (Lewis, 2020). Therefore, race and gender have a large influence on the ways in which people cope in response to coronavirus and are often misaligned with the “best practices” proposed.
Each person’s experience during this time is individualized and unique, but a common thread is that it is difficult, distressing, and exhausting, to cope. As a coping strategy, self-compassion is much needed – and many have encouraged others to practice it. Self-compassion involves having kindness towards oneself, a sense of common experience across humanity, and mindfulness. Self-compassion is a message spread around social media, even by myself, in hopes of assuaging people’s undue guilt, shame, and/or self-criticism about not coping well. (But perhaps the idea that one can swiftly cope well in response to such an unprecedented issue, may be a façade in and of itself.) Some have compared this time as grief process and have suggested self-compassion as a way of processing our grief (Berinato, 2020). But, is self-compassion also a gendered issue?
A meta-analysis has found that across studies, men are more self-compassionate than women (Yarnell et al., 2015). Authors of the meta-analysis actually suggest that the socialization of women towards care-taking roles may not transfer over towards self-compassion. Rather, women self-sacrifice at their own expense. Because self-compassion is also associated with better well-being, this may mean that women’s wellbeing, is negatively impacted more than men in the long-term. However, research has also indicated that this is not due to one’s self-identified gender alone. Rather, those who more highly endorse traditionally feminine and masculine gender roles report higher self-compassion (Yarnell et al., 2018). Therefore, those who find themselves somewhere in-between, or egalitarian, are less likely to be self-compassionate. So what does this mean for women, amid coronavirus, especially feminist women who typically reject traditional gender role division?
On the one hand, this may indicate that we need to practice self-compassion even more, strengthening that muscle. On the other hand, perhaps self-compassion is not the right coping tool for everyone. Or, perhaps self-compassion is only one part of the puzzle… In response to coronavirus, we must be mindful that the strategies proposed to mitigate the spread of the illness and to cope in the face of it may not be easy, relatable, or accessible to practice for all.
- Kylie Steinhilber
References:
Aviles, G. (2020, April 9). Black men fear homemade coronavirus masks could exacerbate racial profiling. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/black-men-fear-homemade-masks-could-exacerbate-racial-profiling-n1179236
Lewis, H. (2020, March 19). The Cornavirus is a Disaster for Feminism. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/feminism-womens-rights-coronavirus-covid19/608302/
Yarnell, L. M., Stafford, R. E., Neff, K. D., Reilly, E. D., Knox, M. C., & Mullarkey, M. (2015). Meta-analysis of gender differences in self-compassion. Self and Identity, 14(5), 499-520.
Yarnell, L. M., Neff, K. D., Davidson, O. A., & Mullarkey, M. (2019). Gender differences in self-compassion: Examining the role of gender role orientation. Mindfulness, 10(6), 1136-1152.
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