Decolonizing Wellness Quotes

“Ultimately, body liberation is about freeing yourself from the commodification of your body, rejecting the use of your body as a tool of capitalism, and claiming your freedom.

It’s about abandoning colonized ideas of acceptability and reclaiming the freedom to live your life on your terms and use your body as a vehicle for your pleasure and exploration of the world.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The diet industry is not here to help you.

The diet industry is not here to battle some imaginary healthcare crisis.

The diet industry is here to take advantage of you and consume your resources.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“We can’t “green smoothie” away the damage of systemic racism and homophobia.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Doing what white supremacy culture demands of us yields no protection.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Asking the survivors of abuse to captain personal improvement projects for members of the dominant culture adds to the chronic stress that already compromises our well-being.

Chronically expecting free labor, emotional or otherwise, is colonizer trash if I’ve ever seen it.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Remember, and feel free to remind white allies, that you don’t need permission from anyone to pursue self-care.

Invite them to spend less time policing POC behavior and more time investigating long-standing systems of oppression and their impact.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Life is too short to exist in spaces where you are simply tolerated.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The colonial era propagated the concept of scarcity and competition to many inherently collaborative and cooperative cultures, replacing the idea of strength as a community with an obsessive focus on individualism. The ideology of isolationism and individualism is uniquely that of colonization. The world has suffered from accepting this ideology, systems of oppression easily stay in place and are unquestioned under this framework.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“It is cruel to ask for the wounded to prioritize the feelings of the unharmed as they seek out care. Give yourself permission to conserve your emotional energy and set boundaries with people who aren't willing to understand how you have been harmed.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“For some pursuit of knowledge is enough of a motivator, but the issue of funding is a barrier. The scientific community is frequently compromise because of funding sources. The absence of research on a topic that concerns you as an under represented person doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. It could simply mean that the motivation or the economic incentive for doing the research doesn't exist. Western culture and by extension all nations affected by colonialism is money driven, if there isn't a monetary reason to do some thing you will be hard-pressed to get it done.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Racism explains how far better than lifestyle factors do. Blaming the consumer or the individual for their habits is suspiciously convenient. It allows members of the dominant culture and positions of power to continue to believe that their norms are superior to those of minority cultures.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The idea that there is a right and a wrong way to do everything is a very colonize dichotomous way of seeing the world.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“White supremacy culture would have us believe that wealth is a cure all for systemic oppression, focusing on institutionalized discrimination. In reality, building community and spending time in affirming spaces is a far more powerful treatment for the damage systemic oppression does to the body.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“If poverty leads to health disparities, then the story is that people should work harder to escape the cycle of generational poverty. On the other hand, suppose systemic oppression is the cause of health disparities, in that case, all signs point to a deeper level of work needing to be done by the dominant social group. Who can monitize that? Why would a self-absorbed, dominant cultural group want to do the work? In contrast, helping people suffering from poor health outcomes brought on by chronic stress is very lucrative. Millions of dollars earmarked for minority health promotion are awarded to nonprofits every year. Simultaneously, minority let nonprofits are consistently aborted less funding.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Policing the behavior of marginalized folks under the guise of protecting them is a symptom of white supremacy, not a legitimate public health intervention.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Nurturing yourself protects your peace and energy. Self-love is a survival skill, not a luxury for the privileged.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Your existence is a testament to the body wisdom of your ancestors.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Life is too short to exist in spaces that simply tolerate you.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“When it comes to work focused on healing, the more something tries to appeal to everyone, the less likely it is to have the power to impact anyone significantly.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“You can’t drink a green smoothie and cure the damage of unrelenting stress and the low grade terror that comes with possibly being attacked, humiliated or harmed at any moment for simply existing.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The mind is very resilient and very invested in your preservation. It will do what it must protect you. Many reactions to chronic abuse may seem illogical or unhelpful when we look at them with a critical eye but the brain and the body do what they have to do to survive. In an attempt to protect you from future harm, your brain and body may either develop a heightened sensitivity to threats of discrimination or they may resort to numbness. Race based traumatic stress injuries can come from direct experiences of one on one racism, but they can also be triggered by witnessing racism.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Correlating gender identity with genitalia was introduced to many African countries by European colonizers.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The mind us very resilient and very invested in your preservation. It will do what it must protect you. Many reactions to chronic abuse may seem illogical or unhelpful when we look at them with a critical eye but the brain and the body do what they have to do to survive. In an attempt to protect you from future harm, your brain and body may either develop a heightened sensitivity to threats of discrimination or they may resort to numbness. Race based traumatic stress injuries can come from direct experiences of one on one racism, but they can also be triggered by witnessing racism.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“The colonial era propagated the concept of scarcity and competition to many inherently collaborative and cooperative cultures, replacing the idea of strength as a community with an obsessive focus on individualism. The ideology of isolationism and individualism is uniquely that of colonization. The world has suffered from excepting this ideology, systems of oppression easily stay in place and are unquestioned under this framework.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“As the majority of researchers are part of the dominant culture in the west, it makes sense to suspect that cultural centrism could compromise the objectivity of studies.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“You don’t have to dedicate your precious time to attempting to get faux allies to understand that while they are clearly the center of their universe, they are not the center of yours.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“If you think about how many magical Negro,
Native American, or wise Asian mentor tropes you’ve watched in movies over the years, it’s easy to understand why so many white folks have been brainwashed into believing that POC exist to support their growth and evolution.

The utter failure to comprehend that gaining respect and validation from white folks is not a ubiquitous goal for folks of color is exhausting.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“It is entirely possible (but not mandatory) to say no with love in your heart.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Wanting to not feel anything in response to physical and mental beatdowns is a normal response to systemic oppression.

When the pain is just too much, overeating leaves you feeling sedated. This is a useful short-term coping mechanism. But the problem is the effect doesn’t last.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness

“Loving your body twenty-four hours a day every day is neither a necessary nor a realistic goal.

Body autonomy is the goal.

You should be the one calling the shots about your body.”
― Dalia Kinsey, Decolonizing Wellness