Commodification of female recognition in the market: the neoliberal capture of ‘self-care’

Abstract

This article aims to discuss how the neoliberal capture of issues that are linked to female subjectivity has taken place, based on the hypothesis that the recent shift in financialized and global capital, referred to as neoliberalism, allows the internalization of women in the competitive world of self-interest when compared to classical liberalism. The first section discusses how the notion of care has been reframed by neoliberalism, progressively moving from a practice of the soul to an aesthetic practice of the body. The second deals with how women are placed in classical liberalism. The third evaluates neoliberal catches aimed at the field of women's actions, which are built through habits and disciplinary practices of pre-established standards. Finally, we discuss the notion of care from the analysis of advertisements aimed at women on social networks. It is concluded that the tactical shift of liberal governmentality, which meant changes in the practices of subjection, triggered new capture mechanisms that drag and locate the female subject in order to maximize economic interests.

Keywords: Care. Aesthetics. Neoliberalism. Female subjectivity.