Journals / Akademik Açı / 2026 / Cilt: 6 Sayı: 2

The obligation to be well: The biopolitical governance of body, emotion and self in wellness culture

İyi olma zorunluluğu: Wellness kültüründe bedenin, duygunun ve benliğin biyopolitik yönetimi

Pages
200–227
Publication Date
2026-10-28
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The article argues for differentiating practices of care from demands for endless self-optimization without dismissing demonstrable benefits of well-being interventions.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This article examines how discourses of health, happiness, and self-care intersect in wellness culture and under what conditions they become demands for individual responsibility.
📊
Key Findings & Data:Drawing on sociology of health and emotions, work studies, and digital culture, it critically examines a core bibliography of 45 sources, supplemented with foundational texts and studies offering counter-evidence.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The article argues for differentiating practices of care from demands for endless self-optimization without dismissing demonstrable benefits of well-being interventions.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Biyopolitika · Dijital Öz-İzleme · Mutluluk Baskısı

Abstract

This article examines how discourses of health, happiness, and self-care intersect in wellness culture and under what conditions they become demands for individual responsibility. Drawing on sociology of health and emotions, work studies, and digital culture, it critically examines a core bibliography of 45 sources, supplemented with foundational texts and studies offering counter-evidence. Six proposed mechanisms—moralization, responsibilization, commodification, datafication, performativity, and psychologization—are treated as analytical propositions rather than empirically validated universal findings. Evidence on the effectiveness of exercise and workplace interventions, selective appropriation of self-tracking, and the coexistence of reported happiness and perceived structural problems in Türkiye inform a more qualified account. The concept of an integrated wellness regime is distinguished from established approaches by its testable emphasis on inter-institutional coupling. The article argues for differentiating practices of care from demands for endless self-optimization without dismissing demonstrable benefits of well-being interventions.

Özet

Bu çalışma, wellness kültüründe sağlık, mutluluk ve öz-bakım söylemlerinin birbirine nasıl bağlandığını ve hangi koşullarda bireysel sorumluluk beklentisine dönüştüğünü tartışmaktadır. Sağlık sosyolojisi, duygular sosyolojisi, çalışma ve dijital kültür literatüründen yararlanan eleştirel bütünleştirici tartışma, 45 kaynaklık temel bir bibliyografyayı karşıt kanıt sunan çalışmalar ve kurucu metinlerle genişletmektedir. Ele alınan altı mekanizma ahlakileştirme, sorumluluk devri, piyasalaştırma, verileştirme, performanslaştırma ve psikolojikleştirmedir. Bu mekanizmalar evrensel ve ampirik olarak doğrulanmış bir model değil, farklı kurumlar arasında sınanması gereken kavramsal bir öneri olarak değerlendirilmiştir. Egzersiz ve işyeri müdahalelerinin etkililiğine ilişkin deneysel araştırmalar, kullanıcıların seçici benimseme pratikleri ve Türkiye’de öznel mutluluk ile yapısal sorun algısının birlikte bulunması, önerinin sınırlarını görünür kılmaktadır. Çalışma, bakımın sağladığı yararı reddetmeden bu yararın ne zaman sürekli öz-optimizasyon yükümlülüğüne dönüştüğünü sorgulamaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Batgi, G. (2026). The obligation to be well: The biopolitical governance of body, emotion and self in wellness culture. Akademik Açı, Cilt: 6 Sayı: 2, 200–227. https://doi.org/10.59597/akademikaci.1994561

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