In the US, who you are is intimately tied into what you consume, and we have a very superficial of understanding people, in that we assume people present themselves in a way that they want to be perceived. I've had so many men, for instance, tell me that they "love the natural look" and hate it when women wear what they deem "too much" makeup. But my bare face isn't my choice—my choice would be flamboyant eyeshadows and raccoon eyeliner and colored lipsticks. Unfortunately, my #rosacea and #MeibomianGlandDysfunction prevent that, unless I want painful cyst outbreaks and scratched corneas.

#Consumerism gives us a false sense of #agency in our lives. If who you want to be is just a matter of purchasing power, then you can buy your identity. But those identities are out of reach for so many people—those with disabilities, those who are working class, those who are people of color, queer folks, etc. It also allows for #VictimBlaming, since it's a mindset that assumes no one is subject to exploitation, oppression, or othering in the ways we move through the world. We're all just reduced to people who buy things.

And that's such a sad, paltry existence. In 2020, we realized #AnotherWorldIsPossible, a world where people cared about #BlackLivesMatter, where we masked to protect #PeopleWithDisabilities, where we had time to slow down and create. Yes, #covid was and is still terrifying, but it also showed us an existence not centered on #consumerism.