Ideas of ‘wellness’ being pushed by corporations could be having a detrimental impact on emotional health, authors argue

Society is filled with commanding and constraining messages telling you who is, and how to be, okay, a Cardiff University academic argues.

In their new book, Look, Don’t Touch, Dr Francesca Sobande, based at the University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture and co-author layla-roxanne hill detail the ways that people are  supported – and hindered - to experience the true freedom to express themselves in modern society.

By examining music across genres, from nu-metal to hip-hop, the spectacle of “self-help” social media content, and powerful on-screen portrayals of mortality and “monsters”, Sobande and hill tackle how pop culture and social media enable and obstruct certain perceptions and experiences of feelings.

The idea for the book started with the authors discussing directives in public signage and stifling societal norms, such as being told to “look” but “don’t touch” or being treated as to be “seen” but “not heard”. Reflecting on more than just tactile encounters, Sobande and hill’s work addresses different experiences that may emotionally move people and touch their hearts.

The authors examine pressures in society to passively observe or suppress emotions rather than fully feel and express them. Sobande and hill highlight the need to go beyond a “look, don’t touch” approach to understanding and addressing different feelings, systems of oppression, and lives. Their book considers what contributes to meaningful connections between different people, species, and spaces.

Dr Sobande said: “There needs to be much more than the glib refrain that ‘it’s okay not to feel okay’, for people to be materially supported in addressing the struggles in their life and the structural causes of them."

Discussing the vital role of music in many forms of emotional expression, release, and community, Dr Sobande said: “Music is part of who and how we love and are loved, as well as being part of who and how we are.”

The book’s discussion of music emphasises the importance of grassroots gig venues and sustainably supporting them, storytelling through songs, and the materiality and rituals of vinyl records.

When speaking about the book’s title, Dr Sobande said: “In some situations, the idea of ‘look, don’t touch’ – whether uttered or not – may be necessary. But those times shouldn’t be confused for moments when messages of ‘look, don’t touch’ are just about institutions’ attempts to control the behaviours and emotions of people – preventing them/us from connecting with surrounding spaces and all in them.

“Overall, the new book reflects on the politics, power, pains, playfulness, and pleasures of feeling.”

Look, Don’t Touch can be purchased from 404 Ink here (as an ebook or in print) and from Waterstones here.