If you are reading this article, I’m guessing there’s something about yoga that appeals to you.
Or repels you.
A relaxing way to help yourself get ‘centered’?
A chance to wear those silly stretch pants in public?
Regular readers of my humor articles here in the Daily Post are probably well aware of my feminist leanings. So it may not be too surprising, that I will be quoting from a website called ‘EverydayFeminism.com‘:
In the US, for example, the image of yoga is often associated with white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women. If you’re one of these women, yoga is being marketed to you all over the place, and might not have noticed anything wrong with the way it’s being advertised.
If you’re white, there’s not necessarily anything wrong with you doing yoga. You’re probably just doing it for your own wellness, so it might be strange to think you could be hurting anyone else.
Cultural appropriation is a process that takes a traditional practice from a marginalized group and turns it into something that benefits the dominant group – ultimately erasing its origins and meaning.
The EverydayFeminist article was written by Maisha Z. Johnson, who lists eight telltale signs that your yoga practice is culturally appropriated. (Assuming you are practicing yoga.)
I share this quote, especially for the benefit of white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women, some of whom might be feminists… and some, who might not. I’m not trying to single them out as bad people. Definitely not. Some of my best friends are white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women.
I am also friends with some white, thin, able-bodied, middle class men, but they are more interested in lifting weights.
In defense of my female friends, however, I feel compelled to question an accusation that they are practicing “cultural appropriation” when they show up at the community center on Thursday morning.
Being myself a male feminist (meaning that I am willing to strategically leverage my male privilege in support of equal rights for women) I don’t subscribe to the practice of shaming women for getting together and spending an hour pleasantly, without gossiping.
That said, we all know that yoga came to America from India, at around the same time as curried vegetables.
Apparently, some feminists — and maybe some non-feminists — have the impression that white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women are “the dominant group” when they meet up to do yoga, and that they are somehow appropriating “a traditional practice from a marginalized group.”
As I perceive the world (and granted, I am perceiving everything from a position of male privilege) it seems to me that white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women actually make up a very small percentage of the world’s population. You can’t believe everything to find on the Internet, but at least one website suggests that there are about 690 million women living in India. And they all practice yoga.
Here in America, we have only about 168 million women… and basically, only the white, thin, able-bodied, middle class ones are enrolled in yoga classes. (The practice is practically unknown in Texas, for example.)
To claim that American women are “the dominant group” of yoga practitioners seems kind of silly, when you think about it globally.
I myself do not practice yoga, but I would tend to agree with Ms. Johnson when she writes:
So you know you’re getting a culturally appropriated version of yoga when it’s all about the money.
Think of yoga accessories and fashion lines that big corporations profit from, or studios aiming to make as much money as possible.
Yoga practices are about sustaining ourselves in ways that have nothing to do with money or material possessions. When it turns into something that’s sellable, it loses its sacred value.
Ideally, yoga should be free. And sacred. The way it is, in India.
And thanks to the Internet, yoga can be free. For everyone.
Here’s a link to some free YouTube videos. Mainly taught by white, thin, able-bodied, middle class women.
Use this link if you prefer your yoga class taught in the Hindi language.
Incidentally, these same arguments can apply to curried vegetables.