![]() ![]() When some people are asked to examine their privilege in the same way that people of colour are forced to do on a daily basis – they instantly become the victim. I am also studying my privilege or lack there of as well as my feelings around exclusion and what it means for me to be existing within the mainstream culture. This is the practice of Svadhyaya or compassionate self-study.Īs a fat woman of colour, I am always examining my self. It always surprises me the amount of unexamined privilege in mainstream yoga culture and the feelings that bubble up around this privilege when people are called to study their own advantages. Instead of instigating a the conversation around why this perpetuation is still occurring, we simply keep projecting the same ideals – albeit with a bit more honesty with regards to the struggle to reach ‘perfection’.īut really, how are we, as a culture, expected to break through the longstanding battle for true appreciation and acceptance of all people, when we continue to perpetuate the same old standards that mass media has sold to us time and time again? ![]() What upsets me the most, is the co-opting of the body positive message. We certainly don’t see bigger bodies celebrated as beautiful – as ‘fat’ is always linked to the idea of ugly. We never hear the phrase “thin and ugly”. We are, once again, perpetuating the idea of a specific body type as beautiful to the exclusion of the rest of us. My concern with the Women’s Health article is not so much around who is in the article, but rather, the messages that we are missing in mainstream media at large. We systemically value these bodies and criticize bodies that don’t measure up. Thin, flexible and white bodies – whether they’re sized double zero or a size six – have always been at the forefront of yoga culture. Mainstream culture often gets defensive when we start to examine the privileges that have allowed this culture to flourish at the determent of everyone else. This is one of the topics I just finished talking about in great detail at the Race and Yoga Conference at University of California at Berkeley. In the end, our bodies are criticized for their sheer incapability of being something it is not. Once again, Kathryn’s article teaches us that even women with this type of physical privilege can experience insecurity and unhappiness. Moreover, this is the European standard of beauty that people of colour have watched their entire lives and the same standard that has been held up to us as an example of something we are supposed to try and emulate. This is the same body type and standard of beauty that the rest of us have been taught to admire and aspire too – and yet, as we can see, achieving this “standard” does not imply happiness and lifelong security. I think it says a lot about mainstream culture when a 5’2 size 4 blonde, strong and beautiful woman can feel insecure about her body. I applaud her braveness. It must have been extremely hard for her to put herself and her experiences out there in a very public way. The article featured yoga celebrity Kathryn Budig and she shared her intensely personal story of body shaming and her internal struggles with body image. Recently, Women’s Health magazine published an article around body positivity and yoga. Mass media can be a harmful tool for oppression and the perpetuation of negative and outdated ways of thinking or, if used correctly, it can be a catalyst and agent for change. I enjoy interrupting and critiquing mass media because I think it is an important tool for instigating a positive shift in our culture. I believe where there is friction, there is traction. ![]() Sometimes, my husband is my filter: I’ll ask him if I am being emotional in my reactions or if I am in a situation where something does, in fact, need to be said. I will always speak out publicly when I feel like something important needs to be said in order to fight for equality and acceptance for all people. I have always been outspoken… and it has often gotten me into trouble. ![]()
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