The fact that yoga is now being co-opted by large advertising corporations and used in such a disgusting manner is just another piece of the media and body image culture of malcontent that all women in North America experience. because hockey still fits in the acceptable 'male' sport. You don't see a lot of thin, waif-like female hockey player messages. This includes currently perceived physical activities such as ballet and gymnastics. The majority, if not all, of female oriented activities and hobbies are inundated with media manipulation and beauty ideal messages. (most evolutionary psychology studies are shaky at best when it comes to supporting the big boobs-small waste= cave man natural selection theory).Īlthough I don't shop at Body Shop (ew chemicals) I love this ad. The point is that there really isn't all that much research out there supporting the current beauty 'ideal' as some genetic driving force. This ideal has changed over the past 100 years, from the flat chested flappers in the 30's, to the voluptuous size 15 Marilyn Monroe to shift from Twiggy thin to Barbie boob-waste ratio. By showing us images of a unrealistic beauty ideal, the media helps support a population of women and young girls who are not happy with how they look.

The advertising industry is a billion dollar industry for a reason it works. Instead of focusing on the narrow category of Yoga, we should be looking at why the use of women as objects in the media is effective. This discussion around Tara Stiles and the Toesox ad really is indicative of a very important and relevant societal norm that has been chipping away at 50% of the North American population since the advent of popular advertising. Usually I never agonize about makeup, but lately I've been considering paying for a trial makeup run. There's unending talk of 'being a princess on your special day', makeup choices, hair choices, facials and such bullsh*t. Most images of brides online are perfectly shaped, proportioned and flawlessly beautiful. It's an example of a media and social epidemic that yoga is definitely not immune.Īs Kate reminded me over at 'Eat the damn cake', brides are hyper targeted when it comes to the beauty industry. A post over at ' Eat the damn cake' reminded me that this is so much more than warping a spiritual practice into something marketable. Lately there's been a lot of talk about how women are used by the media to sell yoga (svasti's awesome post and Roseanne's discussion).

Who is yogini liz from yoga undressed