Welcome to Season 5 and Episode 73 of the Movement Logic podcast! In this first part of our much-requested three-part series "Posture Panic," Laurel and Sarah dive into the history of posture. They discuss Beth Linker's book, Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, providing insights and context to how posture has been perceived and addressed through history starting around the turn of the century up until now.
You will learn:
- The origins of "Posture Panic" around the turn of the century.
- How Darwin's theories influenced the medicalization of posture.
- The fear that human spines weren’t "ready" for bipedal stance, contributing to back pain and other issues.
- Why we believe it’s important to move like animals and babies, and where these beliefs came from.
- The intersectional impact of posture panic, affecting different races, classes, ages, and genders.
- The critique of evolutionary anthropology and its perpetuation of race science.
- The parallels between historical posture scrutiny and current fitness and diet trends like paleo, primal, and Crossfit.
- How "primitive" and "natural" marketing terms are often used inappropriately and simplistically.
- The evolution of posture surveillance from top-down to peer-based monitoring, emphasizing self-surveillance.
- The controversial practice turned scandal of nude posture photography in colleges.
- The historical use of posture as a symbol of civility and its implications for modern fitness standards.
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Reference links:
Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America, by Beth Linker
Episode 62: Make McGill Make Sense
Laurel and Sarah’s interview on the Conspirituality Podcast - Episode 205: Dismantling Movement Dogma
Episode 60: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 1
Episode 63: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 2
Episode 66: Dismantling Long & Lean Pt. 3
