ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Yoga Journal (YJ), the leading yoga magazine, presents a narrowly defined image of yoga practitioners—youthful, White, slender, toned, female—that perpetuates problematic dominant ideologies. Yoga is a vibrant part of the United States’ cultural mainstream; from housewives to hipsters, college students to kids, folks are practicing yoga at studios, preschools, universities, prisons, and parks. The chapter analyzes media images—specifically the leading magazine YJ—which culturally code US yoga practitioners as White, thin, sexy, beautiful women who are intentionally represented as commodified models to be gazed upon. Most scholars and yoginis perceive yoga as a philosophy, a spiritual way of being, and a set of practices. Cultural appropriation is arguably most visible in the exploitation of yoga for commercial gain. In our culture, Whiteness has been historically constructed as a social location of power; Whiteness is typically unmarked, uninterrogated, and invisible.
