Cultural borrowings often have odd results, but sometimes they can inspire disbelief or even hilarity. Such was the case when, not long ago, some journalists discovered that Chinese housewives had been signing up for pole dancing lessons to improve physical fitness and enjoy themselves. Many Americans (myself among them) snickered at the idea of Chinese women signing up for pole dancing lessons for “exercise.”
However, few laugh about yoga, which has become a widespread fad among trendy American women with enough spare time and cash to burn. Yoga in America has become a largely female domain, and women sign up not only for the health benefits, but for the supposed spiritual element as well. Odd, isn’t it, that we don’t see Indian immigrants enrolling their wives in this Hindu form of exercise. Actually, when you understand how yoga is practiced in India, it isn’t odd at all.
Female yoga practitioners are known as “Yogini,” as opposed to the male “Yogi.” Many American women, such as Mary McGuire of “American Yogini,” proudly declare themselves to be “Yogini,” describing their way of life with terms such as “pure,” “cleansing,” etc. From a Hindu perspective, this is ridiculous. In India, the term Yogini means temple prostitute, an occupation which is largely reserved for low-caste and untouchables (i.e. Dalits), who are considered far from “pure.” In fact, a higher caste Hindu must ritually cleanse himself after contact with a Yogini!
Today, Yoginis are culled from the lower ranks of India society, such as the Adivasis, whereas yoga is considered an upper middle class pursuit in America. One of the strangest ironies I have found is that on the one hand there are “progressive” Western groups supporting the elimination of Yogini in India on the grounds that it promotes exploitation of women, and on the other one finds self-proclaimed Yogini Mary McGuire championing the cause of Sean Corn, a woman who brings Yogini to child prostitutes!
In India, pro-Dalit acitivists such as Dr. Ambedkar Jayanti, indentify the practice of Yogini as a serious social problem:
There are various problems like these under the guise of Adivasi customs and traditions. The problems more than poisonous than the atomic bomb at Pokharan have arisen and Hindu law is unable to start any process to give justice under it[...]
If there is any lesson here, it is that the cultural trappings Westerners borrowed during our own cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s were often either misrepresented or foolishly misinterpreted. It was probably bit of both, but it looks as though we’re stuck with housewives following the ancient art of Hindu temple prostitution for some time to come. I wonder, if they really want to get in shape, why these ladies don’t take to churning butter, hoeing the garden and washing clothes by hand? I guess the answer to that is obvious – they wouldn’t get to show off in skimpy, skin-tight outfits – so maybe they do have some instinctive understanding of “The Way of the Yogini,” and the Chinese women, too, are quite cognizant of what it means to be “on the pole.”
9 responses so far ↓
1 Lukobe // May 13, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Funny stuff, and your point about cultural borrowing is well taken, but of course what goes on in most yoga studios is really the modern-day equivalent of calisthenics or in exercise classes at the gym and has nothing to do with temple prostitution. I figure, if all it takes to get people to exercise is to couch things in vaguely “exotic”-sounding terms, more power to them — though they should indeed not be surprised or take it personally if people from the original culture laugh a bit at them.
Either way, looks like you should update this article, Welmer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogini
2 Lukobe // May 13, 2009 at 5:04 pm
A follow-up — what do you make of things like striptease aerobics, where both the source and the adaptation are from the same culture? http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Electras-Aerobic-Striptease-Collection/dp/B0007TKH98
3 Welmer // May 13, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Oh yes, the Wikipedia article. I thought about including it to make my point about how far off Americans are in their understanding of Yoga (obviously it was written by American women — probably practitioners and teachers of “Yogini”). Nowhere does it mention that Yogini means hooker to Hindus. One more example of the limits of Wikipedia.
But this part is almost as good as NOI literature:
As for the striptease aerobics, at least people aren’t pretending that it will “purify your essence” or somesuch garbage.
4 Lukobe // May 13, 2009 at 5:30 pm
There’s also this bit:
According to the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika text, a yogini is more specifically a woman initiate who can preserve her own genital ejaculate (rajas) and contain the male semen (bindu) by means of the practice of the vajroli-mudra, also practiced in reverse by advanced yogis. [11]
Of course, the beauty of Wikipedia, Welmer, is that you are free to go in and correct the Yogini article as you wish. Then again, the yoginis would probably revert your changes, etc. The discussion page could get very heated!
5 novaseeker // May 13, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Interesting stuff, Welmer. It’s quite ironic, isn’t it?
Of course, you’re aware that middle class American women are also taking up pole dancing … “for their health and confidence” … of course …
6 Lukobe // May 13, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Middle-class American guys are doing it too — well, at least one of them is — http://videogum.com/archives/wtf-youtube/just-your-average-american-dad_053961.html
7 c noir // May 19, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I wonder, if they really want to get in shape, why these ladies don’t take to churning butter, hoeing the garden and washing clothes by hand?
but you won’t get that level of flexiblity by doing those things welmer. Most men would enjoy a woman who can bend her body like a paper plane with ease.
If there is any lesson here, it is that the cultural trappings Westerners borrowed during our own cultural revolution of the 1960s and 70s were often either misrepresented or foolishly misinterpreted
I can agree with this and in fact ague that we continue to get things misinterpreted. American women scream about female circumsion(tp) in Africa & Asia yet do the very same operation here along with implants and a load of other crap.
8 Lukobe // May 19, 2009 at 7:39 pm
tp?
9 Dawn. // Nov 27, 2009 at 12:39 pm
“American women scream about female circumsion(tp) in Africa & Asia yet do the very same operation here along with implants and a load of other crap.”
It is not shameful for women to “scream” about circumsions forced on uneducated/unknowing women in 3rd world countries that ultimately render the woman unable to recieve pleasure or allow childbirth if she chose to.
Many woman under going this process are not made aware that it is going to happen.
The difference is choice.. if the woman wants this procedure than by all means.. who are we to say whats right and wrong for an individual.
I believe you may have “misinterpreted” the issue that you’ve brought up.
Either way… I’ve enjoyed reading all of your opinions and also learned from them
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