Advertisements: Yoga and Ballet are the same, right?

Krysten Sanders
WST 3015
Jeannina Perez
02-08-10

The selected photographs are from an advertisement for American Apparel clothing.

In the advertisement labeled Stretch, the model is relaxed on a couch, seemingly hairless, thin with no expression on her face, and wearing a white outfit. The first thing noticeable is that she is not stretching; so how can the advertisers prove that the outfit stretches? The second may be the thought of how many women would actually be comfortable in this outfit. The bones in her chest stick out, the front of the top is extremely low-cut, and yes – her nipples are visible. This along with her positioning says “I’m sexy and flexible and if you wear this outfit you will be too.” Further pressuring those who view this advertisement into the idea of what sexy actually is, and that there is a need to be “sexy.”

In the advertisement labeled Yoga, the model is in an awkward position on a couch. It is obviously an attempt to sell the outfit, but the title is yoga. However that position does not look like it is from yoga, nor is it popular to practice yoga on a couch. She is also not focusing on anything except straining her neck to face the camera. Again she has no expression. She appears to be passive, weak, or vulnerable. The advertisement may be implying a sport, but it looks sexual. It is similar to a bondage position. This style of posing and her small stature are implying that women are objects. The woman is beneath the camera and she is looking up as if to be of a lower status. “Dominant U.S. culture often reduces women to bodies, valuing us only as sex objects or as bearers of children…The objectification and commodification of women in advertising pave the way for women’s dismemberment (literal and figurative) in pornography” (Kirk, Okazawa-Rey 208).

Another implication is that only thin white women practice yoga, when actually people of all shapes, sizes, sexes, and colors do. Where is the advertisement for men’s yoga apparel? Or does practicing yoga make one a “girlie man”(Seely 82)? This advertisement is also incorrect in assuming that all thin white women who practice yoga would be comfortable in such an outfit. The majority of popular yoga apparel is stretch sweat pants (not pantyhose) and stretch tank shirts or t-shirts (not see-through undershirts). This style is similar to (what is commonly assumed to be) ballet apparel. However, ballet is known for having a negative influence on women of all ages. It pressures women into feeling the need to stay thin and light, but yoga stresses flexibility and stress-relief. The only thing missing from these photographs is a light pink tutu.

Work Cited

Seely, Megan. Fight Like a Girl. New York: New York University Press, 2007. Print.

Kirk, Gwyn and Okazawa-Rey, Margo. Women's Lives. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.