A recent history of the 20th-century movement to fix slouching questions the moral and political dimensions of addressing bad backs over wider public

Why Americans Are Obsessed With Poor Posture | The Nation

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2024-11-22 06:30:03

A recent history of the 20th-century movement to fix slouching questions the moral and political dimensions of addressing bad backs over wider public health concerns.

Skeletons used in a museum in Amsterdam. They are posed in various positions for working; sawing wood, doing housework, carrying planks, office work, etc.

“Imagine a string pulling the top of your head towards the ceiling,” my barre instructor announced to the room. My body was shaking. I looked around the packed studio and saw a sea of predominantly white bodies in matching workout sets, all striving for an ideal elongated frame. Our instructor invited us to smile through the pain, as if baring one’s teeth could evaporate discomfort. After my first class, I received a handwritten postcard from the studio. An anonymous staff member, writing in pink gel pen, congratulated me on “100% embracing the shake!” I immediately threw out the card. But the next day, I signed up for another class.

As an internal medicine resident, my job largely consists of sitting in a chair. I run around the hospital and see patients, but that’s only a small fraction of my day. I am usually hunched over a desktop in a windowless workroom. I don’t need a mirror to know my posture is horrific. The exhaustion of residency has made me feel estranged from my own body. Barre—with its focus on posture and alignment—brought an awareness back to my physical self that the years of school and residency had taken from me. I took the skills I honed in barre to the hospital, smugly tightening my core as I looked at my fellow residents slouched over their computers. I then noticed that my elongated spine brought benefits that transcended the physical: Were my male attendings taking me more seriously? Did my patients regard me as displaying more authority? Could good posture make me feel like a more competent doctor?

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