August 11, 2024
I’ve written 2 posts about slouching (as in, I do it): “Or I Could Try Exercising” June 25, 2012 and “No Fitness Accessories Needed” October 11, 2018.
I just this minute read about a book called Slouch: Posture Panic in Modern America by Beth Linker (an endowed professor at Penn). I’m quoting from an article on the book, written by Katelyn Silva for Penn’s Omnia publication. She writes:
As physicians and scientists accepted Darwin’s theory—that upright posture came before intelligence and language ability and was the first trait to separate humans from beasts—they started to see a disconnect in the society around them. “If upright posture is necessary to human superiority and the progression of civilization, yet a bunch of people are slumped over, then we have a problem. It creates this kind of fear that permeates throughout the century,” Linker says.
The book is meant to “poke a hole” in that panic, in the idea that posture is important and that something specific constitutes “good” posture. It looks at the transition from posture as scientific concept to one of commercial opportunities that played out as the widespread marketing and sale of products like medical girdles, back braces, orthopedic shoes, and posture-focused fitness routines.
So read the posts, then consider slouching—just because it feels good.
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