Deconstructing the Colonial History of Posture
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In Western cultures, the notion of "good" posture has been imposed as an unquestionable ideal, drilled into us from childhood as a sign of physical health, discipline, and moral strength. However, this obsession with posture has troubling roots in eugenics, colonialism, and ableism.
A colonial history of control
The eugenics movement, which gained traction in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, aimed to "improve" the white race by promoting traits deemed superior, such as intelligence, physical fitness, and "whiteness." Figures like Francis Galton, who coined the term "eugenics," pushed for societal measures to control breeding and promote so-called "better" bloodlines. This idea of bodily superiority, rooted in white supremacy, gained momentum in settler-colonial America, where colonial institutions like Harvard University eagerly embraced it. Posture became a tool of control, judgment, and exclusion.
One of the more disturbing applications of eugenics at Ivy League schools was the practice of taking nude posture photos of incoming first-year students—many of whom were minors. (Let that sink in.) Beginning in the 1880s, Harvard and other "elite" colonial schools required students to pose naked to assess their posture, ostensibly to track conditions like scoliosis. However, the real agenda went much deeper. Led by eugenicists like William Herbert Sheldon in the 1940s, these photos were used to develop somatotypes, a system of classifying bodies based on their shape and correlating this with intelligence, race, and character traits. Sheldon believed that certain body types, often associated with white, upper-class men, were inherently superior, promoting a racist, ableist, and classist ideology under the guise of "science." Like other eugenicists, Sheldon shared many beliefs with the Nazis.
From an anti-colonial Liberation Martial Arts (LMA) lens, however, the body is not an object to be measured, and posture is not a fixed ideal but an adaptable part of how we move through and engage with the world.
Unsurprisingly, the nude photo practice persisted until the 1970s, even being used in medical research unrelated to posture, including studies linking body type to smoking and masculinity. These images, many of which were stored at the Smithsonian, only became a scandal in 1995 when it was revealed that they had been taken without proper consent and used in ways that violated students' privacy​. Somehow, the age of the victims was a non-issue. Eugenics and violations are often open American secrets because who has the power to hold the US and its institutions accountable? A temporary scandal doesn't mean punishment. It also serves a different purpose, that the US and its media reveal the truth when, in reality, its "truth" is selective and toothless.
Posture panic and its roots in ableism and racism
During the early 20th century, the eugenics movement fueled a widespread "posture panic." Non-conforming bodies were framed not just as a health risk but as symbols of degeneracy, bad breeding, and racial inferiority. This led to widespread campaigns in schools, workplaces, and even military settings to monitor and correct posture. Eugenicists argued that slouching and non-conforming bodies signified physical and moral decline, particularly among immigrant populations and communities of color. A conforming body, on the other hand, was often linked to whiteness and superiority, reinforcing harmful stereotypes that tied physical traits to racist, ableist, and classist hierarchies​.
This obsession with posture fed into broader anxieties about physical ability. A conforming body became a way to signify not only health but also conformity to social norms, while non-conforming bodies were associated with disability, laziness, and dysfunction. This colonial system further marginalized individuals with disabilities whose posture or movement might not align with these rigid standards. It also pathologized anyone who didn't fit a narrowly defined model of physicality. Posture thus became another mechanism for controlling marginalized bodies. Even today, colonial body culture denies the body's autonomy, erasing diversity in how bodies can and should move.
The German influence on American health and posture
During this time, Germany's influence on American ideas of health, particularly through the lens of eugenics, was profound. German scientific and philosophical ideas about the body, health, and the state shaped how physical fitness, including posture, was understood. The German model of health was not just about individual well-being but framed as a reflection of the health of the state itself, deeply entwined with racial purity and national strength. This model found enthusiastic reception in America—just as American apartheid found enthusiasm in Germany.
In Nazi Germany, physical fitness, posture, and bodily discipline were key components of the regime's racial hygiene program. The state emphasized the ideal of the "Aryan" body, one that was physically fit, disciplined, and straight-backed—an embodiment of strength and purity. Posture became a visible marker of one's physical and racial fitness, as the Nazis sought to build a population that conformed to these ideals of bodily perfection. Schools and youth programs reinforced these ideals through rigorous physical education programs that sought to "correct" posture and physical form to cultivate an ideal race.
Even among anti-fascists, there exists a colonial impulse to use the body as a signifier of moral worth. We see this every day in their messaging about cultivating the body and training. Radical instructors still impose idealized forms and movements, pushing for perfect practice and repetition.
The eugenicists won
American eugenicists looked to Germany's practices as a model, believing that posture and physical fitness reflected an individual's—and a race's—health and moral worth. Influential figures like John Harvey Kellogg and others in the American eugenics movement admired Germany's fascistic integration of health, race, and state policy, incorporating similar absolutist ideals into American health and educational systems.
Kellogg, best known for creating breakfast cereals, promoted "biologic living," which emphasized strict health regimens, including dietary restrictions and posture correction. As part of his influence, school children had their silhouettes measured to monitor and "correct" their posture, which he believed was linked to overall health and moral integrity. This practice was grounded in his eugenics ideology, where physical traits, including posture, were seen as reflections of racial purity and fitness. Kellogg, a proponent of racial segregation, supported forced sterilization and believed in preserving what he considered the "superior" white race. His focus on health was inseparable from his intensely white supremacist worldview, which shaped much of his work and legacy in public health and education​.
Body fascism, otherwise known as eugenics, wasn't a shift in settler-colonial thinking but an evolution. Even today, Americanism is fascism—and just as it was in the past, its fascism is so normalized that it's unrecognizable to many Americans, whether in the form of eugenics or genocide.
Posture as a tool of colonial control
Colonial projects extended their tendrils into the bodies of the colonized, viewing the physical bodies of Indigenous and non-European people as inferior, needing correction and discipline. Missionaries, colonial administrators, and educators often implemented posture-training programs as part of their "civilizing missions," forcing non-European people to stand, sit, and move in ways that reflected European standards. Being illiterate meant the inability to read and write European languages. Likewise, physical illiteracy meant the inability to move in European ways. These programs went hand-in-hand with broader efforts to erase non-European cultures and bodies, forcing them to assimilate to Western norms. European movements have become so hegemonic that some communities of color have mistaken European calisthenics and gymnastics for native traditions.
In these ways, posture became a marker of both racial and cultural superiority, reinforcing the colonial power dynamic where European bodies were seen as the standard to which all others should aspire. This legacy continues to influence not only our views on posture but also our standards of beauty and attractiveness.
From the LMA lens, our bodies and movements should not be dictated by colonial ideals but instead shaped by our interactions with our environments, communities, and material realities. Our bodies should move freely in response to the world around us rather than being forced into predefined postures or patterns. Unlearning of colonial control allows us to reclaim our bodies as sites of liberation, not oppression​.
The legacy of posture obsession
Today, posture remains central to the multibillion-dollar health, fitness, wellness, biomedical, and medicalized racism industries. Non-Europeans, Black people in particular, have to deal with colonial assumptions about their health based on their bodies. Their health issues become pathologized as moral failings and racial inferiority. These medicalized assumptions pose grave risks to Black patients. Likewise, there is also the assumption of health issues even when there is none. To the colonizer, colonized bodies are sick, incurable, and unreliable.
Although some of the language of eugenics and ableism may have faded from colonial public discourse, the underlying assumptions persist—posture is often still presented as a moral, social, and physical ideal to which everyone should aspire. Even when eugenics language and logic are out in the open, they are so normalized that few recognize them for what they are.
However, much of what we take as "fact" about posture has little scientific basis. (The same is true for much of what we believe about movement and education.) For instance, there is little evidence linking specific postures to long-term health issues like back pain. Yet, the belief that a non-conforming body is a moral failing or physical deficiency remains deeply ingrained​.
From an LMA lens, posture is not a moral imperative but a dynamic interaction between the body and the environment. We believe a radical movement practice must honor diversity, autonomy, and liberation​​.
Unlearning colonial posture
At its core, the history of posture is deeply intertwined with control—of bodies, of races, of classes. More broadly, the commercial fitness and wellness industries have roots in body fascism, eugenics, colonialism, and ableism. What we perceive as fitness and health in the Western context are tools of colonialism used to enforce conformity and erase diversity.
Striving for radical health under Western hegemony requires questioning the origins of our health ideals and recognizing how they have been used to control and oppress. Health requires liberation, and liberation must also include health. The history of posture reminds us that what we accept as "normal" or "ideal" is often shaped by harmful forces. It's up to us to unlearn the past (and present) for a better, more liberatory vision of the future.
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