Yoga with Adriene - Redo of PMS Video

Wonder if all the transladies who use her PMS video will now be up in arms as she’s erasing their ladyhood along with yours!

Can you explain who she is erasing ladyhood or womanhood in anyway?

She makes open access videos for everyone, men and women. They aren't just for women. They aren't happening in a women only space.

This one video is for pms/ cramps and rather than say "welcome ladies" or similar she's going to say "welcome". How does that, in any way erase women?

Do you exist as a woman only if someone makes reference to it? So if you get on a bus and the driver says "hello" as opposed to "hello lady" has he erased you as a woman?

She could equally have chosen to simply take down this video (it's fairly old anyway) and left it at that.

Just reread this.

Is it to do with men though? I thought in instances like this it's out of consideration for trans men?

Wonder if all the transladies who use her PMS video will now be up in arms as she’s erasing their ladyhood along with yours!

Is it possible to message feedback? I’d be telling her I get why she’s made the new one, but please don’t remove the original as my womanhood is important to me.

The reason people do this shit is often because it’s suggested and they go along with it to be nice. It probably hasn’t crossed her mind anyone would be offended.

So I wouldn’t be rude, as that would get her annoyed, but take a leaf out of the TRA phase 1handbook and make a polite fuss. With any luck, TRAs will move on to phase 2.

In summary, our voices need to be louder than theirs.

I don’t see the harm in trying to be inclusive of trans men if she wants to. So long as she isn’t being harassed to change her videos I don’t see how trying to be kind to a very marginalised group of women is somehow no ok with feminist no matter how GC they may be.

Its a real shame when actual sex based issues cant even be referred to as womens issues.

But would you have even noticed if she had just made another PMS/cramp video in the style of all of her other videos?

Her style is very much to address the camera, as though she's only talking to one person so I'm not seeing how there will be any noticeable difference here.

If she had made the original video by saying "welcome everyone, how are you all doing? Ok let's get started...." Would you be feeling erased or excluded as a woman?

This just feels an odd thing to get riled up about. I don't understand how her not saying women or ladies is excluding anyone. The video is still addressing a sex based function so again, she's not attempting to erase that she's just addressing the audience in a neutral way, which lots of people do anyway.

I have just unsubscribed from her mailing list and explained exactly why in the 'comments' field. When will this madness end?!

It's not okay. Words mean something. Where does it stop? When the word woman and what it means to be one is eradicated out of existence because of well meaning fools.

It might be one video but removing sex specific language such as woman has implications for our sex. I really wish people would see the bigger picture.

Woman is a sex designator, not a gender description. And this is female erasure. The loss of our language, of words specific to females and only females is yet another example of why this ideology is hostile to us. Because I've seen what happens next - first the well meaning virtue signaller strives for gender neutral, then they are informed that other words are "problematic" too.

Cf companies offering period products for instance where first they start talking about menstruators and female biology and then they are "advised" that female is a contentious word, too, and so on.

Appeasement is a stop gap. It only ever works for a little while. In the end you either have to abandon expressing your own position entirely after moving over to theirs incrementally, or you assert yourself and stand your ground.

The Yoga world is woker than woke. And her business model means that she can't ignore this. But simply redoing the video (it is five years old after all) wouldn't have sufficed.

One must genuflect at the altar of gender ideology or be branded a 'phobe. Heretics won't be tolerated.

Its a real shame when actual sex based issues cant even be referred to as womens issues.

They really are looking to erase any talk of women arent they. And its just happening so quickly like above with not bejng able to talk at work etc.

I used to be proud of having girls and how far womens rights had come and it seems so backwards. I am sad for my girls future.

I think I am more offended at her needing to wear pink socks in the first video than her deciding to remove overt references to women in the new one.

She's still making a PMS/period pain video so women aren't losing out on anything. It's done in your own home so no issue of access to female only spaces. The only difference is that she won't address the audience as women or ladies or whatever ( which she doesn't do in any of her other videos because they are aimed at everyone).

I read it and rolled my eyes too.

I love her videos and I love her; not surprised exactly, but I have downgraded her from 'fantasy BFF' to 'ok but a bit wokey'.

Is the push I was waiting for to unsubscribe from her email, I find her writing style annoyingly gushy anyway.

I have unsubscribed.

(And am now seeing adverts above my typing for yoga stuff.)

I’ve messaged her on insta. Doubt she will ever even see it, but hey ho.

If you can find it in yourself to respond, you might want to. Maybe something of the lines of understanding wants to make transmen feel comfortable, but in doing so she is adding to the idea that women and their specific sex based needs should be unmentionable.

Apologies it's sarahbethyoga 😊

@ThePawtriarchy I know how you feel. My husband doesn't get it either but I despite pressure I will continue to put women's rights first. Mainstream and social media is much to blame for this situation. It's a shame that Adriene feels the need to follow the trend to throw women under a bus. Personally I like Sarabethyoga

I too came straight here to start a thread after reading the email this morning.

She says that in 2014 she made a video about yoga for PMS and cramps:

In my pink socks I kick this video off with “Hey Ladies” and remark on how this is a special sequence, “just for us go’ils.

This video is huge, y’all. It has 753,978 views and in the top comment someone suggests I be awarded the Nobel Prize. (Oh, YouTube, how I love ya.)

But, because it really is my wish that this community and this space be one of total inclusion, I want to call a re-do on this one and offer a new practice that respects affirming, neutral gender pronouns. One that reminds anyone watching that I am here to create spaces that feel welcoming and supportive for everyone, and I am fully committed to this.

As I meditate on the importance of being true to the best version of myself, each day, I want to keep asking myself in what ways can I challenge (my) assumptions.

How about you?

I really don’t know what to say ...

[Edited by MNHQ]

The world has gone crazy! I won’t be watching her videos any more.

I just read the email and was almost willing myself to stop reading because I knew what was coming - the language is always similar, isn’t it.