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So, I'm caught up on the Conspirituality Podcast, and it's time to share information about something that's been on my mind for a while—the strong overlap between the wellness world and QAnon.
I should add: I'm not a fan of the word wellness; I'm using it for lack of a better word. But the number of people in extended yoga and fitness circles that have found a home in QAnon has reached a tipping point, imo.
"The wellness community's emphasis on truth-seeking and self-improvement makes it particularly vulnerable to a conspiracy theory like QAnon, which is all about sowing distrust in mainstream authorities under the guise of 'doing your own research.'" https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/15/technology/yoga-teachers-take-on-qanon.html
"The number of wellness and yoga influencers using their platforms to share QAnon-aligned content has reached a tipping point…Other voices in wellness are speaking out, encouraging their peers to think critically before spreading conspiracy theories." https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/wellness-influencers-q-anon/
"Khouri has said she believes the debunked viral documentary Plandemic, which spread misinformation about COVID-19, was an entry point to QAnon for many in the wellness community. (The documentary was removed by both Facebook and YouTube in May.)" https://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/yoga-wellness-and-qanon-conspiracy-theories/
"Wellness influencers hope to start a conversation unpacking the dangers of QAnon and start the arduous process of combatting misinformation. Yet if the response to the posts are any indication, it may be an uphill battle." https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/qanon-wellness-influencers-seane-corn-yoga-1059856/
"There's some evidence that there can be a tendency for narcissism in both new age spirituality and conspiracy thinking....'We are the special ones, we understand'—but it also sometimes comes with a rather dark, paranoid view of reality.” https://www.vice.com/en/article/93wq73/conspirituality-explains-why-the-wellness-world-fell-for-qanon
"A significant portion of the rhetoric employed in wellness-branded conspiracy-theory circles revolves around concepts like sovereignty or tyranny. This is likely because the two worlds share an outsized obsession with self-reliance." https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/why-qanon-conspiracy-theory-so-popular-united-states
"Ghafari says skepticism of the medical community is a natural reaction to a history of groups being ignored...But she noted what's happening in wellness influencer circles, which are dominated by well-off white people, as something different." https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/04/wellness-qanon-coronavirus/
"Marc-André Argentino, of Canada's Concordia University, coined the term 'pastel QAnon' to describe the phenomenon of lifestyle and wellness influencers adopting QAnon narratives with a soft and pleasing aesthetic, making audiences more susceptible." https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/playing-with-fire-the-curious-marriage-of-qanon-and-wellness-20200924-p55yu7.html
"In an increasingly chaotic world, many of us are searching for meaning; many of us are looking for someone easy to blame; many of us feel disempowered...Seen from this angle, the tenets of both QAnon and the wellness world are remarkably alike." https://jezebel.com/eat-pray-conspiracy-how-the-wellness-world-embraced-1845066668
"As a far-right conspiracy, QAnon might seem an unlikely endpoint in the left-leaning yoga community. But it's an established phenomenon that extremes of ideology can curve so far into their respective philosophies that they end up intersecting." https://www.insider.com/qanon-conspiracy-theory-yoga-influencer-took-over-world-2020-11
"The result is people on the far left end up questioning the establishment, protesting mask mandates and shutdowns with as much vitriol as their conservative-leaning counterparts." https://www.insider.com/qanon-conspiracy-theory-yoga-influencer-took-over-world-2020-11
That was the tipping point for me; when I saw some studios asking people to join them in protesting mask mandates and shutdowns.
Should add: I still take yoga, but I made a choice to give my money to a studio that doesn't spread conspiracy theories. There are a lot of people speaking up and speaking out, and I'm grateful for that.
But there is still a lot of work to do and, to be honest, I'm not sure of the solution and I don't know if I see it getting better anytime soon?
I'm adding a few more links since many of you have been sharing helpful resources. Thank you for that!
"The spread of misinformation isn't restricted to local parenting groups—it's also flourishing in holistic child-rearing and natural birth communities…Many quit groups because they felt alienated among people who once served as a supportive community." https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/09/the-terrifying-story-of-how-qanon-infiltrated-moms-groups/
"Racism is, and has been for many years, prevalent across the wellness industry; many Black and brown practitioners and teachers have spoken about being tokenized, facing overt racism, and being held to a higher standard than their white counterparts." https://www.instyle.com/beauty/health-fitness/yoga-racism-white-supremacy
Podcast: S1 of The Dream dives into the history of MLMs, and S2 focuses on the cult of wellness. Both seasons are a must-listen, imo, since you can't talk about how wellness became an industry without discussing the impact of MLMs. https://www.stitcher.com/show/the-dream
Podcast: Yoga is Dead unpacks a lot of issues within the broader wellness world, including cultural appropriation and capitalism. https://www.yogaisdeadpodcast.com/home
Podcast: Last September, On the Media featured on an episode on Conspirituality, or the overlap between new age beliefs and conspiracy theories. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/rise-conspirituality-on-the-media
Lastly, the Conspirituality Podcast, which was my inspiration for this thread. As a spoonie, I'm fascinated by the concept of wellness influencers, and the hosts unpack wellness as a business and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories in recent years. https://www.stitcher.com/show/conspirituality
