Lululemon promoted a Charlotte gender bias workshop. Then things went terribly wrong.
When yogi Rebby Kern was chosen as a Charlotte ambassador for Lululemon, it was a huge opportunity for the luxury athleisure brand to show up for diversity and social justice. The program taps athletes, yoga teachers, creatives and entrepreneurs to help connect the brand with local communities. But its response to a viral social media post has seen much of that good faith squandered and left some wondering if the corporation can recover it.
Kern became a Lululemon ambassador in August 2019 after being approached by leadership at the Atherton Mill store. The founder of Rebby Kern Yoga and Fully Integrated is one of the region’s most vocal activists in the wellness industry, holding regular race and gender workshops and making space for trans and nonbinary Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in what has traditionally been a very affluent white arena. Lululemon held meetings and conversations about Kern’s work and the support needed to further it. A year into the two-year program, things were going smoothly. Until last week.
Lululemon tapped Kern to be featured, along with four other ambassadors, in a social media campaign called “Five to Follow.” As part of that promotion, Lululemon shared a digital flier for Kern’s independent workshop, “Decolonizing Gender: A workshop to unveil historical erasure and resist capitalism.”
The reaction on Kern’s Instagram page was initially supportive. The backlash came when Lululemon shared it on its social media page. Commenters found irony in a billion-dollar company known for $100+ leggings promoting an event to “resist capitalism.” Hundreds shared Tweets and left mocking comments. “Make it make sense,” one person tweeted.
The incident went viral and was covered by media in the U.S., Germany, the U.K. and Canada, including the New York Post, Daily Mail, Fox Business and The Guardian. Kern’s business and personal social media pages saw an influx of trolls, as well, and over the next several days the tone of commentary curdled from anti-capitalist to transphobic. Lululemon took its post down, distancing itself from the workshop by responding to media, “This is not a Lululemon forum and it does not represent the company’s views.”
“Maybe they were shocked. They didn’t turn off the commenting. This went on for days, troll after troll after troll,” said Raudhah Rahman, Kern’s digital creation strategist. “What we’re seeing right now is the capitalistic version of progress. Corporations are calling on people who are doing this work, but themselves aren’t ready to be there all the way. [Lululemon] had good intentions of pushing the work forward but the immediate impact was harmful. We should have had PR support and people fighting the trolls, but they didn’t stand by their ambassador.”
Jasmine Hines, whose entities Amplify and Activate and The Inspower Agency often partner with Kern as a consultant, said the problem lay in intention not matching impact. The well-meaning intention of the corporation to invite Kern as an ambassador did not match the impact that tokenized Kern and landed as performative allyship.
“Lululemon recruited Rebby because of their work, but [company leaders] weren’t ready for the actual conversations that needed to be had, let alone the embodied practice that comes with taking a stand for humanity,” Hines told CharlotteFive.
“What would’ve demonstrated Lululemon’s commitment to supporting Rebby as a human being, would be to accept responsibility and hold themselves accountable by acknowledging the historical harms they’ve caused and take responsibility for the essential reason they hired Rebby. But no. They chose comfort and completely missed a prime opportunity to say ‘You’re right and we are learning and working to make positive changes, so sign up for their workshop and learn alongside us.’ This is the work and we’re here for it,” Hines said.
“Performing allyship always ends up causing harm. And where Lululemon had power and influence to stand between the vitriol and Rebby, they didn’t. It became dangerous for Rebby. When you take a stand for humanity, you’re taking a stand for everyone. This is what John Lewis coined ‘Good Trouble.’ When Lululemon took down the post, the message was, ‘Let’s not talk about it anymore.’ That was an act of silencing the voices they proclaim to be uplifting. That was an act of violence.”
In Charlotte: ‘Rebby is our person’
In the midst of disappointing circumstances, the yoga community lifted Kern back up. Teachers, students and social justice activists reached out to them via social media, calls and texts. Other Lululemon ambassadors and associates checked on them, and friends sent food and helped them develop a safety plan.
“My response was to remind them why they were in this work,” Hines said. “With one post, they’re now a global household name. There are people out in the streets now with signs saying Rebby is our person because they spoke up when no one else would. Because they see us, we stand for them.”
Decolonizing Gender: unveil historical erasure and resist capitalism
Kern’s Decolonizing Gender workshop takes place Sept. 17, 5-6:30 p.m. on Zoom. They plan to unpack the history of indigenous and precolonial gender, as well as ways the gender binary has been used to further white supremacy.
“The biggest misconception is that we have to uphold what gender has meant in this society. Challenge how you express your own gender,” Kern told CharlotteFive. “Consumerism reinforces gender stereotypes in everything from toys to bodywash. You see it in the media and the way kids bully each other based on stereotypes. But people like me show up and pierce that.”
The workshop has several payment tiers, including a supporter rate that allows an attendee to sponsor a community member who might not otherwise attend. Kern said this was one way to impact capitalism, by opening the door for more participation from trans, nonbinary and BIPOC attendees who may be more affected by the recession. Instead of a flat fee for everyone, the tiered rates open the door for more equity, Kern said.
“They deserve the same access to content as people with more resources and to know their contribution is equally as valued whether they’ve paid $200 or $6,” they said.
“Who is the person or team who made the call to pull the plug on Rebby’s post? They need to be in the workshop, too,” Hines added. Kern has a year remaining in the ambassador program. “Lululemon, as yoga teachers say all day, here’s an opportunity to sit in your discomfort. Listen to the people who are mad at you for being hypocritical. Look inside and make the changes necessary. Stop performing. And let this be the lesson: Let Rebby lead.”
Lululemon did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
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