If you don't remember Parvati Shallow from her stint on Survivor, you probably know her from her recent appearance on Season 2 of The Traitors US. It was in the Scottish castle that she was dubbed "a duchess of deception and a mistress of murder" by (checks notes) disgraced politician John Bercow, nights after she wielded the poisoned chalice against her closest friend in the game. This sinful act of betrayal solidified her brand as one of the most ruthless villains of the reality TV world. Now, Parvati is coaching fans to embrace their own dark side, for the same price as a bottle of Dom Pérignon Rosé.
A post-feminist icon of reality games, Parvati weaponized her charms as early as 2006 with Survivor: Cook Islands, arguably pioneering "flirtation as gameplay" within the social strategy genre. She's a controversial figure, so much so that producers struggled to decide which role to cast her in for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. The evolution of her persona from "sorority girl" to "manipulative maneater" in the eyes of the public reveals a lot about the impossible standards women are held to, and the idea of choosing yourself in the face of these standards makes the perfect foundation for a 6-week yoga therapy program over Zoom. If I were a bored affluent housewife for whom the main event of the day is driving to Erewhon for a smoothie, this is exactly the type of bullshit I'd be on.
The course, titled How Villains are Made, is designed in collaboration with influencer Kali Somatics, whose body of work is primarily geared towards women seeking to "heal" from their people-pleasing tendencies through yoga, breathwork, meditation, and some more esoteric forms of trauma therapy. It's expertly built around Parvati's character arc on Survivor, with the first session digging into "the fawn response" (an umbrella term for a number of conflict-avoidant behaviours) as seen on the show, and its supposed effects on the body. The second session teaches students how to cultivate a "capacity to be disliked," drawing on Parvati's experience of being typecast as a TV villain.
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| New meme format just dropped (via @pshallow on Instagram) |
Unleashing your inner villain is an enticing proposition, especially for women who have rarely put themselves first in life, and Parvati is the ideal poster girl for the cause. She made a million dollars engaging with social taboos with her "Black Widow" strategy, which saw her intentionally team up with the other women in her tribe to eliminate the remaining men; "spinning the guys around [...] and then we're devouring them one at a time" as she puts it. There are some great scenes of Parvati and allies cackling with glee to each other on the beach as they mimic stirring a witch's cauldron. It's a fantasy that speaks to any woman who feels like they've been taken advantage of in life, and while this course might not transform them all into opulent evil queens, it might at least help them speak up more at the office and take a second slice of cake when they want to.
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| Parvati in her self-described Cruella de Vil look at The Traitors US S02 Reunion |
I know this yoga class is chiefly a marketing exercise for everyone involved, and even her PR team isn't thinking about this as deeply as me right now, but I could write an entire thesis about Parvati Shallow, the Black Widow Brigade, being depicted as a hero then villain on Survivor, and what that means for women playing themselves on-screen (editors, get in touch). Since her time in the Traitors castle, Parvati has also come out as queer, elevating her narrative of feminine empowerment and self-actualization. I might not be able to afford to attend How Villains are Made, but Parvati herself is a masterclass in how to embrace selfishness and sisterhood to get what you want out of life.
