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Shelcy Joseph's avatar

100%! There’s also a parallel here between the whitewashing of pole dancing/sex work and Anora’s mainstream acceptance due to the fact that the main character is white versus the reception of say, Zola. Really well-written piece!

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Viv Chen's avatar

appreciate your incisive eye on brand marketing as always <3 and thank you for pointing that out, while i personally enjoyed anora i definitely think it would have been talked about differently and faced unfair judgements had the protagonist been a Black woman/woman of color.

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NiftyKeisha's avatar

As someone who taught pole dancing full-time for 8 years, it’s so nice to see it getting attention again! I agree 100% that pole studios made an effort to distance themselves from strip club culture. Most of the teachers were never strippers as well, we were all trained dancers and I think that only made it more pronounced. I wasn’t even classically trained (my training was middle eastern, Brazilian, African, etc) and I still carried that perception. I didn’t like when people assumed I was a stripper even though I had no issues with people who chose to strip and I was a go-go dancer in lesbian clubs for a decade.

I think it’s important to have conversations about where it originated and there needs to be more about the whitewashing of the industry. I love pole dancing so so much. Happiest time of my life was teaching. It’s such a great community! Thanks for having this conversation!

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Viv Chen's avatar

thank you for sharing your POV on this!! It is a wonderful community. I feel like pole dance helps you fall in love with yourself

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NiftyKeisha's avatar

100% agree!

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Mikala Jamison's avatar

How did I piece this post, and that you referenced mine in it? Thank you so much! ANDDDD I also just started pole classes bc there's a studio next to my new coworking space, so why not!?!? Love this synchronicity

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Grace's avatar

This seems like it would take so much upper body and core strength that I’m intimidated to try!

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Viv Chen's avatar

i was intimidated too! beginner classes are great at helping you practice the foundations. i know mat work is a real snoozefest and not exciting but i know that practice will pay off (and prevent injuries which is such a priority now on the other side of 30!). even if you don't have the strength there, there's always something an instructor can teach you, whether it's sexy leg sweeps or a body roll! i have learned there's no shame in asking for something "less strenuous." i hope you get the chance to try it if you are interested!

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Momoko's avatar

Great post 🩷! I’ve been taking pole classes for years at a studio owned by a former s-worker. She puts on retreats and showcases with a very diverse sw-er only line-up and it’s amazing, they are such incredible people + dancers and it’s a privilege to be taught by them! The studio also puts on educational classes that discuss the origins of pole and we‘ve had talks on how women of varying sizes and different racial backgrounds are treated differently in the industry. I feel so fortunate to have been taught at a studio that is so open and that weaves education into the art and learning, I know many studios don’t touch on it at all.

I think it’s so common for people to say ‘I do pole fitness, but I’m not a stripper!!’ in a defensive way. I proudly say I do pole dance and if people say ‘Iike a stripper?!’ I respond with ‘I wish I was that good!!’.

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River Selby (they/them)'s avatar

Thank you for this interesting read! Lots to think about. I def can predict pole dancing following the same trajectory of pilates, but don't think stripping will be gentrified...most people who take these classes would never go to a strip club, in my experience.

I worked as a stripper and sex worker, and one thing that stood out here was your claim that strippers are predominantly Black women. Do you have a citation for this? I worked at a few different clubs and have been to many clubs- in my experience (and research) stripping is not a predominantly Black profession. Of course there are regions and clubs with differing racial demographics but as a whole (at least in the U.S.) I think most clubs are racially mixed and/or lean towards majority white. Black strippers often face racial discrimination from both fellow strippers and patrons because of white supremacist beauty ideals.

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Kayla Marci's avatar

I remember in the early 2010s, there was a problematic trend of people posting pole content on socials with the hashtag "notastripper," which was eventually countered by #yesastripper. Love and appreciate this piece as a long-time pole dancer (which I actually started after a very brief stripping stint) 💕

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