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"Pole fitness" vent thread
Can we have a straight up "hobby polers are so dense and annoying" thread?
We all know you can't open instagram these days without 1000 "aerialists" posting their pics and videos #polefitness #poleart #notastripper .
They can have their fun, good for them.
But the constant victim complex "boo hoo people associate pole fitness with that dirty dirty stripping : ((( pole comes from ancient india guys!!!" drives me up the fucking wall and I know I'm not the only one.
Maybe this is why I shouldn't, but I instruct pole classes at a local studio because I like teaching and it's good extra practice for me too. But the environment of "people misunderstand pole so much : (" "omg she did a hair flip" "ugh those strippers always think they're better than us" is sooooo exhausting lmao. Like switch to aerial hoop or some shit.
Anyone relate?
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Honestly in 2019 pole fitness is so ubiquitous I really don't think there's even a stigma anymore... like soccer moms do it and shit, they just want to "i'm NoT a StRiPpEr" and feel marginalized for fun
Also like, a type of pole comes from ancient India (and also China) but women don't do it, it doesn't involve brass poles or sexy moves, and the guys sure as hell don't wear Pleaser heels when they do it...
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Yup. It is a type of cultural appropriation in a way; they want the benefit of being seen as unique and sexy but not have to pay any respect to its origin, the dirty dirty strip club. There is one pole studio here in Portland that is specifically pro-dancer, as in #yesastripper.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Yes! I think they all secretly want to experience what it’s like to actually be a stripper without the negative stigma. It’s probaly a small escape from a vanilla life. But they should just own it.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
YAWN ........
Excuse me while I grab my STRIPPER bag and rush to the club while these girls dance for free. Hahahah
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I remember trying pole dance classes when I was in a phase of not stripping and they are so BORING .
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Pole dancing is somewhat like what is called "dervish" dancing in India. In and of itself it's not weird.
IMO the vast majority of Americans don't get enough exercise. I'm all for pole fitness classes.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SnuffleUffleGrass
Pole dancing is somewhat like what is called "dervish" dancing in India. In and of itself it's not weird.
IMO the vast majority of Americans don't get enough exercise. I'm all for pole fitness classes.
For sure! Whatever gets people moving and brings more joy into the world. Still, I get the OP's point that it shouldn't come along with the need to disparage and disrespect its origins
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
The other problem with hobby, or even pro polers, is ripping off the shoes.
If you're not or have never been a stripper, and done this job for a living -- amateur night or a week-long stint on a bet doesn't count -- your sanctimonious arse has no business rocking stripper heels. The shoes are an even bigger symbol of stripping/sex work than the pole itself, IMO, and thus a worse appropriation. There's a reason they are also called CFM (come fuck me) shoes. These women want to think they're hot shit; let them run round a club for 8+ hours, up and down stairs, on all different surfaces, while balancing a drink and a purse and fending off gropey mitts :bullwhip:
You've especially got no business complaining about being mistaken for a stripper when you post yourself dancing in stripper shoes. Almost anyone can learn pole, and should, if that's their thing; but that's right up there with twerking for attention and then getting offended when someone asks how long you've been a stripper.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I took a pole class years ago that I stopped showing up after immediately because I mistakenly let it be known to the instructor that I was a dancer (she was wondering how I was able to get such a good grip being a beginner) and in a very condescending tone said “Oh... we don’t do that here”
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jadey23
I took a pole class years ago that I stopped showing up after immediately because I mistakenly let it be known to the instructor that I was a dancer (she was wondering how I was able to get such a good grip being a beginner) and in a very condescending tone said “Oh... we don’t do that here”
Wow... unacceptable. I would have been furious. Pole places would be NOTHING without us. Grrrrr....
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
God all of these. I've even seen videos from studios where they're wearing pleasers, they have chairs out and they're giving each other """lap dances""" (=ladies screaming yaaaaass and someone awkwardly trying to twerk) and throwing around monopoly money with some shitty disco lights on.
But sure, it's a sport! I'm not a slut like strippers are guys! It's just ladies having fun! Empowerment!
Own up your shit. Say "I think strippers are fucking cool, but I don't have the body, the skills, and the guts to do it, so I like to larp them at a cosy studio after my 9-5."
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
And it's like, why do people think pole dancing is EITHER "athletic, art, sport, takes strength and skill" OR "slutty strippers prancing around the pole taking their clothes off"
It can be both? At actual strip clubs, it often IS both. I've seen women in their 40s with a little extra weight do insane pole tricks at 2.30 am after drinking several bottles of wine with a style, fluidity and stage presence that hobbyists can only dream of, all while having been in those 8 inch heels for the past 6 hours.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Adrienne7
Yup. It is a type of cultural appropriation in a way; they want the benefit of being seen as unique and sexy but not have to pay any respect to its origin, the dirty dirty strip club. There is one pole studio here in Portland that is specifically pro-dancer, as in #yesastripper.
It’s absolutely a form of cultural appropriation, and not acknowledged as such in mainstream thought because sex workers are still a marginalized class of people.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jadey23
I took a pole class years ago that I stopped showing up after immediately because I mistakenly let it be known to the instructor that I was a dancer (she was wondering how I was able to get such a good grip being a beginner) and in a very condescending tone said “Oh... we don’t do that here”
I've never taken a pole class because the studio that was near me had this whole, "you can't use what you learn here to make money" thing on their website. It was seriously offensive to me, I pole for fun and because I like it but pole doesn't really make you [much] money and certainly isn't a requirement to be a stripper. They've since ten years ago have taken that creed off their website but now a full-time mom don't really have the time to invest in that so I'll just continue to practice at home when I can and at work when it's dead.
Although I keep hoping with it becoming more mainstream though maybe a studio or some classes will be available near me (the aforementioned studio was a good 30 min from me). Would be nice to mix it up without having to go out of my way.
Keep hoping...
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I’ve been doing pole dance for ten years and stripping for five. What’s to say? I put in the money for classes, to get a poles installed, I put in the time and effort, and I’ll use it however I see fit to.
There’s a stigma around strippers and stripping… I can’t really change that. So, I just laugh it off. If I let myself get worked up over sanctimonious bullshit every time, when would I have time for anything else?
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
This thread is too real. I've taken a work hiatus and let myself get fat, but have started back with pole classes (and diet and Insanity, waah) to get fit again. The classes themselves are fun, and no joke (my thighs, y'all. They've gotten so tender!) BUT all the "flow" work with the rolling around on the floor and being "sexy" is just no.
I went in as an "absolute beginner," because I keep work life and home life separate and nobody in this town knows what I do. It's been enlightening.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
*grinds teeth*
I'm NoT A StRIpPeR rhetoric from the whole pole fitness industry. Just ugh. Amen to this thread.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
maybe we should interpret it as, "wish i could be a [tv] stripper for a day," :P
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Seatortuga
*grinds teeth*
I'm NoT A StRIpPeR rhetoric from the whole pole fitness industry. Just ugh. Amen to this thread.
It's an unfortunate and cliche fact of life that people in general like to find any excuse to be sanctimonious. #notastripper or whatever the fuck they put on there isn't just a disclaimer for them, but a snub at us. They're not a stripper, they can feel morally superior, etc., etc. Which is why I don't waste my time worrying about these people. I've got my own life to live, my own responsibilities and obligations to fulfill, and my hustle to maintain. So, fuck 'em. They're not my problem, and I'm not going to let them become my problem.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Those women aren’t even sexy or fluid on the pole, they look almost mechanical! Lol. It is so ignorant to get involved with something when you don’t even respect or acknowledge its origins.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I think it's fun. I've started taking classes recently and they have been really rewarding. I think it depends on the studio. I think a lot of the types you're talking about are less likely to stick around because there's always a new victim complex to focus on. However I'm starting to see the anti-stripper side here and there. You can categorize people all you want, but they are still going to all be individuals and all different. If I run across one that says it to my face or near me the debate is on. Otherwise just drive on and you do you.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I’ve been on both sides of this. I first started out with pole fitness and I would disassociate by saying “But I’m not stripping it’s just for fitness”. Luckily there were a couple girls at my studio that would actively do amateur nights and some would strip and they helped debunk the conventional thought that stripping is immoral or that someone is inherently better because they only do it for fitness. I’m pretty glad how open minded my studio was and they’re still supportive of my choices. It’s a nice family both in the studio or in the club.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
lol i took my sister to a pole dance class in Vermont (where there are no strip clubs. not one.) and it was low key hilarious to see the instructor teach in hippie pants and we stretched and breathed for 15 minutes. The appropriation of pole and yoga at the same time. Its interesting to see the different variations of pole dance come up and I just kinda...dont get it. We did walks around the pole on our tippy toes, dragging our toes and my sister was like "why do we do that, it doesnt feel natural" and I was like, its because these are stripper walks and we drag our 8 inch heels.
There was a south east pole champion working at my club for awhile and she had another job at a pole studio. The pole studio was selected to be on a reality TV show about pole dancing or something and she wanted to be on the show and the other studio employee told her, "well..we dont want this to be about STRIPPERS do we?"...like fuuuuckkk offf to this. I went to that same studio and was scolded for moving my hips around too much, the instructor was like, save that for freestyle. lmao.
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Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Likethis
Whenever someone tries to argue that it was "actually men" who invented the pole dance we do today and not strippers I wonder how far this type of reasoning will go? Do they believe the same about underwear for example? Do they believe that they as women in today's society wear thongs because Ötzi the iceman wore a thong when he froze to death in the Italian alps about 5 000 years ago? Or maybe because the male Japanese sumo wrestlers have worn them for hundreds of years? All are some kind of thong but none of that has relevant connection to their underwear today (if it did their boyfriends would be wearing thongs to the same extent, just as the men would have been much more present in the pole studios had they been that relevant there). Lacking that basic understanding of different contexts will get them nowhere in life, they better chose logic over that judgemental bullshit.
Another thing that bothers me sometimes is when people are offended by the question of whether they are a stripper and it's clear they took the question seriously when really there's no need to. All they need to do to stop themselves from being upset is take an honest look at themselves and their behaviour around the pole. 90% of the time these pole dancers look nothing like strippers, even regardless of whether they wear stripper heels or not, partly because pole dance is so mainstream now and partly because they don't have "it". No one seriously suspects them to be strippers and when they are asked that question they are being teased. Everyone genuinely understands all they do is go to a studio but some will seize the opportunity to bring strippers into the conversation as a joke or maybe a tactic to make them uncomfortable because of the stigma. The times this is an actual serious inquiry is in an absolute minority these days, people know the difference by now. I mean sometimes the assumption pole dancers make that they're accused of being strippers can be insulting in itself, because no you're not a stripper and everyone can tell now please calm down and be aware of your own limitations.
I don't even get what the big deal is. Why is stripping or sex work in general such a big deal. We no longer are a religious society and sex in general is out in the open with women hooking just as much as men.