Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
The studio I go to, they don’t care if you strip, the only rule is “no recruitment”. Like we’d want more competition. The only thing that annoys me if that they’ll have some of us do exhibitions from time to time, and they frequently ask me - already knowing what to expect - then complain about my music selection after the fact.
Re: "Pole fitness" vent thread
I'm so lucky because my pole studio is owned by a veteran stripper, and many instructors are current dancers. They teach combos in the exotic classes that I can bring to the club. Because they work in the club alongside me, they know what looks good and what doesn't. The studio fosters a sense of community among dancers, too--for example, they let dancers use the space to make protest signs in the wake of the recent raids.
I used to really suck at pole dancing, so much so that I got turned down from a club for that reason. But now I hold my own at a very stage-centric club.
Pole studios have the potential to be positive, community-oriented spaces, and it's a shame that whorephobia prevents that in so many cases. I have been to pole studios where instructors flat-out told me classes were for "real women"--strippers weren't allowed. And the pole fitness community generally does very little to lift up sex workers--most of the time they actively shit on us.