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My thoughts on #notastripper
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My story is the same as viscious’s. i’m just glad I found poling again and now it’s a sport too. I feel good about being at the studio with women 20 years younger and keeping up, love my body, my strength and don’t give a flying #*^} what anyone thinks. The haters are just cowards and secretly jealous imho. #peopleneedtogetoverthemselves.
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At the end of the day, pole should bring us together not pull us apart. I completely agree with the person who said pole is for whomever wants to do it. And at the end of the day were all connected by it. And that’s what we should focus on
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Just to throw some more perspective into this big stew of stripper vs. Good& Evil. I like strip clubs, tried stripping for a little bit, didn’t like it, end of story.I started poling as a hobby for a few years before I decided to give the club industry a try. Prior to being there, I used to feel the need to defend who I was as a “baby” poler by creating a separation between me and strippers. I used to feel it was necessary to make the distinction and would talk about strippers like they were a separate species. I regret ever thinking separation was the best way to “uplift” the pole community image. Years past and I realized the Diversity in this community, and the beautiful and variable of people that tried dancing as a career, and that my efforts can be counted as hypocritical because I was not doing any uplifting at all, but shaming members that essentially MADE this community. That’s what community is supposed to do, COME UNITE! The comments I have read below seemingly are disappointed in this #hastag Periscope #wtfsocialmedia, so therefore I will not try to find it. I’m over the divide the comments, the shame, been there, heard it already, sorry I’m not going to entertain it. I choose to direct my gaze somewhere positive… and I love the term Visual Diet and will be using it for now on when referring to media influences. Unfortunately Still till this day, I will admit I am selective about my usage of the word stripper. sometimes I cringe when I hear strangers use it. I feel that I have to be selective with using the word stripper in my language because for some people the idea that the word stripper, is a title and is not limited to a stereotype but a label that includes a spectrum of people, lifestyle, and culture could possibly be far to complex for some people to accept. I hope any bothered by #wtfwasitcalledagain will remember to surround themselves with something that makes them feel good and pay the haters #nofucksgiven 🙂
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I haven’t been on here for a very long time, but felt the need to share my own opinion, which is just merely that. I personally love pole and consider it a extremely beautiful form of exercise for me personally. I have absolutely nothing against exotic dancers. If anything I would have to say I’m probably a little envious of how confident these women are. I personally myself don’t have the guts to do what they do. Yet I’m not so sure the whole #notastripper was meant as a slam either. Perhaps some people who love pole just wanted to differentiate themselves and nothing more. Separating yourself doesn’t necessarily mean you think ill of someone, it just means you are trying to explain your form of pole dance. I’m very sure there are also some folks who are indeed turning their nose up to someone who is an exotic dancer, that is also their choice. At the end of the day it is just one more prejudice that plagues this country. Pole is becoming more mainstream than ever before and it’s not just limited to the gentleman’s club. People love pole and want totalk about it with out everyone assuming they are exotic dancers. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that as well as nothing wrong with being a “stripper “. it’s a choice we make and hash tagging your preferences is equivalent to hash tagging your sexual preference, it’s your choice and last I knew none of us are God to be passing judgement on someone else’s choice. It’s evolving and changing we just all need to support each other. That is the one thing that I love so much about pole, is because it’s probably the most supportive community I have ever seen. It’s sad to see what’s going on right now.
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Taking the “stripper” out of pole-ing, is like taking it’s little sexy heart out. I tried stripping, but wasn’t very good at making money as I am shy at talking to people. I loved performing though, and it introduced me to the love of pole and exotic dancing.
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I would very much like to weigh in on this topic, but this is only MY opinion.
First of all, what the heck is wrong with being a stripper or being thought of as one? Don’t all of us WANT to be seen as desirable to our significant other? Don’t all of us WANT to FEEL sexy and sensual? Really all strippers are are women that are making money by embracing their sensual side. They also get to play on the pole!! BONUS!! Most of them are awesome salesmen and all of them are giving someone a fantasy to take home. Some of them do bad things, but then so do some of all people.
What I don’t get is why these people who tag #notastripper would not want to be considered a stripper at least a little. LOL, just kidding. But really, strippers are either thought of as sluts or goddesses. So, I guess maybe they should just tag #notaslut. That should cover it.
Actually what I am really saying is that I think the tag is just another way for some women to feel better about themselves by putting other women down. I mean, how many of the women that use that tag actually even know a stripper personally. I think labeling of any kind is wrong and hurtful. Who cares how society perceives you. I mean, isn’t that partially what this is about? These women don’t want others to think that they are a stripper. So What!! All that really matters is what YOU and your significant other think about you. So all in all I think the tag #notastripper is a waste. It is sad that someone felt the need to even create this tag. Be who you are people. Because in the end that is all you really can be. -
to me, notastripper is like saying notgay. the need to differentiate is because one thinks they are above the group they are differentiating themselves from. it puts down a whole group of people.
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I wouldn’t want my kids or grandkids to think I had ever been a stripper and I wouldn’t want them to grow up to be one. This isn’t a moral or religious issue for me but one of respect for our own bodies and selves. Is dancing around naked in front of single guys, other people’s boyfriends or husbands something we want to promote as positive and healing for our daughters to do? I don’t understand why a pole necessarily has to have anything to do with sensuality or sex and see it as just a gymnastic apparatus much like parallel or horizontal bars in gymnastics. Perhaps my attitude has something to do with my husband’s. When he was in the Army he went to one strip club one time and that was enough for him. No way was he going to spend his hard earned money that way. I like nudity, sensuality,and sex in the bedroom! But I do respect the folks here who are strippers and enjoy it to have made their own decisions for whatever reasons, the world is big enough for all of us to be part of.
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Hear hear Phoenix! I completely agree. Haven’t we learn from history, plessy vs ferguson, for example that when we separate, we do it, because we don’t believe it to be equal? And the fact that someone feels the need to preemptively declare that they not a stripper before someone even asks shows a strong (and mostly defensive) desire to herald that they are most certainly not associated with that. Not good.
Also there is more than one way to respect your body, and just because some people take off their clothes or do things that you wouldn’t doesn’t mean that they don’t have respect for themselves. I know plenty of strippers who have a lot of self-respect and to say that if you strip, you don’t respect yourself is not a fair assessment. It is an assessment based on your own experience, which can’t reliably be applied to everyone. Some people find stripping cathartic, freeing, and a way to express their body love. This does not mean they don’t have self respect. That’s the thing about self respect. You your “self” define it for you.
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I’m a pastry chef. I could just say I’m a chef, but that’s what I specialize in. Do I think that makes me better or less of a chef, absolutely not. It just speaks more of what I do. I guess that’s the best analogy I can give. We all can read into anything to be offended if we choose, it’s all in the actual intentions of the person, which you can’t tell by a simple sentence. #notastripper #yesastripper doesn’t mean anything unless you want it to or is followed by an actual remark.
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My (very strong) thoughts on #notastripper…
I used to bake a lot, and I used to read a lot of baking blogs, look at photos, etc.. In all that time I never–not one single time–saw a hashtag or any language preemptively declaring that the author/baker was not a professional baker. So why then do pole dancers feel the need to preemptively declare that they are not strippers? Because they want to “defend” themselves. The only reason someone would need to defend themselves is if they buy into the idea that there is something shameful about stripping. Intentionally or not, it is denigrating women who strip. It is slut shaming. The #notastripper tag says I’m not like those women, disrespect those women, denigrate those women, but respect me, because what I do is “fitness,” or “sport.” If you have a sporty style or a non-sensual dance style on the pole, that’s fine, be you, celebrate you, but it is not okay to put down other women who do pole in other contexts or embrace another style. Pole as we practice it comes from women dancing in strip clubs, it is an art form created and nurtured by strippers, it is not okay for us to take pole, but disrespect them.
I did really appreciate Veena’s comments that, if you’re that afraid to even try the sexy or sensual side of pole, even in your own home or in a studio with women you know, it’s worth asking yourself why?
I also wonder, if all you want to do is gymnastics or dance, if pole is really just another apparatus, then why not take gymnastics or dance classes? If the only reason you pole is fitness, then why not take Zumba, or Pilates, or one of a hundred other things? Just some food for thought.
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catmoves2718 the history of pole does not come from strip clubs but was gymnastic in origin. Here is a link http://ipdfa.com/about/history-of-pole/
pamholderman3001, you are most gracious and I love your comment. Since I am in the gymnastic camp I get tired of eyebrows always going up and a smirk coming across people’s face if I say I do pole fitness and always have to explain myself to say I don’t do stripper style but gymnastic style. Why should I have to do that? Trust me, I always get funny looks and have to explain it, why can’t it just be a normal sport like ice skating or parallel bars. I would love to see it in the Olympics some day.
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Veena, I just want to tell you how much I love your website and have learned and grown so much. You cater to all styles and I truly do think that is wonderful as it gives women choices as we are not “all fit one size” and “it is okay to be different”:)
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Yes, both Chinese pole and Mallakhamb pre-date pole as we practice it, but I think claiming them as our direct ancestors is disingenuous at best. Mallakhamb, Chinese pole, and pole as we practice it seem to be examples of similar dance forms/sports evolving separately or with limited influence on each other. Mallakhamb and Chinese pole clearly came first historically, but that doesn’t necessarily mean pole as we practice it evolved directly or even indirectly from those forms. If you compare the three forms, there are some pretty major differences in equipment as well as style. Mallakhamb poles are much thicker (at least at the base, they taper) and Chinese poles are just a little thicker (52-60mm) but typically much taller. Another big difference; in Mallakhamb both the athlete and the pole are coated in oil to reduce friction. Chinese poles are typically coated in rubber or similar materials to improve grip, this means they wear clothes in order to avoid friction burns. In contrast we dance in little clothing on a 40-50mm pole made of polished metal and fastidiously avoid any form of oil on our skin. Yes, we have seen the incorporation of moves from Chinese pole in particular into the pole lexicon, especially at the elite levels, but this doesn’t mean pole as we practice it comes from Chinese pole.
We can point to the circus connection, and in the US the side-shows of the 1920s, but the nude or nearly nude girly shows where women danced around the center pole of the tent isn’t a far cry from the gentleman’s clubs that started showing up in the 1950s. If we look at the recent history of pole, we can see a direct line from strip clubs to dance studios. Two of the women who helped bring pole to women outside of strip clubs, Sheila Kelly and Fawnia Dietrich, both credit strippers as their inspiration. Fawnia Dietrich was a stripper and Sheila Kelly is an actress and screenwriter, who discovered pole while writing about and playing a stripper. Sheila Kelly wrote a book and opened a studio. Fawnia Dietrich made instructional videos/DVDs and opened a studio. There is more to the start of pole in studios than that, but our pioneers were clearly influenced by what was going on in strip clubs. Additionally, while it seems to be less common now (or at least not discussed), when I started pole in 2008, it was quite common for pole dance instructors to be current or former strippers, if for no other reason than few other women had ever danced on a pole.
I did read the link you posted Kellye Perkins, and nothing it says is at all inconsistent with what I had previously read about the history of pole as we practice it, they just devote more attention to Chinese Pole and Mallakhamb. Their discussion of recent pole is confined to two paragraphs, but is consistent with a direct link from pole in strip clubs to pole in dance studios.
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Does anyone find it funny that strippers don’t have a hashtag putting down pole fitness people? Like, #nota pole”fitness”poler. i think that would be mean if that was happening but you don’t see that happening. How funny that many take a big portion of what strippers do as an everyday job but say ” oh, I’m nothing like you” . Of course pole doesn’t have to be about sexuality . Not at all. I just don’t think it’s necessary for fitness polers to be on the defense. Can’t people look at what you do and judge based on that? People who know you should know you well enough to have an idea if you are a stripper or not. If someone asks you, hey are you a stripper? Well then that might be a good time to say – no, I’m not a stripper. That’s not being defensive and feeding into negativity and elitism. That’s just being honest.
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