When most people think of pole dancing they visualize half-naked women swinging around on poles and getting paid for it.
This stigma surrounding pole dancing can be hard to shake off, as most people still consider it to be a purely erotic form of entertainment. But with the rise in popularity of pole dancing as exercise, and with more and more pole-dance classes popping up in Victoria, it’s possible for anyone to enjoy this intense workout. Even your mom could be a pole dancer (sorry for the imagery).
“Young women are starting to think of it more as fitness; men immediately associate it with strippers,” says Kristy Craig, a pole-dance instructor at Twisted Grip in Duncan. “I find that the older generation thinks that it’s stripping, but they’re confused because they kind of understand that it’s a new thing.”
What pole-dance instructors like Craig are seeing are women who are joining the classes simply for fitness reasons. Dealing with the stigma can be a bit frustrating for participants, but for some, the enjoyment and fitness factors are worth the weird looks.
“I had a lot of people sort of roll their eyes or look shocked when I told them I was taking pole dancing; some people are less supportive of the image it has attached to it,” says Kaitlan O’Hare, a university transfer student at Camosun. “It doesn’t really bother me too much, though; I’m doing it more for fitness than anything else.”
There’s no doubt that stripping and pole dancing are related. The difference is that pole dancing is more about the sensuality of the body, the grace of the movements, and skill; stripping is more sexually driven and targeted at men. But the stripping stigma is fading as the form of fitness becomes more prevalent and accessible for all women.
“They’re two different things,” explains Craig. “Yes, stripping is definitely where it came from, but pole fitness is where it’s going. And if you Google or research pole-dancing classes to any degree you’ll find that it has nothing to do with stripping anymore. So I encourage people to maybe do some research before they call us strippers.”
Stigma or not, pole dancing is an intriguing way to get those 60 minutes of exercise a day. Plus, you get to look hot and feel good while doing it.
“What I see most is women coming in here being timid,” says Craig, “and leaving here as fierce, conquering-the-world women.”