Or
is that 'pole fitness'?
Sure, the pole dancing fitness craze has been raging in North American cities
for several years now. In Vancouver, enthusiasts can take classes at local gyms,
specialized "studios" like Aradia
Fitness, or at nightclubs like Skybar. But UBC is the first and only North
American university to offer students an opportunity to learn the art of the
pole. The fitness trend, which is promoted as "a new, fun way to get in
shape and enjoy a new dancing experience," has drawn an equally large share
of fans and critics.
The classes are offered through the UBC student union's minischool program,
where students pay a small fee to take a six-week, non-credit extracurricular
course. The pole dance program edged out other well-established minischool
classes such as yoga, guitar and photography to be the most sought after
minischool class on campus.
"The pole dance classes are the most popular program we have,"
confirms Letlotlo Coco Lefoka, minischool coordinator. "Last term, both of
the beginner classes filled up within two or three days." The classes are
offered again this term, starting in a few weeks, and are expected to be just as
popular.
Degrading?
But young, educated women's interests in pole dancing don't come without
controversy. Strippers began using the pole as an exotic dance prop in strip
clubs during the 1970s. Because of this connotation, many people view pole
dancing as a form of entertainment that is degrading to women. Offering pole
dance classes on the campus of a large, prestigious Canadian university raises
questions about how a new, post-feminist generation of women is seeking
empowerment and dealing with shifting ideas about sexuality.
But is it even about sexuality?
I call it pole fitness now, instead of pole dance," explains Tammy
Morris. Morris, a certified fitness instructor, is teaching the pole dance
classes at UBC and also operates her own pole dance studio in Vancouver. A
former exotic dancer with such credentials as Miss Nude Entertainer of the Year
and Miss Nude BC, Morris teaches pole dance using her ten years of experience in
the exotic dance industry.
Morris is quick to differentiate between what strippers do and the pole
dancing her students practice. "I really want to take it away from the
stripper connotation." Her goal, she says, is to help women get in shape,
build confidence and have fun.
But Morris also recognizes the inherent sensual aspect of pole dance, even
when used for fitness. She enthusiastically describes a young woman who came to
her first class shy and self-conscious, but left the last class proud, and full
of self-esteem.
"The classes helped build her confidence and self-esteem: not because of
knowing that she could swing around a pole or move sexy, but just by becoming in
touch with herself and her sensuality as a woman, and realizing that she is
beautiful," Morris says.
'Lap dance techniques'
However, on the minischool
webpage the "exotic pole dance classes" promise to help students
"learn sultry lap dance techniques to impress that certain someone."
So, are these classes really for women, or are they still all about pleasing
men?
Dr. Becki Ross, a sociology professor at UBC, has been studying the history
of stripping and burlesque in Vancouver for several years.. She says that the
new pole dance trend collides and conflicts with mainstream messages about
sexuality in general and women's sexuality, in particular.
Ross suggests that pole dancing classes have the potential to expand
understandings of female sexuality beyond the "good girl/ bad girl"
images that often saturate the media. When a woman who is assumed to be a
"good girl" goes to a pole dancing class or sets up a brass pole up in
her living room, she is suggesting that her sexuality need not be limited to a
simple "good girl/bad girl" understanding. She is challenging norms
and subverting mainstream notions of how a woman should act.
'Dream girl'
However, Ross cautions that pole dancing can also reproduce the divides that
the "good girl/ bead girl" images are built upon if women do not
understand the history of pole dance and continue to stigmatize strippers.
Ross points out the irony in this. "I've seen these pole dancing classes
as being advertised to… a certain kind of clientele - an upper-class strata of
women - who would usually have nothing positive to say, for the most part, about
professional [exotic] dancers who use the pole," Ross says.
She mentions that all of this is happening during a time of increased debate
about sexuality and increased options for women's expression of it.
"It is a massive upheaval, and I think that there is very little
agreement in general about sexuality anymore," Ross laments. She cites the
popularity of S&M or "sadomasochism" seminars, and sex toy parties
as indicators of evolving views about sexuality.
Morris also sees changing views about sexuality in society through her pole
dance classes. She says that women are opening up and accepting their sexuality
more than past generations.
"I think that all along women have been very curious about
strippers," Morris comments. She reports that women of all different ages
have told her that they have fantasized about being a stripper.
"What woman doesn't want to be the dream girl - the object of the men's
fantasy? What woman wouldn't want to play that role?" Morris asks.
Upper body strength
But shouldn't true sexual empowerment be about women being sexual subjects
instead of sexual objects?
That is the crux of the argument both for and against the popularity of pole
dance classes - are women presenting themselves as sexual subjects or sexual
objects when participating in the classes?
In order for pole dancing classes to really be a liberating form of
expression, Ross explains that the reasons why women are taking the classes must
extend beyond merely wanting to please one's boyfriend.
"For me, if all these women are doing it only to arouse men, then it's
not that interesting," Ross explains.
At UBC, the second semester of school has begun and pole dance students are
eager to reflect on what they learned in the first term pole dance classes. Most
are pleased about their experience.
"It is a great way to develop upper body strength… I feel like I've
only touched the surface [of pole dance] and want to learn more," says
Stella Lee, a 20-year-old UBC student who tried pole dancing for the first time
last semester after hearing about the UBC classes from her sister.
In an email interview, Lee says that the classes were a lot of fun and made
her realize that there is more to pole dancing than just looking pretty or sexy
on the pole.
Pam Anderson's hobby
Lee says that her family and friends were shocked when they found out she was
taking pole dance classes because she is shy and academic. She not only
challenged others' ideas about herself and pole dance as an activity, but she
challenged her own ideas as well.
"Before taking the classes, I thought pole dancing focused on nudity and
would encourage that as female sexuality," Lee comments, "but I ended
up becoming more confident in myself and learned that confidence is what's
sexy."
Lee thinks that it is positive for universities to offer pole dance classes
because it shows an openness and acceptance of new and different ideas.
Morris echoes this idea and says that offering the classes at a prestigious
university is a "huge" step in the right direction for the pole dance
fitness industry. She has received no complaints about offering the classes at
UBC and says that several American schools interested in offering the classes in
the future have recently contacted her.
Morris, nonetheless, recognizes the continuing concern that universities have
in offering their students the opportunity to take up a hobby favored by Pamela
Anderson.
"Students are begging for it, but I think a lot of universities are
hesitant," Morris grins, "What university wants to have stripper
classes?"
But many students say pole dancing is right at home within the sacred halls
of progressive learning. They say it is a trend that sparks debate: and isn't
that what a university education is all about?
Jessalynn Keller is a Vancouver writer.
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