ARE POLE DANCERS EMPOWERED OR MERELY A SLAVE TO THE DESIRES OF MEN?
The team behind The Art of Poledancing tackle a hands-on experience of pole dancing.
Music: http://www.bensound.com/royalty-free-music
A couple of weeks ago I attended my first pole dancing class with a couple of girlfriends. When we arrived, it was clear that it was not the raunchy display that pole dancing is so often associated with. When we first entered the studio a boxing class was underway amidst but not using the poles. Despite the presence of the poles in the room, all other aspects of the space were similar to a conventional gym. When our class began, it was clear that the studio and the routine were not intended to nor did they evoke thoughts of sex or desire.
One of the girls who attended the class with me mentioned that she had been doing pole dancing for the past two years. I asked her what her what the people around her thought of it and she promptly said, “I don’t tell my boss that I do pole dancing”. I wondered if that was because she did not want her superiors to think of her differently because of it, to assume she is a “stripper”, a “slut”, or a “whore”. Although she recognised this potential stigma associated with the sport, she said the activity brought her a sense of empowerment.
Her feelings were not unusual. When looking at the websites of other pole dancing studios, I noticed a common emphasis on empowerment, confidence and fun. This trend of empowerment could be seen as symbolizing the reclaiming of the female body politic. The sport relocates the act into a female-only space that is free from the male-gaze. Therefore, recreational pole dancing arguably creates a unique space where women can actively challenge constructions of femininity as submissive in mainstream society. However, scholars like Duits and van Zoonen (2006) perceive the choices of women inextricably linked with external influences as opposed to be free autonomous acts. From the viewpoint of Duits and van Zoonen (2006), a woman’s choice to pole dance stems entirely from external influences. It is this perspective that perceives pole dancing as merely reproducing the male gaze under the guise of liberation.
Unlike in traditional conceptions of pole dance where the act was primarily used to please men, recreational pole dancing is a vehicle used to primarily to the benefit of the participants themselves. In comparing recreational pole dancing from other incarnations of the activity, it is apparent that the context of dance dictates how it is conceptualized. While all the recreational pole dancing websites I visited referenced hen’s parties, the club-based venues mostly referred to bucks parties. Another aspect of the spaces that starkly contrasted were the layout of the venues. The leisure based pole dancing studios predominately contained mirrored walls implying that the audience of the activity were the dancers themselves. Whereas, in the “strip clubs,” and “gentleman’s clubs” the poles were the lit up as the centerpiece of the space and were surrounded often by plush lounges contained in the darkness bordering the stage. In this context, the female body is commoditized for the viewing and consumption of men (Levy 2005). Therefore, perhaps it is the flow of money that controls whether the activity is perceived as empowering or not. In recreational pole dancing, participants exercise control through paying rather than being paid for the activity. Here, a woman’s participation as a customer and consumer serves as form of liberation (Orbach, 1978).
The recent growing popularity of pole dancing as a form of fitness presents a unique narrative from which to analyse the underlying perceptions of female sexuality and agency. While pole dancing may not be an activity that all women wish to partake in, it is an important arena of liberation for those wishing to participate. It also provides a vehicle for women to challenge hegemonic constructions of femininity as modest and docile. Personally, my one-time pole dancing class was a refreshing change to the mundanity of the societal expectations as a woman to close my legs and cover my body.
Duits, L., Van Zoonen, L. 2006, 'Headscarves and Porno-Chic: Disciplining Girls’ Bodies in the European Multicultural Society’', European Journal of Women’s Studies, vol. 13, pp. 103-17.
Levy, A. 2005, Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, Shwartz New York.
Orbach, S. 1978, Fat is a Feminist Issue: The Anti-diet Guide to Permanent Weight Loss, 2nd edn, Paddington Press, London.
Association, I.P.D.F. 2016, History of Pole, viewed 4 October 2016, <http://ipdfa.com/about/history-of-pole/>.