October 18, 2007

Pole Dancing for Girls: WTF?

So Diet Blog (and probably lots of other fine blogs too) ran a fascinating report recently on a new phenomenon: girls as young as seven taking "pole dancing" classes. (The photo, however, is presumably not of a seven year old unless she is Very Mature for Her Age; it was borrowed from the Pole Dance page of the always informative Wikipedia).

For those who don't watch much TV or frequent strip clubs: pole dancing is what erotic dancers do so they don't have to just walk up on stage, take off their clothes, and stand there naked. In strip clubs, the moves are often quite suggestive--and why wouldn't they be? Men don't go to a strip clubs to sip tea and listen to classical music and discuss existentialism. They go to... appreciate cleverly choreographed dance routines executed by women who happen to be naked.

Now, however, pole dancing has apparently gained popularity among women who are not erotic dancers. Classes are being offered in some of the more adventurous health clubs around the world because lots of female lawyers and cashiers and housewives don't get objectified enough in their daily lives so they secretly yearn to be strippers gymnastic routines performed on a vertical pole can be a great way to build core strength and flexibility.

However, it's not just adult women who are taking these classes; young girls want to join in the fun too.

First off, Crabby feels a bit sleazy herself even writing a post about this--is Pre-Teen Pole Dancing really a "trend" we need to worry about? The story comes all the way from Australia, and there is no evidence that Crunch or Gold's Gym or Curves is out there aggressively leafleting elementary school playgrounds trying to scare up future strippers. Crabby's guess is that a few girls Down Under went to a class or two and a clever reporter sensed the Outrage Potential and ran with it.

But, well, it worked. Crabby saw the headline and felt duly outraged.

Seven year old girls should not be going to classes to learn how to become sexy pretend-strippers.

Even if they're not doing the "adult" moves. Even if the instructors claim that the girls have no way of knowing that "pole dancing" has any other context besides being a wholesome athletic after-school activity.

If they don't know now, they will know soon. How will a little girl who chose Pole Dancing Class instead of Tap Dancing Class feel about her choice in a few years when she finds out what Pole Dancing is really about? Pleased? Embarassed? Neither scenario seems quite desirable. Either she know and its Icky or she doesn't and it's Unfair.

There are a bazillion other athletic activities young girls can engage in to get fit. To send your child to "pole dancing class" and think you can magically erase the context in which this kind of "dancing" came about? This attitude seems naive.

Crabby could go on a whole rant about the sexual objectification of young girls in our culture. (Or of grown women, for that matter. Crabby is still decades behind the times and is uncool enough to wonder where the hell feminism went).

But she'll restrain herself and we'll just stick to Junior Pole Dancing for now.

One of the most interesting things about the Diet Blog post was reading the comments. Crabby thought for sure everyone would agree that this was a Bad Thing, but there were plenty of intelligent comments from those who took a different point of view! They didn't change Crabby's mind, but it made her wonder if she's just being Reflexively Cranky about the issue.

So what do you folks think? Would you send your daughter (or son, for that matter) to Pole Dancing class?

35 comments:

  1. I think all young girls should be encouraged to be active but I think pole dancing crosses some line. Is it possible to pole dance without suggestive moves?

    P.S. Everytime I think of pole dancing (which, honestly, isn't often) I have this image of Carrie (Leah Remini) on King of Queens putting on a show for Doug (Kevin James). It was hysterical (Pole Lox, Episode Number: 172, Season Num: 8.

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  2. my girlfriends and i were going to take a pole-dancing class for a bachelorette party but things never panned out... as for allowing my son/daughter to take a class - i would probably say no... i'm going to force my kid to take ballet, tap, and jazz starting at age 5 - just like my mom did to me... ;o)

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  3. Hmm, no kids, never pole-danced. My guess is make the kid wait until he/she knows what it's about. I've heard from friends that it's a great help in causing you to feel good about yourself. They do it in private homes with friends, which is a wee bit different than class. Tremendous ick potential with young children doing it.
    Pretty much an open invitation to pedophiles to become pole-dancing instructors.

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  4. They should tell the girls what the pole dancing is all about. It's pretty sick to have them pole dance and not say, hey, this is what strippers do to earn money from horny old men. And if you don't want to explain it to your kid, take her to tap dancing class instead.

    Reminds me of the video I saw the other day of this girl dancing around while her dog humps a stuffed animal in the background. Maybe if her parents told her about sex, she wouldn't have embarrassed herself on the internet in front of millions of people when she put the stuffed snake around her neck after it had dog jizz all over it.

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  5. & in case you think I'm making that up, here's the link: http://gigglesugar.com/701520

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  6. Pole dancing for little kids - no.
    Ballet, jazz, tap - yes. Simple.

    Like Leah said, too much potential for pedophiles to become instructors. There are enough of them teaching (and, as was the case in my ballet class) playing the piano, or involved in sports...

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  7. EWW. That pretty much sums up my feeling on it.

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  8. I don't think it's uncalled for Reflexively Cranky. I'd say your Cranky Reflex worked just properly in this case. Completely creepy and icky. Unless you live in Vegas. Anything goes in Vegas. Especially really icky things.
    I myself would like to take a class purely for the sexual side of it, to gain another trick for the bedroom and I think that's honestly why most people take it. Come on, you wanna work out? Take a spin class or yoga or something.

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  9. Reminds me of the video I saw the other day of this girl dancing around while her dog humps a stuffed animal in the background. Maybe if her parents told her about sex, she wouldn't have embarrassed herself on the internet in front of millions of people when she put the stuffed snake around her neck after it had dog jizz all over it.

    Dogs don't "jizz" on every object they hump. In fact, I have never seen a dog jizz on something that it was humping.

    And what were her parents supposed to tell her? 'When the dog does that, honey, it means sex and that is embarrassing and dirty. Don't post any videos that show pretend dog sex in the background.'

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  10. I like this comment from Diet Blog:

    "I like the question about what if it was called "fitness with a vertical bar". This is a very interesting topic/question."

    Maybe "pole dancing" will actually morph into our next gymnastics/Olympic event??

    I understand the connotations, but I think dance is one of those things that has been taken away from the feminine in our culture, and it's sad and maddening to me. Not women dancing for men - but women dancing for the expression of the core of their feminine selves.

    If you want to connect your child with that (and she's a feminine being from birth... that denial drives me mad, too!) I'd say, try bellydancing. Unfortunately, "pole dancing" in our culture has too much of a stigma... at least, until they change the name to: "fitness with a vertical bar."

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  11. I'm so uncoordinated that just thinking about pole dancing is making me dizzy.

    As for my dd - hell NO.

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  12. All I can say is HELL NO (and I don't even have kids yet so maybe my opinion would change but I wouldn't want my young nieces doing something like that.) I've had friends turn to stripping, stripping leads to drugs, and then legal problems. It's stupid to get young girls interested in an "exercise" that could lead them to make unhealthy career decisions. Enough rant, thanks for the post, I'm outraged.

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  13. I saw this and went, "Are you freaking serious!?"
    (and got a chuckle out of this, "Men don't go to a strip clubs to sip tea and listen to classical music and discuss existentialism.")

    I agree that it's probably not widespread but jeez. It just goes along with everything else in our culture that propogates the sexualization of younger and younger kids. Infuriating? yes. Surprising? no.

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  14. There is no way I'd sign my kid up but there are plenty of bimbo moms around who would. The same ones who buy their kids Bratz dolls with the hoochie clothes and BJ lips.

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  15. I think that any young girl interested in pole dancing should be redirected towards gymnastics, where she will eventually be able to compete for something other than singles.

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  16. Hi Crabby,

    Well, as a sixty-something grandma who just finished a series of belly dancing classes and plans to dress as a chubby belly dancer for Halloween, who am I to judge?

    I'm the grandma, that's who. I have four beautiful granddaughters under the age of five, the three older ones have already taken gymnastics, dance, yoga and I don't know what else. (I can't keep track.) If when grandma does her dance at the family Halloween gathering, the girls wanted to learn a few hip lifts and shimmies, I will show them how.

    If I had taken pole dancing lessons, it is not something I would share with my grandkids.

    MB is right. Pole dancing images should be restricted to Carrie's performance on the King of Queens.

    Terrie (who happens to live in Queens)

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  17. I think it’s pretty naive for instructors to think that young girls don’t know where pole dancing originates from. It’s stories like this that make me so glad that I only have boys to worry about as a parent.

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  18. I only have sons, so I definitely don't want them pole dancing! If I had daughters though, I would say no. There are plenty of other dance type classes out there for them---this is just unneccesary.

    I cracked up at the king of Queens reference..that was a great episode!!

    workoutmommy

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  19. Wow... (I had the same reaction to reding an article on schools offering 11 year olds free birth control...)

    Can you imagine when this little 7 year old goes over to her little friends house and gets invited to stay for dinner. Everyone's sitting around the dinner table and the girl's friend starts talking about her ballet class. The girl's mom says to the other girl "Do you take any dance lessons?" "Yep. Pole dancing. Wanna see what I can do?" Wow... Seriously, you'd be the mother who was hated by all the other mothers. Your kid wouldn't be allowed to hang out with the other kids... (though parents also act this way if your child is mentally ill, or a lesbian...)

    But wow... I would definitely send my child (male or female) to ballet lessons. I started dancing when I was 3... But definitely no pole dancing!!! Gosh... And I'm going to be a Pastor... so that would look REALLY bad!

    Seriously, poor kids. That messes up things for them and their parents. Even if you think you're all openminded and that it's okay for your kid to pole dance, seeriously, the social problems you and this child will end up with would be horrible. Can you imagine a teacher or principal calling home from the elementary school to tell a parent their child is pole dancing on the jungle gym? Wow... Poor kid, seriously... And maybe this overlyjudgemental, but those kids would be the ones geting the birth control at the age of 11...

    What is the world coming to??!

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  20. There's gotta be a less morally questionable way to give kids some core strength exercise.

    Not that I find anything particularly immoral about stripping (it's eroticism, if a woman wants to profit from it, why not do so?), but it's just...not a part of human sexuality kids should be learning about.

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  21. Well, I would love to comment on the topic, but am to impatient to type THAT rant, however I have to comment on the picture you used. It cracked me up. We are talking about defying gravity here! Hilarious!

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  22. I asked Karen about this. She said not only no, but Hell no.

    Karen has never taken a pole dancing class. This is because Karen is completely uncoordinated. The whole situation would be quite dangerous and scary.

    Besides, doesn't it cause bruising???

    Anyway, it's interesting you are writing about this today, as I am in the process of writing an entry on a similar topic.

    Great minds thinking alike . . .

    -- P

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  23. I asked Karen about this. She said not only no, but Hell no.

    Karen has never taken a pole dancing class. This is because Karen is completely uncoordinated. The whole situation would be quite dangerous and scary.

    Besides, doesn't it cause bruising???

    Anyway, it's interesting you are writing about this today, as I am in the process of writing an entry on a similar topic.

    Great minds thinking alike . . .

    -- P

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  24. I think your initial reaction was spot on. It would be difficult to argue that pole dancing, in and of itself, is wrong but the connotations are all wrong.

    No, no, no.

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  25. Great comments, folks! It's interesting to see that no one seems to be terribly enthusiastic about sending their kids to pole dancing class-- whether this phenomenon is all that common or not.

    And some of you have actually been kind of tempted to do pole dancing yourselves--wow, thats adventurous! Can't say it's been on my list of potential fitness activities, but then crab claws are not well designed for grabbing onto metal poles. (Not to mention the question of Crab lack of Coordination, or Crab tomboyishness, or general Crab Shyness. So Crabby Pole Dancing? Just ain't gonna happen).

    But any of you ever want to share a video of yourselves pole dancing--this would be an excellent incentive for me to finally figure out how to post videos properly!

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  26. Ugh... this stuff makes me sick! I mean seriously? wtf? As if mainstream media isn't raming sexuality down our kids throats as is. Would I send Kid to pole dancing class?... I think not! Kid isn't even allowed to have Barbies. And she'll tell you why "my mom thinks their mooms are too big."

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  27. If a grown adult woman (or even an older-teenage girl) wants to take pole-dancing class, ok, go for it. I fully agree with the sentiment about "what happens when they find out where it originated?" What's wrong with Soccer, Baseball, Tap Dance, Line Dancing, Clogging, Gymnastics, Ballet, Karate, Tai Kwan Do (sp?) and all the other possible classes you could possibly sign your child up to?

    That's my Opinion :)

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  28. So Crabby, if you don't want to pole dance... what about the lobster?

    Though if I had lobster, I can't say I'd want her to pole dance...

    Just wondering though.. ha ha.

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  29. I saw this on diet-blog the other day too and had a similar reaction. I have young daughters and it's bad enough that they are surrounded by images everywhere of women as objects. (Dont' get me started on Bratz dolls.) Why, oh why, would anyone think this is a good idea? What's next? "sign up for striptease classes Ages 6-8?"

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  30. First off: little girls. NO. WAY. Not appropriate. But, it does become a question of when is it okay. I dance and danced in middle and high school, and well, let's just say the principal was not very pleased with some choreography/costumes for the All That Jazz number from Chicago. And as an adult, I see her point.

    But, pole dancing classes for adults? I have to say I am less critical of this. I think it would be fun to go out with friends. I think for many women it could be a huge confidence boost just to do something that makes them feel sexy and good about themselves. (If it's in a fun and encouraging environment.) From this point of view, reversing it from the sleaze and objectification from which it stems, it totally works. If they want to bring it home for their partners, then that's their decision, but ultimately it's not about that. It seems to me it's about feeling free to express yourself.

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  31. Norabarnacle brings up another point...

    I danced all while I was young and still do a bit, and I have to agree jazz dances and the now popular hip hop dances often have costumes that are too sexy for kids to be wearing. And beyond that, I've seen a lot of kids dances that were way, way too "sexy" and Britney Spears like.

    In fact, given some of the dances I've seen, pole dancing probably isn't too far off....

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  32. I have a really hard time believing that the girls taking these classes don't know exactly what pole dancing is. It would be great if they didn't, but I feel like it's out there enough in our culture that they couldn't have missed it.

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  33. First time poster, long time reader...heh...I listen to NPR, can you tell? Anyhoo, I work with our city Parks and Rec which also holds dance classes. The most risque ones are the belly dances and the burlesque type of warm-up dance we do in my adult tap class. That is fun and always gets a good laugh - especially when the gay guy can shake his chest like the best of us. Now, our youth classes are in NO WAY sexual. Hip Hop does NOT need to be sexual nor does cheerleading or dance team. I am amazed at what some of the kids get away with at SCHOOL when we can teach them perfectly clean, young choreography and they love it! It doesn't have to be out there to be good.

    That being said, pole dancing is something I have looked into. I would have to lose quite a few pounds in order to defy gravity, but I do think it would help between the sheets....maybe that would help me to lose weight, too :)

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  34. thanks all, and welcome to the new people who stopped by.

    And Kate, tap dancing burlesque moves--who knew? Sounds like fun--to watch, anyway, as no one wants to see me attempt to dance, I promise you. Thanks for leaving a comment!

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  35. i was a single mother of twins in florida and danced (not stripped) for three years. the strength needed to preform these stunts is amazing. it is very athletic. however i am not sure if i would agree with teaching male or female about the art/sport without explaining to them the whole picture. and that means they need to be mature enough to respect and understand everything. USPDF 2009..is what to google to see clips from the championships held this year. b4 you judge, open your eyes and know more about it.

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