Pole Dancing for Children?
October 12, 2007
Jessica at Feministing has posted an article about a young Australian girl who is taking pole dancing classes to improve her strength and confidence after an illness.
Jessica contends that the girl in question would probably get the same boost from joining a soccer team. But that really depends on whether she has any aptitude for kicking a ball around. Doing something you like and feel comfortable with is better than playing a sport that seems feminist at the expense of what makes you happy.
I don’t see anything inherently wrong with a seven year old taking pole dancing classes for fitness. The major problem with pole dancing is that it usually happens in strip clubs and is therefore stigmatized with all kinds of messages about sex, feminism and womanhood. But at base, it’s a really fun thing to do.
Imagine doing ballroom dancing, except back leading AND having your lead give you all the physical support you need to do the moves you really want to do. In short, ballroom dancing where the woman is in control. Poles are just fun to dance with and on. I used to do all kinds of dance moves on the sliding pole in grade school, long before I even knew what a stripper was. It’s just fun.
Besides, how do we know that this kid isn’t more of a dance, gymnastics, ice skating kind of athlete than a soccer, softball, basketball kind of athlete? Sometimes people like those sports better, and pole dancing falls into that category. Her mom is the one that knows best on this one, so I disagree with Jessica’s judgment.
I think it depends on how the class is taught. If its taught like any other arobics class, then let the kids do it, if the instructor is trying to be overtly sexy while teaching the class, then maybe its not best for a child to go to it.
I’d concurr with Trista. I suspect the class she’s taking isn’t sexual, though. I ran into this about a year ago and discovered several places offering pole dancing classes. Some of the women commented on the class and how it was such a far superior workout to anything else they’d tried, and gave them self confidence they didn’t have before. At this point, it’s being taught as an aerobic exercise, like any other.
Ahh, Teresa, now I understand…you simply look at ballroom dancing as pole dancing with a movable, bendable pole!
No wonder Mark finds it so difficult to dance with you!