Philly Plain Dealer

One of the more recent mainstream trend activities is Studio Pole Dancing. For some, it’s their new found pilates or yoga and for others, it’s about trying something that they haven’t done before, with like minded people in a safe space community. The body positive activity has blown up because of its being recognized for its art and athletic features. 

 The question now is will this current trend of pole dancing break the negative stigma associated with exotic dancing in clubs and environments as we know it? 

“There’s been an evolution and an uprising in pole dancing. Every few years, it’s getting bigger and bigger and more mainstream. It’s interesting to see the progress of pole studios and pole dancing in general outside of strip clubs,” Said Pinky,  Owner of Flaunt Fitness Studios in South Philadelphia 

Pinky has been the owner of Flaunt Fitness Studios in South Philadelphia for the last 12 years. Prior to being a business owner she played various roles. She’s been on the management side, the stripper end and is now a studio owner. Growing up she was a cheerleader, a ballet student and involved gymnastics. This contributed to her background in dance. After 4 years of taking pole dancing classes she got into dancing at a club and was there for 10 years. Following this, she became a manager, and then shortly after that she left that position to open her own dance studio from the ground up. After this she began training a lot of the now local exotic dancers in Philadelphia. 

Pinky stated how seeing the progression of individuals enrolling in pole dancing classes has been incredible. The studio owner relayed that her pole dancing classes have grown 30 to 40% annually for the last 12 years consistently since she started the Flaunt Fitness studio. Her class sizes range from 1 individual to 20 individuals at a time. 

In discussing, pole dancing pinky stated, “It’s everywhere now,”. 

She referenced shows like America’s Got Talent that have had an abundance of pole dancers on the show for the last 5 years. Pole Dancers have also appeared in music videos and cameos as well .Pinky described that these methods of viewing have brought pole dancing out in the open, and because of this we are starting to see waves of people trying to get into this activity. She continued by expressing how great the growth has been but that we must be reminded to pay homage to the strippers and exotic dancers who actually do this job. 

“Stripping is hard work. The people who do this job are tough. 9 hours on your feet. You have to connect, network and talk to customers, and have that finesse. There’s so much more involved than just taking a class. Some people want to pole dance but do not want to be associated with strippers and that attitude I do not understand. At that point I just don’t understand why you’re doing this if you don’t appreciate where the art came from,” Said Pinky 

Veronica Monica, is a local Philadelphia stripper and exotic dancer. Monica started dancing while she was in a less than ideal living situation. Rainwater had subdued her room causing mold to grow in the walls. Her landlord attempted to keep “fixing it”, but the problem did not improve at all, so she knew for her health it was best to move. That was in 2016, Monica was working full time at a 15 dollar an hour job and it was enough to get by, but not enough for getting a first month last month and security deposit for a new apartment. Dancing quickly became more lucrative and profitable than her full time job. 

She expressed why she believes there’s a number of factors contributing to why exotic dancing and stripping have the negative stigma they do. “Social media and its delivery, systematic mechanisms that do not allow people in this line of work to securely earn their income, and the discrimination by banks”. Lastly, the “Pole Hobbyist” mentality who carry the “holier than thou” attitude that looks down on strippers,”

 Within social media specifically, Veronica Monica believes that Instagram’s terms and algorithms promote pole dancing, and stripper aesthetic, over the actual strippers. Which in turn puts the focus on what they do versus the fact that they are regular people. 

Veronica believes what’s celebrated online is the narrative that pole dancing is empowering while the real working conditions for strippers and exotic dancers fall short and are not given any air. “A lot of other pole hobbyists will talk about the positive impact pole dancing has had on them from feeling more confident, sensual, sexy, strong and the list goes on,”  Said Monica

She believes that nowadays no one wants to have a critical conversation about sex work, and thats the collective problem about this topic.

“I think maybe the most important piece in my opinion in all this is solidarity with all sex workers. With-in the sex workers community and in the mainstream. If you’re going to do stripper art and performance please be in solidarity with strippers and sex workers,” Said Monica 

As stated previously Monica also mentioned another area in which exotic dancers have been minimized is in the area of  banking. They have faced workforce discrimination. In addition to this a number of bills aimed at reducing human sex trafficking have had an effect on their ability to promote and advertise themselves and their work.    

In conclusion Monica believes there are things we can do to break the stigma associated with those who strip for a living. This includes being knowledgeable and aware of what they endure in their industry. And for those individuals in pole dancing, to not be the type of pole hobbyist that looks down on strippers. And additionally, she is asking for those who are contributing to pole dancing in any way that you give back to its community.