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Pole Dancing Is the Hot Class at UBC

Or is that 'pole fitness'?

By Jessalynn Keller , 13 Jan 2006, TheTyee.ca

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Eight tall brass poles dot the activities room on the second floor of the Student Union Building on the University of British Columbia campus. It's not a standard university classroom. But this isn't a standard university class. This is where students take Pole Dancing 101 - where spinning, dancing and hip swaying are the main curriculum.

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. [Tyee]

35 Comments:

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  • Gustav

    6 years ago

    Comments on "Pole Dancing Is the Hot Class at UBC"

    Nice change from the incessant news about the other kind of polls.

  • Elliot

    6 years ago

    so much for the feminist movement. all it really means is that women now have to work even harder and it's okay for teenage girls to spit on the street.

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    It's a discouraging fad. I'm convinced it has more to do with young women's fantasy lives than it does with fitness.

    An interesting coincidental juxtaposition to this phenomenon for the purposes of this article would have been the visit of the "Girls Gone Wild" camera crew to UBC (although I think they were denied permission by the administration to film on the campus proper, and had to host "student parties" off campus).

  • Steve P

    6 years ago

    Quote:
    It's a discouraging fad. I'm convinced it has more to do with young women's fantasy lives than it does with fitness.

    Why discourage young women's fantasy?

    I don't think there is anything wrong with fantasy play:
    - they are not coerced or pimped
    - they are not forced to earn their keep this way
    - it encourages them to keep fit
    - they can dance for whomever they wish

    There is nothing wrong or anti-feminist with wanting to please someone with a sexy dance. Celebrating beauty is okay!

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    Hehe - but Steve they're not acknowledging it as such. They're calling it "fitness" instead. Why not just say "I've always wanted to do this while guys watch..." But oh no - it's fitness. Puhleeeeze! :-P

  • Stump

    6 years ago

    Gee, I guess when I solicit other people's opinions as to how I stay in shape and/or please a lover I'll be ready to pass judgement.

    No real difference between this and belly dancing IMO

  • allan

    6 years ago

    nightbloom, why are you upset about pole dancing by students at UBC?

    Gee, I never made to to UBC, but I always assumed if you didn't have the smarts as evident in grades you wouldn't be a student there.

    Are these women being lured onto the stage by shady looking guys flashing wads of cash and promising lucrative careers?

    Maybe UBC should round up a posse and start hitting Vancouver area strip bars to ensure that the equally young and (likely far more), naive male UBC students aren't being led down a garden path or something.

    I mean, watching a pole dance must lead to even scarier things.

    As a newly single man I have run into so many women of varying ages who know quite well what they want and how to get it.

    Most of them I would call free thinkers with feminist leanings or at least understandings and I must assume that while they want what they want they also want to please their partner.

    Last time I checked it out pleasing your partner was a pretty good way of bonding and being able to be pleased as well.

    BTW, it is a two-way thing, like back scratching.

    Anyway, can someone tell me why people object so strongly to issues like this? Is it genuine concern for young adults or the discomfort of witnessing people enjoying things some people can't or won't comprehend?

  • KWD

    6 years ago

    "Morris asks.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?"

    Tammy Morris really needs to rethink this justification. Stick to the joy of doing something that has health benefits and ignore the good/bad/pride/self-esteem and objectification nonesense.

  • jesterjogger

    6 years ago

    Forget about Rome, we got emperor caligula AND pole dancin yuppie chicks!! (I mean chidren of the pampered elite)
    We got affluent white teenagers beating homeless guys to death with baseball bats for kicks. (bet they don't get the death penalty even though it happened in florida. What would happen if a homeless guy beat a rich white teenager to death for kicks I wonder.)
    Anyhow yeehah!! it's gonna be one heluva toboggan ride!!!

  • jamez

    6 years ago

    Hey ya gotta pay off student loans somehow... god knows a degree ain't worth piss anymore.

  • AP1

    6 years ago

    As a former dancer of 10 years, I can only say that pole work is an EXCELLENT way to get in and stay in shape. And it is fun! I commend UBC for challenging the stereotypes and being open to new (and in demand) ideas. It should be a womans choice how/what she chooses to do with her body. We are not living in the 50's anymore. Women know that it is ok to feel sexy, to take care of their bodies,and to demand respect they deserve.
    I also agree with jesterjogger - we have so many more important things to worry about.
    The only thing that really irks me to no end is that most these women paying good money to take these pole dancing classes, still run exotic daners into the dirt. If not for us - there would be no pole dancing classes!

  • Yammer

    6 years ago

    I suppose after the pole fitness, there will have to be showers as well.... You know, for cleanliness! What were you thinking, you pervert!

  • speedo

    6 years ago

    Umm, I'm teaching a six week course at UBC starting tomorrow. So much for joining and upholding ancient traditions of scolastic self-improvement...

  • Yammer

    6 years ago

    Will you be wearing a speedo?

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    Why was my commentary that made passing reference to a planned "Girls Gone Wild" camera crew visiting UBC pulled off? It was commented on in the mainstream press, and Professor Becky Ross was also interviewed regarding that as well (and she said pretty much the same thing). I don't think I was out of line.

    No matter. I guess I just have an idealized view of what universities are for.

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    Oops - Sorry - I must be going cross-eyed - My post is right there. Time to take a break from the computer monitor I guess! (he said sheepishly)

  • Stuart

    6 years ago

    I don't know, the less taboo a society is the better, who cares, maybe next sememster I will sign up, actually better not, I don't want to empty the room

  • Stump

    6 years ago

    "sememster"

    one letter away from a damn funny typo.

  • BC Mary

    6 years ago

    Does everybody but me, know what pole dancing actually is? I mean, what do they do? And, on 2nd thought, do I really need to know?

  • gordon

    6 years ago

    Oh boy, now that the editor has softened us up with male strippers and pole dancing (err fitness), I cant wait for the next obvious in depth articles chronicling lives and stories from the sex toys trade show.

  • Yammer

    6 years ago

    The sex trade show, which I just saw, has indeed got Aradia Fitness as a sponsor, in a booth, and doing a show.

    BC Mary: pole dancing is indeed impresssively athletic and a viable fitness method. It is basically freeform gymnastics on a 10-foot brass pole. Plus you rub your crotch on it and the men say woooooooo!

  • BC Mary

    6 years ago

    Uhh ... oh.

  • Coyote

    6 years ago

    Boys and girls will get it on. (Which is at least my experience with it and predilection. :-) And how to do it may be an important kind of education in its own right.

    Though generally, in my long ago time, it came pretty naturally, and we were less inclined to pretend it was about fitness.... wellll, depending what level we're talking here. You did have to exercise it, to be able to get it to bounce off your belly. That always impressed the ladies.

    Back on the farm, and we were way, way out there in the hills, I always knew when one of my daughters had come to that ability to carry two buckets of water stage of life. All these young males would suddenly appear out of nowhere, wanting to be my friend and help me with the chores.

    I knew then that the scent of at least one of them was out there, wafting on the wind. These guys would just about come floating across the field sniffing at the air. And usually she'd be somewhere close by, peering around the side of the barn or such, measuring this guy up and seeing how he was doing softening up the old man.

    It was a fun time. And I always did make 'em do some work to get by me.

    Maybe its more complicated nowadays. You gotta know how to peel and rub your crotch on a poll, I guess.

    Times change, but presumably the end result is more or less the same. Ya think? :-D

  • Coyote

    6 years ago

    Which should be "pole", of course.

  • Coyote

    6 years ago

    Quote:
    "She says that women are opening up and accepting their sexuality more than past generations."

    Phuck! What misconceptions some of these folks labour under, and some of these ladies no less than guys. They think they invented strong women, liberated women, and now women "accepting their sexuality".

    What ya talkin' about. When it come to sex, my old lady has never hid the flame of her candle under a bush. There has always been strong women who took/take great pride in their sexuality. Just 'cause y'all are now doing a whole lot more talking about doesn't prove anything. (Though folks did tend not to talk about it honestly enough.)

    I'll take my old lady over any of these pole climbers anyday. One of the best pole climbers, and I mean the real McCoy, I come across, so I married her.

  • BC Mary

    6 years ago

    ... I'm still laughing about folks rubbing their crotches on polls!

  • allan

    6 years ago

    And I thought it was all that intelligent wooooing that had you smiling BC Mary.

  • Coyote

    6 years ago

    Quote:
    "...I'm still laughing about folks rubbing their crotches on polls!"

    :-D Too much politics and not enough sex.

  • alexwh

    6 years ago

    In the 60s there were apocryphal stories of underwater basketweaving courses in South Florida universities. Then people would smile at doctorate in divinity degrees. Now we have hit a new high (low) with pole dancing. Does it say anywhere that these pole dancing courses are only for women? Would men risk crushing the family jewels? I can't wait for UBC to offer a pole dancing course with more edge. How about S&M pole dancing?
    Alex Waterhouse-Hayward

  • alexwh

    6 years ago

    Or for post-wedding athletic wives there could be Bridal Pole Dancing 103

    http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d47/alexwh12/BridalPoleDancing.jpg

  • alexwh

    6 years ago

    And here is the real McCoy, the winner of the first ever Golden G String Awards. She was a Vancouver native, Tarren Rae.

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    Coyote - I wholeheartedly agree (on the fallacy that our current "sexual liberation" is an original precedent in history...I'm not qualified to comment on the other matter :-P)

    Sex was not invented by the Boomers or by Generation X, contrary to what they seem to believe. Everything we've seen in terms of sexual liberation has happened before...we just suffer from historical amnesia. Sexual mores are just another pendulum whose sweeping motions are only partially detectable in the short span of a single generation. Abortion, contraception, infidelity, erotic art as public spectacle, public nudity, homosexuality and even the dull-as-nails condum conundrum have all been around for as long as there has been wealthy people with time & idleness to fret about these things.

    The cowherds and milkmaids of olde didn't need lessons in the basic realities of sex, lust and procreation, let alone did they need 'liberation' to see & experience them (a delusion of the Left). It was all around them in the barn, on the pasture, and behind the town watering hole.

  • allan

    6 years ago

    nightbloom, I think you and Coyote are stretching this sexual neo liberation thing a bit.

    Of course there is nothing new under the sun. Just ask any old crusty type and you are bound to get that answer.

    Like the old model T gave a smoother ride than today's car. Of course there aren't any model Ts left to prove the point, but it sure gets us pining for the past.

    I would humbly suggest that the current round of sexual liberation sure beats the hell out of the ignorance, fear, loathing and just plain stupidity that managed to get so many young women pregnant and then blamed entirely for the mistakes of two.

    Hey, if it's all too much, vote for Stephen Harper and see how long it is before sex is again just another bad word.

    But, be careful because words like equity, fairness and anything suggesting a social contract will also join the bad list, while "show us your money" will be the buzzword
    when you need help.

  • nightbloom

    6 years ago

    LOL - I was wondering when someone was gonna bring politics into this. We're a week away from election day and everything's political - even greasy brass poles.

    Okay, we're flogging the point. But it is true (and you do agree with us).

  • Peter Evanchuck

    6 years ago

    This entire concept is so silly except when ur doing it for a living then it's really silly or are the men who pay for it even sillier?

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