Pole dancing has become a popular thing in the modern world, where the prejudices and biases about this practice have slowly faded away.
However, it’s hard not to feel sexualized when seeing the pole dance movements.
So why is pole dancing sexualized? To answer this question, you have to understand the development, transformation, and characteristics of this sport.
Keep reading this post, and I will show you everything.
Why Is Pole Dancing Sexualized?
Pole dance originated in the modern Western world, where the crews set up the pole and women dancers to entice the male crowds.
As they profit from this activity, pole dancing is considered a sexualization to make money.
The judgment that pole dancing is sexualized is not totally wrong.
There was a time the sole purpose of pole dance was to profit from sexualization by using female pole dancers to attract the male crowd.
However, things have changed drastically now, with men and women both taking up this activity.
Pole dance is now recognized as an international sport with tremendous health benefits and satisfaction.
In the following sections, I will walk you through the origin, development, and characteristics of pole dance to clarify this thesis.
Origin
As mentioned above, pole dancing was originally performed by crews that operated like circuits in the Western world.
They move from one region to another to perform pole dancing and profit from it.
The crews will set up tension-mounted poles for the female dancers to perform around it.
The women will then perform seductive and sexy movements to attract the male crowds and profit from them.
This activity is just the beginning of spreading the popularity of pole dance. When the action was popularized in clubs and bars, the sexuality of pole dance increased even more.
The sole purpose of pole dancing at this time was to attract male audiences and profit from them through the sexualized movements of women.
Therefore, pole dance is sexualized and linked with biased prejudices.
Things Have Changed
As the popularity of this sport increases and more people participate in pole dance, the sexuality of the activity has slowly faded away.
Nowadays, pole dancing is internationally recognized as a sport with various tournaments.
In addition, people have acknowledged and recognized the tremendous health benefit and mental relaxation this sport brings.
There are also male dancers participating in this sport to improve their health and body conditions.
There are still many clubs and adult businesses that utilize pole dance as a sexualized activity for profitable purposes.
However, it’s just a minority, and people’s opinions on pole dancing have gradually shifted to positive.
From its initiative stage, pole dancing is meant to be a physical activity, not a sexualized practice.
Therefore, it’s no longer fair to associate pole dancing with sexual and negative practices.
It’s okay if you love and pursue pole dance as a hobby or a professional route.
The Difference Between Stripping And Pole Dancing
There are apparent differences between pole dancing and stripping regarding their purposes and characteristics. So, it’s critical to differentiate between these two practices.
A woman stripping will slowly take off her clothing pieces in the process.
Though strippers do dance around a pole, their primary purpose is to make a profit through sexuality.
The characteristics and purpose of pole dancing are entirely different. Pole dancers want to perform this activity to improve their health, keep fit, seek fun, or join a professional tournament.
While stripping can also bring you fun and some health benefits, it’s purely a negative means to earn money and seek entertainment.
Meanwhile, pole dancing is purely athletic because it brings the dancer more comfort and higher self-esteem.
You can practice pole dancing on your own without any male crowd staring at your body.
The female strippers have to perform seductive movements around the pole to attract male audiences. They also have to take off their clothes when required, which is not positive.
From Sexualization To Sexual Empowerment
Surprisingly, pole dance has become a means for women to escape gender prejudice and assert their personalities.
Through pole dancing, women can escape the sexuality stigma and seek entertainment.
The term pole fitness has gradually emerged and replaced pole dancing. It accurately reflects the purpose and features of pole dance, which is gaining fitness and seeking more relaxation.
There is no argument that pole dancing was all about sexuality and profit in the past, but it’s no longer true these days.
With sportlike adaptation and recognition, pole dancing has blurred the negative biases it incurs.
Pole dancing gives the dancers a sense of freedom and development, both in their mindset and body.
Why Is Pole Dancing Beneficial To Women?
The apparent benefit of pole dancing lies in its empowering strength. Pole dance makes women stronger and more flexible, helping increase their muscle capacity and stamina.
Research also indicates that women with greater strength and good body shape feel more confident.
They gain higher self-esteem, respect, and pride in their body, thus increasing their level of happiness.
In addition, pole dancing can help you relax and seek more fun after a tiring day at work. If you love this activity, it will bring tremendous fun, happiness, and a sense of accomplishment.
Besides entertainment and athletic purposes, pole dance is a means for many professional pole dancers to earn a living.
Women can join training classes or teach pole dancing to make more money.
Final Thoughts
Pole dance was used as a seductive and sexualized activity in the past.
The female women perform sexy movements to attract male watchers and profit from them, making pole dance sexualized.
However, this prejudice is no longer true in contemporary society.
The tremendous health and mental benefits of pole dancing have been proven, and the activity was recognized as an international sport.
Therefore, don’t get cold feet when you want to pursue pole dancing as a hobby or career path. Thank you for reading!
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