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Contestant Tracey Simmonds, performing at the 2008 UK Pole Dance competition at Scala where she came second |
Poles apart: Is this titillation or art form to keep you fit?
Critics view the prospect of the UK pole-dancing contest as ‘fresh hell’ for King’s Cross
THE promoters say it is about “education”, not titillation; its critics say it will degrade women before it makes them healthy.
So is this the acceptable face of pole-dancing or “fresh hell” for King’s Cross?
With the finals of the UK Pole Dance Championships set to gyrate into the Scala nightclub on Pentonville Road next month, the battlelines are being drawn between pole-dancers and feminist campaigners.
Journalist Julie Bindel has claimed the Miss Pole Dance UK 2009 event on October 25 will “normalise the sex industry” and mark a return to the sleazier days of King’s Cross.
“There seems to be some fresh hell every day. Whether the women are talented or not, their skills are not on display. It’s a shame King’s Cross is hosting this event when we were promised the sex industry, which was rife in the area, had been pretty much eliminated,” she said.
Her comments have caused anger among pole-dancing supporters who insist the event is fitness-led and that there is no element of sexuality on show.
The competition’s founder, Kay Penney, defended the pole-dancers’ modesty, saying: “People are attracted to the pole because it empowers them. But it has been an uphill battle for us.
“At first, people thought we were all strippers, some even labelled us prostitutes.
“It is a form of fitness and an art form with a real mixture of participants. School teachers, police, you name it, we’ve had them. There is a strict no nudity rule in the competition. If a costume even moves the performer will be disqualified.”
Fellow supporter Jojo Dandridge added: “I am a pole fitness instructor and I have nothing to do with the sex industry!
“I am a married mother of two. I do not do it to titillate men. I do it for fun, fitness and just because I love it. I won’t be told by some jumped up trumpet that what I am doing is wrong.”
Ms Bindel has dismissed the “twee arguments about pole-dancing being a bit of ironic fun that makes you healthy” as “nonsense”, adding: “Jogging makes you healthy. Dressing in next to nothing and sliding down a pole should not be seen as any other than provoking sexual desire in men.”
Ms Penney, 43, a retired health and beauty expert who took up pole-dancing to get back into shape after her third child, said: “Unless you’ve been to a show you’re not going to understand. Incredible power and endurance is required to do pole. We are certainly not about upsetting other communities.” |
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Your comments:
POLE dancing is a great artform which derserves as much respect as any other form of sport. It is a shame that their are so many view from small minded individuals that have never even tried this sport or seen a professional compition such as this. Welcome to 2009 pole dancing will one day be considered a sport and we will keep fighting until this day arrives!
L. Greene
The people who run this event are misguided. If this is a serious 'fitness' competition why are the competitors wearing high heels and underwear? To call Miss Pole Dance fitness is ridiculous. The winner of Miss Pole Dance Worldwide (Felix Cane) works for a strip agency so the organisers are either short sighted or more interested in making money than promoting a healthy lifestyle. There may be some benefits to pole fitness but this competition is not a showcase for it.
Freya |
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