Forum Miss Bimbo, fashion community / Poledancing: Degrading or Empowering - Is Pole Dancing Empowering or Degrading to Women?

it depends on the person and where she holds employment i have a pole in my house EMPOWERING...lol

I think if she has the choice to do that and make bank. . .it *can* be empowering. If that is her only option and she really doesn't want to do it. . .not so much. I don't think it is a black and white issue.

Mine was empowering... I have a pole too Emelia. Can't do much, I can't pay for any more lessons at the moment, but as soon as I can, I'm back on that pole!

I'm thinking of working in one of the three high end places in the city to get money for university.

It's going to be a lot of hard work!!

Last edited by Corazie (07-21-2008 22:20)

My cousin was a stripper. I think it depends on the person and thier viewpointe/ attudite towards it.

I believe that stripping as empowerment is a misconception held by some of society.

I just don't understand how (and I'm speaking generally here; there is of course "grey area") stuffing your breasts with silicone, covering yourself with fake tan, glitter, makeup, feathers, waxing everyting within an inch of it's life, applying fake nails, attaching artifical hair, then performing for a sea of aroused men can be seen as empowering. A woman does not present herself to the audience, but a vague, hyper-sexualised replica of who she really is. She is conforming to the fabricated image of sexuality created by society.

When did sexuality stop being about emotions, connections, sensations and enjoyment, and start being about hair extensions, waxed vaginas, and bleached blonde hair (gross stereotyping :P) ? That's not erotica, it's consumerism, it's misogyny, it's plastic, it's an idea sold to us as a society. It's ANYTHING but erotica.

Wouldn't it be empowering to present who you truly are to someone, without the fake boobs, fake nails, fake face, fake hair, fake skin?

The entire stripping industry appears to reject the true appearance of females and the true nature of their sexuality, because that's simply not good enough.

Jizeru wrote:

I believe that stripping as empowerment is a misconception held by some of society.

I just don't understand how (and I'm speaking generally here; there is of course "grey area") stuffing your breasts with silicone, covering yourself with fake tan, glitter, makeup, feathers, waxing everyting within an inch of it's life, applying fake nails, attaching artifical hair, then performing for a sea of aroused men can be seen as empowering. A woman does not present herself to the audience, but a vague, hyper-sexualised replica of who she really is. She is conforming to the fabricated image of sexuality created by society.

When did sexuality stop being about emotions, connections, sensations and enjoyment, and start being about hair extensions, waxed vaginas, and bleached blonde hair (gross stereotyping ) ? That's not erotica, it's consumerism, it's misogyny, it's plastic, it's an idea sold to us as a society. It's ANYTHING but erotica.

Wouldn't it be empowering to present who you truly are to someone, without the fake boobs, fake nails, fake face, fake hair, fake skin?

The entire stripping industry appears to reject the true appearance of females and the true nature of their sexuality, because that's simply not good enough.

When was sexuality about emotions and connections? I always thought sexuality was about individual preferences.

As you already stated your post is a generalisation and stereotyping. If all strip clubs had women that had bleached blonde hair , hair extentions fake nails and waxed hairs then wouldn't people just go to the cheapest clubs around instead of spending hundreds or thousands at clubs on girls that supposedly look the same as other girls in cheaper clubs.

Also many clubs prefer their strippers to be natural as that is what the market calls for.

Maybe you are mixing the idea of stripping with the general image of the porn industry.

i think its degrading. not the dancing itself though. its good for fitness. and fun. feeling sexy can be empowering but i think being stared at as a body is not empowering. i mean you feel a power rush yeah, but it doesnt actually give you more power than you would have, just an ego boost. i think it harms society to a degree to have people see women as objects in so many different places.



. A women’s crisis center serving Wahperton, ND reported a 96% increase in domestic violence and sexual assault referrals after a second strip club opened in that town.

Every single strippers surveyed by Kelly Holsopple in 1999 said she'd experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal harassment, and propositions for prostitution while on the job.


yeah they are strip clubs and circumstantial but there are much clearer links to porn in the same data. i just think the more we normalise porn and seeing women that way the worse things get. when i say porn i dont mean sex, i mean stuff that focuses on women pleasing men with as much emotional detachment as possible.

I still don't see the link between stripping and pole dancing. I've never come accross such a place here.

Ok, number one, yes there is a difference between stripping and pole dancing but they really do run together.  I am a dancer and have been for two and half years. But I don't just strip I pole dance. All of you ladies who think that being a dancer is degrading ask yourself this: How can something be degrading when the guys pay 40 just to get into the place to see YOU, where you control what happens and when it happens if anything happens. The guys just throw money at you like blindfolded sheep. And they are not allowed to touch you even during a lap dance. I work 5 nights a week and it pays all of my bills with room to spare. I get to listen to great music every night, play dress up, and spin around a pole really fast. Stripping and pole dancing BOTH are empowering because with stripping you can command an entire room by just moving your hips, and everyone already knows why pole dancing is empowering so i will not go into that. But you all really do need to quit believing clubs are really like what they are in the movies, because news flash: they're not. For the most part all the girls who work there have a good time and go home with some cash in there pocket. And at the end of the day its not who you are it's your job. I hope this helps

Solsticedark: Amazing. I think it's amazing what you do.

I don't think it's degrading unless the establishment she dances in is a degrading one. I'm a 22 year old female, and I've been to strip clubs. Each time with my boyfriend. This past weekend one of my female friends went with me, and we found it exciting to be invited on stage with the girls to help them earn their cash and to empower ourselves as well. I voted that it was neither degrading nor empowering because I honestly only think it's degrading if the woman allows herself to work in an establishment that allows her to be degraded by the customers/other employees of the establishment.

would any of you get on stage if a girl pulled you up?

numba1bimbx wrote:

Ok so you feel that way about womens strip clubs then what about male strip clubs or the chipandales? The more things are criminalised the more attractive they seem to be for people.

i dont really know. i think that men are in a privileged position whereby when they as individuals act in a way like that it doesnt affect what people think of men in general. in fact because it is pretty rare, most people find it amusing and you see news articles and jokes about the existence of pole dancing. people do not feel the need to report that women are pole-dancing because its not news. its normal. it would be weird if they didnt exist. also, there are positions in which a pole-dancer in a club use which are submissive in the way that porn are and i find that degrading (not necessarily to the individual) and there are also more powerful ones yes, (but the positions are powerful because men find them sexy. thats why they are chosen. they might be positions where you feel strong and they cant do anything, but obviously its still done to gratify them or they wouldnt pay) also a lot of the mens clubs are for other men, so if they did decide to use these positions for the "femme" male then they are not degrading men, only the individual, because it is other men who still assert power over these men and it is a choice to submit or assert power. the assumption is not made for you on the basis of genitalia alone, but by who you are.