Now imagine the only way you’d ever seen men doing that stuff was at Chippendales shows. Then suddenly one day you happen to turn on the Olympics, see the same sorts of moves and think “Wow; when did Chippendales go mainstream??!1! Yuuuuummmmmy!!! Shame they’ve gotta wear clothes on TV.”
That’s about how it looks to us poor schmucks who entered adulthood when absolutely all poles were in strip clubs.
Kind of like the newer sexier forms of cheerleading will be passé eventually, the male kids of today won’t be nearly as amazed by pole dancing by the female kids of today since it’s busy going mainstream. -Ish; for large values of “ish”.
There are so many ways to get a workout, you have to wonder why someone would go to the trouble of doing this one. It smells like a gimmick, and the gimmickry, of course, derives from attention you get by doing something that was originally done by strippers.
The fitness business is full of gimmicks. For the ladies there’s Zumba, jazzercise, Bikram yoga, yoga in general. On the more male side there’s crossfit, “boot camps”, Orange Theory, etc.
Damn near everybody in the business has a patented gimmick to sell. With expensive shoes to match. There’s no money to be made from people who run on the street wearing old shirts & beat up KMart sneakers. Nor those who lift heavy things at the Y or play in a civic softball league.
Very true, indeed. I wonder how many homes have poles installed that eventually just got forgotten, and do nothing now except to block the view of the TV.
When I would take my son to the gymnastics gym there would be these young women walking around in their tights or doing gymnastics. I had to make it a point to never look at them close up. I’m not a perv but I didnt want to be tempted either.
Now from the bleachers all I see is the athletic moves.
Pole acrobatics have been practiced in multiple cultures for hundreds of years. It’s an athletic pursuit. It’s only sexual in very specific, niche contexts. And yes, men pole dance, you may have noticed in the videos.
(Dare I say it was the Western world who decided it is “dirty”? Sigh.)