# Would you let your 12-year old daughter take pole dancing classes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 16, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926 "2018-02-16T14:26:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/41 "2018-02-17T02:07:54Z")
Career training. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/42 "2018-02-17T02:30:03Z")
\*\* palmer7\*\* oh but what power would she have over him… First conclusion I draw from this thread is that Emily Moskalenko is an outstandingly talented and fit young lady, and that I feel relieved I must be a normal decent human being, as I found no lewd appeal from either clip. But those gravity drops, Jeebus, I don’t like even adult pole dancers doing them… I’ve known of performers who mismeasured… Still and however, thank Og I’m not the father of an 8 year old girl in this age. I’d have to reconsider heavy drinking as a viable life choice. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/43 "2018-02-17T03:50:53Z")
(1) I’d be concerned about the kid going inverted, 'cause a broken neck ain’t a good thing, so I’d check out the program, the instructors and the equipment. (2) I’d also have to find a balance between family activities and individual activities, between various degrees of physical activity, between indoor and outdoor activities, and between degrees of promotion of decision making, self-responsibility and leadership skills. Standing about indoors waiting for one’s turn on an apparatus is not necessarily a good use of recreational time. That being said, twelve year old girls are pack animals, so if she wanted to do pole dancing because her friends did it, I wouldn’t discourage her provided that (1) was satisfactory to me. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/44 "2018-02-17T07:32:38Z")
No, it still has dirty connotations to me. Would you list “pole-dancing” on your CV under “activities”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/45 "2018-02-17T08:34:28Z")
What made pole dancing sexual was not the pole, but the type of dancing and the intent of the dancer. So, as long as what they are doing is not the sexual pole dancing of the past, then I can see no problem with it, any more than I can any other style of dance that happens to include equipment that was also used in a sexual form of dance. Pole dancing is now pushed as a fitness concept, where there isn’t even any audience, so that’s definitely not sexual. Pole dancing is also treated like a gymnastic performance. And, like most of those, the primary audience for a young kid will just be the parents of the kids in the class, not horny men paying for a show. It’s sufficiently different that I can’t see the problem. The sexual part has been removed. It’s been legit for over 3 decades now, given what I looked up. Time to stop assuming it is sexual. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/46 "2018-02-17T11:23:42Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > Have you been to a strip club lately? It’s not like back in the day where the girls just sort of wiggled around awkwardly while disrobing; nowadays it’s more like Cirque de Soleil but with a two-drink minimum and only slightly less clothing. Is there still no sex in the Champagne Room? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/47 "2018-02-17T11:44:10Z")
I have two daughters, though preschool aged, and I voted Yes, with some reservations. Obviously, it’s something I’d discuss with my wife, but I personally don’t necessarily see it as a sexual thing anymore, but as a gymnastics variant. It has lost a lot of its sexual connotation for me over the last 10-15 years. I’m actual very surprised I’m more liberal on this than almost two thirds of the Dope, as I don’t think of myself as being super progressive or anything. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/48 "2018-02-17T12:03:56Z")
good grief **Hilarity** , where did you find that video clip? That boy does things I didn’t think possible:eek: I would let a daughter (if I had had any) take lessons with pretty much the same resevations as the rest who said yes, safety, safety, teacher not creepy, safety, teaching to ability level of the child etc. When I was going through my post divorce “wild phase” one of my neighbors was a stripper. While she harbored no illusions about what she was doing socially, she took the physical exercise aspect quite seriously. She had a daily routine of stretching and maintaining physical fitness with regular running and some free weights in her home. The sexual connotations are those of context and the mental expectations of an older generation(s) who have never or rarely have been exposed to pole dancing as a mere style of gymnastics. yes, I watched her at the bar, she was the most popular of the dancers ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/49 "2018-02-17T13:03:37Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Is there still no sex in the Champagne Room? No matter what a stripper says there is NO sex in the champagne room. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/50 "2018-02-17T13:05:50Z")
If I want my daughter to be a stripper I’ll be emotionally distant and buy her affections. The old traditional ways are best. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/51 "2018-02-17T13:06:06Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Heck even the symbolism of grinding on a pole (wink, wink) is very creepy for an under aged girl. This. Someone tried to draw the analogy that this is nothing more than a verical Horizontal Bar in gymnastics. ( s.i.c. ) Show me the last Summer Olympics women’s bar event that included grinding against one of the bar apparatus with one’s privates for the purpose of appearing provacative. It doesn’t exist. Because real gymnasts don’t do it. You can become incredibly fit by working a vertical pole. It’s insanely difficult. A former student of mine lived with a woman who taught pole dancing and pole workout classes and seminars all over the United States. I went from bemused to respectful quite fast when she showed me in agonizingly slow motion the most complex moves involved in the dancing. It was clearly meant to be sexual- she admitted as much- but is also brutally hardn on the body to do with finesse. Forget the grinding against the pole. For anyone sexual drawn to the mature female body, it is undeniably erotic to watch that form - in very close proximity - whirl, twist, arch, bend, fold and do all manner of gyrations, all while not touching the ground. Tough argument. 1. 12 is too young, why are you encouraging me to sexualize my daughter? —\> 2. My daughter is 12. She’s perfectly aware of her body and who the hell are YOU to tell me my daughter does not own her body?? —\> 3. The adult teaching the class informs that no men are ever permitted to see the classes. Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/52 "2018-02-17T13:18:09Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Show me the last Summer Olympics women’s bar event that included grinding against one of the bar apparatus with one’s privates for the purpose of appearing provacative. > > It doesn’t exist. Because real gymnasts don’t do it. It is actually being watched as a possible future Olympic sport. [See here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/10/18/pole-dancing-in-the-olympics-international-sports-federation-recognition-helps-pave-the-way/?utm_term=.5cfabcabacf0), and watch the beautiful video of the Russian woman dancing below. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/53 "2018-02-17T13:28:42Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It is actually being watched as a possible future Olympic sport. [See here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/10/18/pole-dancing-in-the-olympics-international-sports-federation-recognition-helps-pave-the-way/?utm_term=.5cfabcabacf0), and watch the beautiful video of the Russian woman dancing below. One more example of the Olympics becoming a joke. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/54 "2018-02-17T13:56:41Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And yet, we have no problem with kids that age or younger taking gymnastics classes. Is there really a big difference between the two activities? Yes. 6" clear heels. > [@pulykamell](#): > > It is actually being watched as a possible future Olympic sport. [See here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/10/18/pole-dancing-in-the-olympics-international-sports-federation-recognition-helps-pave-the-way/?utm_term=.5cfabcabacf0), and watch the beautiful video of the Russian woman dancing below. I guess that explains why so many Russian women work in Manhattan strip clubs. Now check out this video of a Crunch Fitness pole dancing class: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SilXE1oTnG4/hqdefault.jpg "Advanced Pole Dancing Fitness Class at Crunch Gym") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SilXE1oTnG4) ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/55 "2018-02-17T14:09:09Z")
[quote=“msmith537, post:54, topic:808926”] Yes. 6" clear heels. I guess that explains why so many Russian women work in Manhattan strip clubs. Now check out this video of a Crunch Fitness pole dancing class: [/QUOTE] Yes, looks like a strip club, the women look and dance like strippers. Even stripper music! And if that’s what they want to do, more power to them. But if someone wants their 8 year-old to be strong and fit, I can’t think of a worse activity. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/56 "2018-02-17T14:19:17Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > But if someone wants their 8 year-old to be strong and fit, I can’t think of a worse activity. On the plus side, you might be able to get away with “making it rain” Monopoly money. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/57 "2018-02-17T14:22:21Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > On the plus side, you might be able to get away with “making it rain” Monopoly money. I’m imagining the recital…do the dads have a cover? Two-drink minimum? I’m imagining them spending all their time eyeballing the other dads to make sure they aren’t looking at their own daughter “like that.” ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/58 "2018-02-17T14:31:08Z")
[Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tYHYCFiX7U) is an interesting YouTube video on the topic. I don’t know what other kinds of things this “conservative news” channel produces, but I think that they have this one spot-on. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/59 "2018-02-17T14:35:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tYHYCFiX7U) is an interesting YouTube video on the topic. I don’t know what other kinds of things this “conservative news” channel produces, but I think that they have this one spot-on. Is it just me or is that guy molest-y as fuck? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2018, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926/60 "2018-02-17T14:35:13Z")
[Here’s an 8-year-old pole dancing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayO1wW-b2o) on what looks like to be Romania’s version of “America’s Got Talent.” That looks much more like pure gymnastics to me than anything sexual. Obviously, all y’alls mileage varies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-let-your-12-year-old-daughter-take-pole-dancing-classes/808926.md?page=4)