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Why Strippers Are Upset About Netflix’s Pole Dance Documentary

jackslash
Detroit strip clubs
The documentary does not seem to acknowledge the contribution of strippers to this sport. Personally, I think all pole dancing competition should include nudity.

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lau…

21 comments

  • Heellover
    4 years ago
    I have watched a bit of it mostly fast forwarded because it was awful. I think I watched first couple minutes (introductions) and then very briefly here and there. It is like a women's group talking about their problems and struggles. No thank you. They need a real show on like the pole Olympic championship (plus those ladies are hot, ladies in this documentary really aren't)!

    I did watch most of the part where one of the few good looking ones told her story, Casey James. I guess she did porn for like 6 months and even that made her too recognizable when she got a "normal" job. I had never heard of her before and even tried to look her up on the hub of porn (reversed). Nothing. She would be average or even below average for the dancers we all see, but she was pretty compared to these ladies! The main instructor was hot at least!

    I'll probably watch/fast forward all of it one of these days. Doubt it gets better.


    Striptease is now on Netflix, but I already watched/fast forwarded through that one back in the day...I think the VHS days!

  • Heellover
    4 years ago
    Just read the article. Remembered one name because one lady is hot, Jenyne Butterfly. I think she is/was in Las Vegas shows and used to be a stripper. She was awesome. So at least one featured lady (besides the main instructor) was hot! Too bad the whole show wasn't just about her!
  • Flyer78
    4 years ago
    The women who do pole dancing as a hobby, or as "fitness," try VERY hard to pretend that they have nothing in common with those nasty, immoral strippers. So I'm not surprised that a mainstream or even semi-mainstream documentary would ignore the elephant in the room.
  • Cashman1234
    4 years ago
    This is like the tree falling in the woods - with nobody there - does it really make a sound?

    Women dressing sexy and pole dancing - in a place with no mirrors or customers - does it really matter?

    Pole dancing for fitness is like putting tits on a bull...
  • Heellover
    4 years ago
    Meaningless correction. The former porn "star" shown is Wendy James, not Casey James.

    There is a blonde with long hair that I didn't even catch her names and she is super hot. Wore a half shirt. Had an amazing body and pretty face. Of course it seemed to barely show her segment and then went right to the pregnant lady!

    One of the worst "shows" I've ever "seen".

    Saw another 20 or so minutes tonight. But not watched. Watched maybe a minute (Wendy James for about a 30 second clip and the hot blonde for about her 30 second clip.

    And yeah Wendy James may be one of the prettier ones in the show, but she is definitely average at best for the kind of dancers I would see in most clubs.

    Avoid this one! Very disappointing!

  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    I tried to watch it just the other night with my wife. As soon as I saw it wasn't about strippers in 5 min I lost interest and had my wife decide on what to watch. She chose Temptation Island (season 3) and we both got to look at some eye candy, so it was a win-win change.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    So, as a member of the pole dance community (and a stripper), I see both sides of the story. I've met a lot of those in the documentary in person at competitons and expos and some of them are just absolutely horrid in person.

    The few of you who follow me on Instagram and look at my stories may have saw that I posted some information as well as some video links to important people in the pole dance community. They are speaking out on behalf of strippers being appropriated by others in the pole dance community.

    The current argument is for those in the PD community to STOP using the word "exotic" to describe or name their studio classes as it appropriates strippers.

    Basically, if you weren't a stripper, then you are not qualified to teach anything "exotic" or "stripper style". And yes, stripper style is a form of pole dance.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    Also to add, it basically disregarded strippers in general. And these pole dance community members who are speaking up realize and are trying to bring attention to the fact that if it weren't for strippers, they wouldn't be able to even practice pole dance and have competitions or studios where they can teach this art to others.

    Sometime ago there was a huge controversy over the two hashtags #YesAStripper and #NotAStripper. You can still find those hashtags on Instagram. I pole dancer posting a routine or choreography with the hashtag #NotAStripper is just an atrocity and being absolutely disgusting towards strippers.

    For more clarity, look up TheNadia33 on instagram. She is extremely outspoken and explains this so much better than I ever could in some of the videos she has posted. She is not an OG or pioneer of the pole dance community, but she is a big deal and one of the bigger names in the community today. Unfortunately, I have not had the pleasure to meet her in person but I would absolutely love to.
  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    @Waffle just based on your past few pics, now deleted, I could see you have mad pole skillz, and as a PL I always tried to recognize and tip just based on that alone, regardless of whether or not I was attracted to the stripper. I could totally see a woman wanting to do it just for exercise and personal achievement.

    For me I just can't look at it without associating it with a stripper. LMAO I've been a PL for so long it's impossible. 🤷
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    Oh absolutely. I have nothing to back this up but I can guarantee you that all of the core moves and pole dance derive from strippers. The more intricate ones, such as some of the ones that were in my now erased photos, were probably invented in the pole dance community, but they still wouldn't have their community without strippers.

    As for my photos, I took them down because I I knew I was disappearing from the site for a while and I didn't want people to steal my photos and use them on Only Fans or for catfishing or who knows what the fuck. And plus I wasn't very appreciative of some of the graphic and slightly disgusting comments some of the guys here left on them when they clearly weren't photos that were even implying that I wanted my pussy licked, etc. If I recall correctly, the photos I had posted were more artistic and none of them were actually "sex work" based.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    *in pole dance.

    I really need to learn to proofread before I hit send when using voice to text. 🙄
  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    @Waffle what are your thoughts on fixed poles as opposed to ones that spin? Do you prefer one or the other and does one type take more skill to use?
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    We call fixed poles static poles. In every single pole dance studio I have ever taken a lesson in (and there are several), the students are always being taught using static poles. Many of the level three and up moves (basically inverted moves) are best learned on static. The momentum of the pole spinning while learning a move can throw somebody's balance off and ruin any of the muscle memory they're trying to build. Spinning poles are reserved for higher level classes to where the students have proved that they have the skills from previous classes to be able to execute the moves being taught on spin. And crash mats are also provided.

    Learning moves primarily on spinning poles in strip clubs with heels on and no crash mat to save you is challenging.

    In competitions, we have to use both types. There are different competition "owners" I guess we'll say. Basically the different organizations that put on competitions. some of them will require the competitor to execute certain moves in their choreography (USPDF). But then there is PSO, who allows competitors to compete based on skill level and also divides it into age groups. For their competitions, I am a level three out of five, with five being the highest level. But then there are different types of competitions one can enter. I forget what the breakdown is in the exact names, but one person might enter into a level two group that's only static pole with no inverted tricks (levels one and two don't allow inverted tricks with PSO) and also enter into Level 2 floor dance where it is just floor work. I believe they have comedy and dramatic also. IPSF and USPDF are where you will find competitors who are probably former gymnasts or just highly skilled pole dancers doing the most intense and bravest tricks (look up a pull trick called the Rainbow Marchenko).

    The most advanced trick I can do is called a Split Grip Ayesha. I can do it on spin, but I prefer static. and personally, I feel like that move looks better on static than on spin. But I can also do what is called a Jade Split. And that move looks best on spin. I do another move called Twisted Ballerina (which took me three years to get the flexibility to do it) and it looks best on spin and should also be executed on spin and not static (unless the poler) is in the pain. You wrap your body around the pool in a way to wear your skin is gripping it in several places and the momentum on spin alleviates some of that pain. However, if you do a move enough times, your body basically gets used to it after you build the muscle memory and it eventually becomes pain-free - in theory.

    Preference is up to the individual I would say. There are definitely a handful of moves that hurt more on static than on spin. Somehow, the momentum of the spin makes it less painful for some.

    For me personally I prefer spin. But not fast. I don't think it is sexy or aesthetically pleasing in pole dance or in a strip club setting when someone is spinning on a pole ridiculously fast.

    Also, a fun fact about spin pole is the poler can control the speed of the spin. It's quite obvious though - lean into the spin more and you go faster, lean out of it more and you slow down.

    Also, we use a variety of different grips. The most popular is a liquid chalk called Dry Hands. Many poles in strip clubs are greasy as fuck because girls love wearing their stupid ass fucking lotion and don't realize that it's supposed to be put on immediately after the shower and not right before they go on the fucking stage and risk the lives of the other girls by leaving their fucking greasy ass lotion residue all over the stage for us to walk on and all over the poles so we can possibly fall off and get a concussion. Obviously, I am not a fan of lotion. But cleaning the pool off when you first get on stage and then using some kind of grip is almost essential and not fucking up your routine if you take it as seriously as I do.

    I know that was long and I'm not going to proofread it because I'm tired and I have a headache. But I do hope it was educational.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    Okay. Seriously, maybe I really should have proof read that before posting. Fuck. 😂

    Pull, pool... Thanks voice to text.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    So here, first video is a Split Grip Ayesha to a Straight Edge on static. Second is a Twisted Ballerina. https://www.instagram.com/p/BrFuzhlnrtk/…

    Or an outdoor pole (that wobbles) called an x-stage https://www.instagram.com/p/BnecpiaF9bi/…

    Jade Split https://www.instagram.com/p/Bg73gSdhIYa/…

    And then you have me being an asshole mocking baby strippers trying to be sexy https://www.instagram.com/p/BmsmmXclssg/…
    ^one of my best moments of dancing 😂😂😂


  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    Good stuff there @Waffle. I appreciate you taking the time to do all that. LMAO you answered so many questions that a PL never gets to ask whilst ogling a hot pole dancer.

    The physics behind it all is amazing. All of Newton's laws of motion, both linear and angular, are at play and then you have the complexity of biophysics and how the body creates all the movement and postures. It makes for beautiful art from just a simple setup.

    I looked up the Split Grip Ayesha and yeah you had a pic of that move and I believe I commented on your mad skillz on it. And it's is a prime example of the artistic physics I just mentioned. You gotta understand leverage with your body and friction with the pole to do that move. Go to any strip club and only the better dancers are doing that move.

    Also yeah there's definitely a turn off with spinning too fast. It can be impressive but it's not sensual.
  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    Also thanks for those links. Since I never got to see you dance in real life I loved the baby stripper mockery video. It was on point. Owning it!!! 👍👍

    Plus goddam you have a banging body! 'twas a pleasure to see it in motion as well. 😍
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    Well, the Ayesha has three variations - Forearm Grip, Elbow Grip, and Split Grip. Forearm Grip freaks me the fuck out. I did it once and was good after that. If your forearm slides just a wee bit, you're fucked. It just doesn't feel stable.

    I do Elbow Grip Ayesha and clubs because it's easier to grip and stabilize myself on spin. Split Grip at clubs rarely works out for me because my hands are the size of a child's and will not wrap around a 50mm pole.

    Btw, there are also different pole sizes and finishes. your standard strip club pole will probably be a 50 mm Chrome or stainless steel pole. Stainless steel is more hollow and less expensive. brass and titanium are the best finishes with the most amount of grip. I have only ever worked at one club that had brass poles. Every other club I've worked at has had chrome or stainless steel.

    And pole dance competitions, the poles will always be 45mm chrome. Your typical strip club pole is going to be 50mm. 50 mm accompanied with lotion with child size hands doesn't really work out in my favor very well. The clubs I worked at in Pensacola had 45 mm chrome poles. I was elated when I discovered that!

    That video I made was inspired by a baby stripper that I watched lick one of the fucking poles at Legends on her first night while making eye contact with a booth of guys that was staring at her. she probably thought it was sexy but it was disgusting and embarrassing.

    And my body used to be banging. That was the year I was going to the gym about four times every week and I saw a personal trainer twice a week. I was also strictly paleo that year. And then I moved to Florida the next year and everything went to shit because I stopped working out because of all the bullshit that happened to me there. But now I have been back in the gym for the last two months trying to tone up as much as possible for porn. I would love to go on a Paleo diet again, but I can't afford it and also my full-time job doesn't afford me the time to invest in creating Paleo meals.
  • wiffle shwaffle
    4 years ago
    Oh yeah, the point I wanted to make was most entertainers actually execute the Ayesha wrong when they do it on stage. You can tell when they're not engaging their core, shoulders, or glutes because they're always a leaning closer into the pole with their chest and their legs are raised higher in the air than they're supposed to be.

    You can see it in the video I linked above where I engaged my core so I could lean my body out and away from the pole to lower my legs. A lot of professionally untrained strippers don't know to do that. But by doing that, they're putting more strain on their shoulders to completely support their entire body while nothing else is engaged.
  • jackslash
    4 years ago
    Thanks for the education on pole dancing, Waffle.
  • SirLapdancealot
    4 years ago
    Waffle's responses are like asking a watch maker what time it is and then she proceeds to explain how the entire watch is built. 😝. (I keed, I keed. Thanks for all that again @Waffle. Definitely informative.)

    Your point about doing the SG Ayesha move wrong is again part of the understanding the proper physics of using your body to leverage it against the pole with the least amount of effort. As an engineer and golf swing analyst I appreciate your technical analysis! Good stuff.
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