Fight Childhood Obesity ... With Pole Dancing
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Students perform a routine at a pole-dancing school in Colombia. Credit: Raul Arboleda, AFP / Getty Images
Scotland's Up Yer Pole (no, really), "an established pole-dancing school since 2002," announced it will soon be offering classes for kids ages 9 to 16. For about $8 per 60-minute class, kids can take a class that focuses on "strength, balance, flexibility and gymnastic based moves in a safe and fun environment," according to its website.
Also, Up Yer Pole wants you to know that it is a serious school.
"This is not just wiggling around a pole, this is fitness & specifically body conditioning & strength training," the website states.
And there's even more good news, parents. Kids can leave their bikinis and Lucite platform heels at home, since sneakers are perfectly acceptable, which really makes all the difference when you're drawing the line between adult behavior and children's behavior.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Andi 7-29-2010 @ 8:40PM
I think this is awesome. I love to pole dance (have no desire to be a stripper), and this is a form of exercise that not only helps girls become physically fit, but also boosts their self esteem. I would have died to be in an empowering female environment instead of awkward co-ed PE.
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Shannon 7-30-2010 @ 7:42PM
YOU ARE SICK!
Shannon 7-30-2010 @ 8:03PM
Really? You think it's appropriate to encourage young girls to act this way? And you actually think that being in a co-ed PE class is more "awkward" than teaching your daughter to spread her legs while sliding down a stripper pole while wearing a sequined bikini and 6-inch heelss? I can think of at least a million other ways to encourage girls to stay fit and build self esteem! What's next...will you condone prostitution as a great way for girls to meet people and make a few bucks?!?!?!?!?! Your comment is outrageous and, quite frankly, disturbing. I hope that you don't have children.
Alicia 7-30-2010 @ 11:29PM
I agree with you, Andi. It's a fun and interesting way for girls to be comfortable with themselves and build strength and confidence. 9 may be a bit young, but older girls go out of their way to feel sexy, so give them an outlet in which to be comfortable and at peace with their budding sexuality. And considering you wear sneakers and normal workout gear in these classes, no one will be seen in a sequined bikini.
Carli 8-08-2010 @ 9:12AM
Did yoga get banned from the U.S? Yoga has the same benefits but without the trampy pole! I mean look if an undesired person (molester, pedophile etc.) is outside the studio waiting for a little child all they have to say is "Come with me little girl i was watching your pole-dancing and i wanted to know if you can preform for me". Then they get abducted then raped and then murdered.... Just think, would you do this in front of your priest, rabbi, or preacher and would you do it in front of your great grandma? Also once the get older they will learn about strippers and prostitutes and be like "oh I learned that stuff when I was 9, i could do it and make money even though its slutty".
Ellie 8-02-2010 @ 6:11PM
There are plenty of fun ways for kids/teens to exercise without the use of a stripper pole. Even if they market it as a kid-friendly environment, I don't buy it. Dancing on a pole is dancing on a pole, and will always have sexual connotations, regardless of the attire or setting. I'm most certainly not a prude-as an adult woman, I've given some thought to trying out a pole dancing class for fun, but I think that 9 is most certainly too young to expose girls to an activity this inherently sexual, even tweens or young teens are too young.
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Liz 8-06-2010 @ 2:15AM
Yeah, I can see it now...little Sally runs to Cindy at the park to show her what she learned at dance class today..."Hey look! Here's a pole, I can teach you!" All the while an nice old man is feeding the pigeons on a bench across the way. Well, maybe Sally's mom doesn't care, but the rest of us have higher aspirations for our daughters! There are many other "safe" forms of exercise that promote strength, health, and self-esteem that empower girls to reach for higher goals than to just satisfy men's sexual fantasies! Is pole dancing really that steeped in cultural and artistic significance that it's worth all the while to risk the lives of our girls to pedophiles stalking them after innocent fun at the park? Does this have to be the generation of children that we use to break the stigma for the sake of the all pole dancers of the world? Please! Don't tell me that any of you supporting this are that naive!!
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