Pole Dancing as Sport

Years ago I first heard a news story that said people were trying to get pole dancing into the Olympics and recognized as a "true" sport. I rolled my eyes at the mere thought of this. After all, isn't pole dancing something exotic dancers and strippers do? I mean, it can't be that difficult if those types of women do it, right?.....

Well, then I actually saw a few video clips from pole dancing competitions and my opinion changed.

Take a look for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-kRaR8yfqg&feature=related

I don't know about all of you guys, but for me the stuff this woman is doing would be impossible for me to even attempt to try to do. Undoubtedly, high levels of strength, flexibility, and long sessions of training must have been needed to develop these skills. The word I would use to describe the bodies of the individuals that can handle doing flips and climbing up and down poles upside down is the adjective "athletic." I definitely understand why this Pole Dancing could be considered an Olympic Sport. To my eyes, there is not any distinction between it and gymnastics except for the horizontal, as opposed to vertical, pole.

Olympic Gymnastics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NY-bWH5jOM

Surely, the pole dancing performance was more theatrical and creative with the background music, but it merely associated it more with the creativity of cheer-leading and other types of dancing (hip hop, ballet, tap, etc.) Cheer-leading and dancing are generally considered sports though. Cheer-leading is a varsity sport at many high school and there are national competitions. Interestingly though not surprising, the male cheerleaders are chastised and not recognized as being true athletes. Male dancers, especially ballet dancers, are likewise criticized and deemed unmanly even in their bodily abilities to dance. So I am left to wonder, if men participated in pole dancing would it be considered a sport? Or would they likewise be criticized for partaking in a feminine activity?

Can Pole Dancing ever be considered a sport? The following clip is from the View and shows an interview from a Pole Dancing champion explaining her experiences.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0e4d6AEf9w

Here, Natasha Lang articulately denies any association with stripping. Her performance shows her athleticism. However, the show's co-hosts do a disservice to the cause of pole dancing as sport by jokingly saying they are going to learn these moves for their boyfriends -once again implying that this type of movement is for sexual stimulation. Thus if the show attempted to make an argument for pole dancing as sport (as suggested in the promo at the beginning) it was counteracted by this flippant remark.

Pole Dancing's connection to strip clubs and eroticism is the exact reason the public is hesitant to accept this as a sport. There is ridicule for the women that participate in pole dancing, whether they be taking a pole dancing fitness class at a gym or competing in competitions. That being said, there might be even more underlying reasons for the public's refusal to recognizes these women as athletes. And that's just it: these pole dancers are all women.

It seems that pole dancing as sport could be a feminist issues for two completely different reasons. The first being that pole dancing over-sexualizes females and objectifies their bodies. On the other hand, the denial of these impressive acrobatics, the strength, training and skill required, and the numerous women that firmly believe they should be recognized as real athletes is also a feminist concern for it denies recognition of female accomplishments.

So what is a solution? Personally, I believe that pole dancing should be seen as a sport. Pole dancing in a strip club done for the purposes of sexual arousal (mainly for men) is different then being judged in a sports arena on ones physicality. The sexualization of pole dancing is different from the sexualization, as discussed in Built to Win: The Female Athlete as Cultural Icon, that happens to female athletes who chose to then present themselves in a sexual way by posing nude for magazines, or being on lists of the "hottest athletes," because they are becoming sexual by something other than the sport itself. But the act of moving around on a pole is considered a sexual action.

If pole dancing were to become widely accepted as a "serious" sport by the public would men eventually join in and become pole dancers? But perhaps that is the reason pole dancing is not recognized as a sport: because men, typically considered as "true" athletes, are not participating in this sport.

Do you think it should be a sport? Or do you think it is too inherently sexual?