The difference between stripping and pole dancing
Strippers and pole fitness fanatics have been building enmity, which isn’t helping either side.
Strippers vs. Pole Dancers
It’s not like you’re meant to be at odds with each other! You’re meant to help each other out! After all, it is largely women who are responsible for this counterproductive argument. With this age-long, we are not so sure how to rate the topless waitress
Here’s a disclaimer before we go any further. I’m not a stripper or a topless waitress (although I disagree with the sentiments behind the hashtag). I’m a Pole Fitness coach who began her pole fitness adventure as a complete novice.
As a pole fitness teacher, I’ve worked with a lot of strippers (#YesAStripper). As a result, I’m particularly sensitive to the parallels between our careers and interests.
Putting an End to Pole Dancing’s Negative Connotations
Come on, fellas. It’s the year 2018. Is there still a stigma attached to pole dancing, regardless of whether the goal is stripping or fitness? We don’t have any.
This is why it’s critical for the #NotAStrippers and #YesAStrippers to work together. Continued fighting and arguing just reinforces the stigma and makes it easier for outsiders to criticize either side.
It’s not simply a matter of unity; it’s also a matter of common sense.
Recognizing the Differences
Okay, so there are some distinctions between stripping as a profession and pole dancing as a form of exercise. To begin with, strippers are compensated for pole dancing, whereas pole dancers are compensated for attending fitness courses. So, strippers get a plus one!
In all honesty, the ‘stripping’ industry varies according to where you reside. Dancers at strip clubs in the United States make money simply by dancing on the pole — patrons tip them during or after their performance. Strippers in Australia, the UK and Europe, on the other hand, spend far more time conversing with guys in the club, urging them to buy a private dance, and really stripping, than they do dancing on the pole.
Is it better to go to a strip club or a gym?
Some strippers spend very little time, if any, dancing on the pole in some strip clubs. Instead, they meet customers, sit and talk with them, laugh at their jokes, make them feel comfortable, and then strip for them.
Other strip clubs have dancers that whirl around on the poles but seldom execute genuine acrobatic stunts. However, most strippers will discover that their employment comprises a mix of both. Strippers don’t actually strip while dancing on that pole; it happens in private rooms with paying clients. In strip clubs, pole dancing is used as a sales pitch, a persuader, or a way to entice men to pay for private dances.
By no means does this imply that strippers are worse pole dancers to those who do it for fitness. I’m only attempting to convey the genuine scenario to people who may be unfamiliar with how strip clubs operate!
Strippers sometimes have such a busy schedule that they don’t have much time to practice and polish their technique or routines, in contrast to pole fitness fanatics who appear to practice all the time! Strippers don’t always have their own pole to rehearse with, so they must improvise during their on-stage performances.
Strippers are under a lot more pressure since they don’t get a second chance on a big night at a strip club if they screw up, and they can’t try again if they screw up.
Recognizing the Commonalities
When it comes to pole dancing vs. stripping, though, there are more parallels than differences. Pole dancing for fitness and stripping both need a lot of exposed skin; in fact, the outfits used in a pole fitness class and a strip club are nearly identical (minus a few sparkles). In a pole fitness class, it’s not uncommon to see students wearing 7-inch stripper heels, a pair of tight shorts, and a cropped-top – practically identical to what a stripper would wear in the club. Or they may just decide to dress like a topless waitress.
Many of the same moves that you’d see in a conventional pole fitness class are also performed by strippers; in fact, many strippers have attended pole fitness courses themselves! Many of them have picked up skills on the job, from observing other dancers, and through practicing in their own time.
Strippers do the following techniques at work:
- Front-hook spin
- Drop splits
- Butterfly
- Handspring
- Cross-Knee Release
- Floorwork
Does this ring a bell? Isn’t this exactly what you’d learn in a pole fitness class?
Pole Fitness vs Stripping: Compared
| Pole Fitness Classes | Stripping |
| People pay $20-70 for a 1-hour lesson | Strippers get paid $20-$100 for a 15-minute dance |
| Need to wear shorts to grip the pole | Need to wear shorts to grip the pole |
| People wear heels in pole fitness classes because they look good and feel sexy | Strippers wear heels at work because they look good and feel sexy |
| Performing tricks, spins, inversions and floor work | Performing tricks, spins, inversions and floor work |
| Stigmatized for their choice of hobby | Stigmatized for their choice of job |
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Which is more important: fitness or stripping?
In the great scheme of things, this is certainly a debatable matter! Pole dancing began as a male-dominated sport in the far east. Their method resembles current “pole dance” or “pole fitness” in many ways. Stripping, on the other hand, has been practiced since ancient civilizations. Who knows, right?!
Strip clubs with pole dancers, on the other hand, have been around longer than popular pole dancing for fitness courses.
That’s correct, many of the techniques, spins, and inversions you do were invented by strippers long before your town had a pole dancing studio!
Final thoughts
The goal of this post isn’t to stigmatize either side; rather, it’s to make pole fitness students realize how disrespectful it is to use the hashtag #NotAStripper, which implies that stripping is something to be ashamed of (which it isn’t).
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