Pole dancing in P.E.
In the Birmingham edition of the Metro today on pg 7 (no writer name so i'm guessing the Editor, whose name I also couldn't find) there was a story about pole dancing being used as physical education. The article is as follows:
"IT IS an activity usually associated with strip clubs.
But fitness instructor Laraine Riddell says pole dancing is 'good exercise' - for children as young as 11.
She wants to teach boys and girls to spin up and down on the poles, despite children's charity Kidscape branding her plan 'out of order'.
The 38-year-old, who also teaches adults to perform saucy pole dances, believes there is nothing sexual about children learning the moves.
These involve lifting and resistance work which builds youngsters' muscles, she explained.
' It has nothing to do with what you see in strip clubs,' said Ms Riddell. 'It is a way of getting fit and having fun.'
Kidscape director Michele Elliott said: 'Pole dancing is an activity where women on stage are given money which is stuck on their underwear. To teach 12-year-old girls pole dancing is out of order.
'I am sure pole dancing is good exercise-but so is stripping. Strippers have great bodies. By all means give the kids exercise, but just skip the poles.'
Classes begin next month at a gym in Choppington, Northumberland. "
Hmmm...hockey? gymnastics? athletics? What is wrong with these institutions of PE? Apart from being a bit boring, they worked, and this is primary school PE isn't it? Which was great as it was - hoops, hackey sacks, cones...poles? Nope.
How is this nothing to do with what you see in clubs? Just because they wont be doing it in their underwear or writhing sexually? They'll still be POLE DANCING!
And won't this just desensitise both the boys and the girls as to the real world truth about pole dancing and the exploitation of women in the industry? Boys might think 'oh it's all just a bit of fun, I did a bit of pole dancing when I was younger, if they're getting kids to do it it can't be anything bad' and girls might think it's a viable career move - they were trained for it at school!
But fitness instructor Laraine Riddell says pole dancing is 'good exercise' - for children as young as 11.
She wants to teach boys and girls to spin up and down on the poles, despite children's charity Kidscape branding her plan 'out of order'.
The 38-year-old, who also teaches adults to perform saucy pole dances, believes there is nothing sexual about children learning the moves.
These involve lifting and resistance work which builds youngsters' muscles, she explained.
' It has nothing to do with what you see in strip clubs,' said Ms Riddell. 'It is a way of getting fit and having fun.'
Kidscape director Michele Elliott said: 'Pole dancing is an activity where women on stage are given money which is stuck on their underwear. To teach 12-year-old girls pole dancing is out of order.
'I am sure pole dancing is good exercise-but so is stripping. Strippers have great bodies. By all means give the kids exercise, but just skip the poles.'
Classes begin next month at a gym in Choppington, Northumberland. "
Hmmm...hockey? gymnastics? athletics? What is wrong with these institutions of PE? Apart from being a bit boring, they worked, and this is primary school PE isn't it? Which was great as it was - hoops, hackey sacks, cones...poles? Nope.
How is this nothing to do with what you see in clubs? Just because they wont be doing it in their underwear or writhing sexually? They'll still be POLE DANCING!
And won't this just desensitise both the boys and the girls as to the real world truth about pole dancing and the exploitation of women in the industry? Boys might think 'oh it's all just a bit of fun, I did a bit of pole dancing when I was younger, if they're getting kids to do it it can't be anything bad' and girls might think it's a viable career move - they were trained for it at school!
posted by Grace @ 12/13/2006 07:55:00 pm
what you thought...(6)
6 Comments:
hi grace
i read this article yesterday and was shocked by it?!! i mean, WHY?!?!! what is this woman's motive?! i just can't comprehend it?!?!
also, i wondered why they chose to have a picture of a young boy on the pole instead of a young girl?!
f x
It seems like she's just starting her clientelle younger and younger so she's got some pedigree dancers by the time they come of age (sounds like a dog metaphor but it reminds of that!)
i'm surprised (okay not surprised, once again apalled at the state of society's view point) that no parents are bothered about their children been taught to pole dance. Even if they won't be 'pole dancing' the way we know and hate it, even the picture suggests that poles will be involved and their children will be being taught BY a pole dancing expert! (experv, sexpert, sexperv...it just rolls off my fingers onto the keys)
They probably chose the boy picture because it takes the focus away from young girls doing what older girls/women do in the clubs. When I read the caption of the picture and it included the words 'pole dancing' I just thought it was some PE prop and it was a bit of unfortunate punnage by the Metro editor but thenI read the article!
I think there was also some comment about it being good for arm strength. Now when I was at school, there were these things called ropes that tore your hands to shreds but were for climbing which, surprisingly, also helps develop arm strength. Obviously these are outdated like Betamax and 8-track tapes.
I see absolutely no reason why we should bring pole dancing should be brought into school, and some are attempting to make it more acceptable by getting males to do it, and as fanny blood mentioned, having a young boy in the picture rather than a girl. If a girl was to be good at this dancing, maybe she would be encouraged more to be a pole dancer, and perhaps she would percieve it as something as non exploitative if she does this at a young age? Of course this could be applied to a male too, but the majority of pole dancers are females, i think males are less likely to be encouraged to do such a thing. And lastly, for those who say pole dancing is benificial as it is good exercize and will strengthen your arms, so is weightlifting, why not do that instead?! I don't like this at all, it will not do any good at all for gender equality.
Exactly Sam, very good points there!
Dee partook in a little opportunist espionage while shopping today and found that a new shop in the Bullring in Birmingham, 4Front, is selling POLE DANCING KITS. It's normalised in the media, in society, and now in schools and gift shops. What a lovely idea, on Christmas afternoon swinging around your very own pole in your living room! Better get some of those novelty christmas nipple tassels from BHS too!
Dom - we are of the lap dancing generation afterall!
I read this too- very depressing. I think a director of Kidscape, a children's charity, criticised this move of bringing pole dancing into PE lessons.
It is just wrong!
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