Gripped: The Passion For Pole Dancing
Pole dance fitness studios have exploded in popularity in recent decades. Host Anita Rao investigates the sport's origins in strip clubs and the relationship between dance and identity.
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Show Notes
Anita walked away from her first pole dancing class slightly bruised … but very intrigued. She talks with a veteran stripper about the history and politics of modern pole dancing and meets a pole sport athlete and studio owner who is trying to build an inclusive space for pole practitioners. Plus, a nonbinary pole dancer shares how their relationship with the pole has evolved alongside their gender identity.
Meet the Guests:
- NatsHoney, a veteran stripper, pole artist, entrepreneur and mother talks about pole's roots in sex work and the ways pole fitness studios can appreciate rather than appropriate the work of strippers
- Paige Gabert, a pole dancer and the co-owner of Midwest Movement Collective in Grand Rapids, Michigan, discusses why she wanted to start who own studio and how pole has influenced other aspects of her life like motherhood
- Celeste Ziehl, a dancer and senior at Smith College, talks about coming out as nonbinary after starting pole dancing, and how they changed their relationship with pole to find gender euphoria in the movement
Dig Deeper:
Paige Gabert’s studio, Midwest Movement Collective
Advocacy organization Strippers United, where Nats is on the leadership board
Anita’s pole lesson studio, Aradia Fitness Triangle