Does this pole-dancing promotion fuel paedophile culture?

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Does this pole-dancing promotion fuel paedophile culture?

6 yrs ago

A company advertising a backyard pole-dancing kit has sparked controversy with its use of pre-pubescent girls swinging around a pole to promote the product.

The 35-second video has been viewed 1.8 million times and has received 3500 comments – most of which are angry.

The company, GymPole, said it "just wanted to promote juniors in pole sports as we think they are super talented”.

But others say it exploits children and fuels paedophile culture.

Some have defended the advertisement saying “it makes me happy to see this commercial done with children. It helps to take away the negative associations that society has [with pole dancing], while showing it is a fun and good sport.”

Parenting author and teen girl educator, Dannielle Miller said: “The slow-mo crotch-cam type shots in the promotional video for Gympole do make me feel uncomfortable."

However, Professor Catharine Lumby from Macquarie University says that pole dancing is increasingly seen as a legitimate form of exercise.

“We know we need to encourage young girls to exercise. I did my own form of pole dancing, improvised around a Hills hoist when I was eight years old,” quipped Professor Lumby.

“Pre-teen girls love dancing, mucking around and showing off. They enjoy gymnastics and the big danger here is that maybe it’s the adults who are sexualising them rather than them sexualising themselves.”

“We need to be very cautious of imposing adult ideas on young girls,” said Professor Lumby.

Read more at news.com.au

What are your thoughts about this video? Do you think it goes too far?

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47 comments

Lucca

6 yrs ago

Goal Auzeen Saedi Ph.D.
Goal Auzeen Saedi, Ph.D., received her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Notre Dame. She completed her Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Stanford University. Prior to this, she completed her Pre-Doctoral Internship training at the University of California, Berkeley; here, she had the distinction of receiving a national honor when selected for the Outstanding Graduate Student/Intern award from APA's Division 17 Society of Counseling Psychology Section on College and University Counseling Centers. She also graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Portland State University, where she was a Presidential Scholar. Interesting article shwe wrote in :- "Psychology Today."

Is Pole Dancing Actually Empowering for Women?

Is gyrating up and down a pole really the path to empowerment?

I’m getting ready to try out a new gym in a few days, one that is geared solely toward women. Such establishments typically excite me, as I love the idea of a place where women can feel completely at ease and comfortable with themselves. No men checking them out in gym mirrors, and no need to feel “cute” while working up a sweat. Just pure health and fitness goals.

As I was perusing this gym’s various creatively themed classes from “sassy sutra” and “monarch” aerial yoga to "ABS-solutely” and “meet me at the BARRE,” I was intrigued to see an extensive listing of pole dancing classes. Considering myself open-minded, I started reading up on the teacher bios. What was it that was drawing them to pole dancing? Sure, many say it’s a great workout and fun. But the same thing is said about Zumba and other cardio classes set to great soundtracks. Many of the instructors spoke about bringing pole dancing out of the closet so to speak. They want to remove the shame factor and let women have fun with it.

Having had friends and acquaintances who attend and teach pole dancing, I have seen that women often do approach these classes as something new and fun. Many see them as a space that allows them to feel sexy. But buzzkill that I so often am, I can’t help but feel a tad skeptical. At its outset, pole dancing has been and continues to be associated with strippers and the exploitation of women. Though I’ve wracked my brain to come up with an equivalent of pole dancing for men, I just can’t think of a single one. Readers, I welcome your help on this one! Further, why is gyrating and twirling around a pole supposed to engender sudden feelings of empowerment and sexiness? How come doing charitable work and a new haircut can’t provide the same?

It’s interesting that on the one hand the nation expressed disgust at Miley Cyrus’ VMA performance, and yet we’re still encouraging women to embrace analogous bodily gestures and movements as a form of “fitness” and “fun.” If we recall correctly, she pole danced before she twerked. Hence, if the stigma of pole dancing is really being removed, then why isn’t it in our children’s P.E. classes alongside flag football and tennis? And frankly are more Miley moves going to appear as new fitness crazes?

Yes, women have tried to eradicate derogatory mysogynistic artifacts. They attempted to reclaim words like “bitch” in an attempt to neutralize the word. But has it worked? Isn’t it still considered profanity? In the same vein, it’s unlikely that pole dancing will ever be reclaimed as a sign of women’s strength and empowerment. It seems to me at least it just plays right into the self-exploitation of women. It objectifies women’s bodies and was historically set up for the satisfaction and pleasure of men. Maybe women do want to pole dance privately for their partners and that is obviously none of my business. However, some feminist scholars argue that objectification of women in part plays into rape culture. As such rape and assault is more likely to occur in a society where women are in essence treated as objects.

Dance is a universal and beautiful form of self-expression. Music naturally encourages us to dance around and move to its beat. Let’s be honest though—who ever saw a pole and had the immediate and instinctual thought, “Why don’t I start grinding on it?”

Would I let my young daughter gyrate around a pole? A big fat NO.

Shetso1

6 yrs ago

Darned if I know what you''re talking about ...and what's with the references to 'gyrating up and down a pole'??.

The ad showed kids doing acrobatics on a pole in their backyard and I didn't see anything beyond that....

Realise ego is ALWAYS a problem with you and your mates, but stop trying to bully people into seeing something they don't see...

Lucca

6 yrs ago

Even for you, that comment is sheer stupidity. This is the first comment I made about this topic.

No one can bully you and your gang and everyone is entitled to their opinion.

That does not mean only you can have an opinion, it also means everybody else too.

If someone is steadfast in what they believe, then nothing I say or anyone else, can sway their view, so what this tells me is, your arguments have a lot of holes.

My Ego might be a problem to you, but it is not to me, so toddle off now and let me be.

Fancy trawling the net trying to find material to "back" up your antiquated misogynist views

Talk about going off in tangents.

Lucca

6 yrs ago

Hilarious! going off at a tangent? Even more hilarious 'cos if you turn back the page, a long conversation was carried out about the Waltz.

So toddle off now, and don't try to irritate me.

My thanks to you Ray for that article which has prompted me to get involved.

Dr Helen Wright is a leading international educationalist, well-known both in the United Kingdom and globally for her knowledge of and passion for education. During her very energetic career in education, she has been strongly motivated by her passionate belief in the transformative power of education and the ability of human beings to change the world for the better.

The Dangers of Pole Dancing according to Dr Wright.

I am perplexed by the apparent craze for pole-dancing. It may not in fact be a craze, but we certainly seem to be hearing more about it these days. Marketed as ‘pole fitness’, its proponents are quick to stress the physical benefits of the classes, as well as the fact that they are ‘fun’. Quite apart from the fact that hanging upside down clinging on to a metal pole doesn’t particularly strike me as ‘fun’ (although I do recognise that this is probably a personal perspective), I find it hard to separate in my mind the notion of ‘fitness’ from the notion of degrading sexual entertainment, performed by women for men, in strip clubs.

I doubt that I am alone – I would find it hard to imagine that any practiser of ‘pole fitness’ is not aware of its sexual connotations, so the question is – can this activity be reclaimed and/restored to ‘innocence’, or at least to a state where it is entirely unconnected with its more demeaning form? Even if it can, eventually – and the ‘pole fitness’ enthusiasts will in due course take their positions as great liberators of women – then surely this is an adult struggle, and not one for our children?

Why, then, are we introducing our children – girls, of course – to this activity, at an ever earlier age? Last week it was reported in The Sun that seven-year-old girls were taking pole-dancing classes … and pictures of them were being posted on Facebook by their parents. If their parents really do not see the psychological and practical dangers in introducing their seven-year olds to a heavily sexualised adult activity, then I think we have failed somewhere along the line in our society to pass on the wisdom of ages – of what it means to be a child, and of what it means to be able to grow up rather than miss out on the process altogether.

Still, this realisation just makes it all the more important that we do stand up and that we are counted when we see our children exposed to age-inappropriate messages about sex and sexuality. Our children deserve a childhood.

The anti- pole dancer brigade are certainly whipping themselves up into a frenzy

Welcome Kiah - nice of you to subscribe to YLC today to post Helen's views on the matter

Any more new members with similar views to Kiah, please join us

Shetso1

6 yrs ago

Disagree with the inferences in Dr. Wright's article and again can see nothing wrong with the ad under discussion . ..

Children would only feel shame in playing acrobatics on a pole in their backyards if adults guilted them into seeing something - which in reality is nothing more than another piece of play equipment - as having adult sexual connotations and is wrong...

No one is asking kids to use these poles in a sexual manner ie. Gyrating up and down or doing a strip tease on them - and left to their own devices think all that would happen is that kids playing on them would use them in much the same way as other play equipment..

.Thus cannot regard the poles as adverrtised in the ad under discussion as being 'heavily sexualised' no matter what Dr. Wright says...

Agree Shetso - strange lady

Not surproised she was sacked from that private Sydney girls school

Lucca

6 yrs ago

I hope Dr Wright could read this and sues you for libel. One day you will go much too far.

Lucca

6 yrs ago

Kiah, welcome! And thank you for taking the time to come in. Your article is certainly an eye opener.

You're welcome and one more article. I have not written my own views because they do not differ in any way from those expressed by Dr Wright or the article below:-

This from the Sydney Morning Herald.

Sex sells but we’re selling out our kids.

Ever feel like you're living in a giant porn theme park? Billboards dominate public space with hyper-sexualised messages. Buses are painted with semi-naked women. There are pole-dancing themes in shopfronts, porn mags next to the lollies at the petrol station counter, T-shirts in youth surf shops depicting S&M and Playboy bunnies on everything from girls' jewellery to doona covers.

Children are absorbing distorted messages about their bodies, sexuality and gender roles because the Advertising Standards Board does not consider objectification of women contrary to prohibitions on discrimination and vilification.

It's been called the ''adultification'' of children, where sexualising messages combine with the commercialisation of childhood to constrict the childhood years.

Now doctors are calling it a public health issue. Their umbrella organisation, the Australian Medical Association, called last week for an inquiry into the premature sexualisation of children in marketing and advertising. Self-regulation by the industry was clearly not working, its president, Steve Hambleton, said, pointing to images and messages that were ''disturbing and sexually exploitative''.

''These are highly sexualised ads that target children, and the advertising industry is getting away with it,'' Dr Hambleton said.

''There is strong evidence that premature sexualisation is likely to be detrimental to child health and development, particularly in the areas of body image and sexual health.''

The Senate standing committee on environment, communications and the arts examined the issue in 2008, reporting that ''the onus is on broadcasters, publishers, advertisers, retailers and manufacturers to take account of these community concerns''.

It recommended a review 18 months later, to see how industry had responded. So what has happened since? Very little. The recommendations were essentially ignored and the review still hasn't happened. Meanwhile, the situation has got worse.

Groups continue to campaign against corporations that exploit the bodies of women and girls for profit. But without government and regulatory bodies demanding real change, it's an advertisers' free-for-all. Self-regulation continues to mean the industry gets away with whatever it wants.

Inadequacies in the present system include a weak code of ethics, the voluntary nature of the code, a lack of pre-vetting, the Advertising Standards Board's lack of power to order removal of advertisements and meaningful penalties, and no consultation with child development experts. Even when campaigners get a win, it is meaningless. By the time the ruling is announced, the particular ad campaign is already over.

Last year the House standing committee on social policy and legal affairs put advertisers and marketers on notice, asking them to report back on what they were doing by December this year. In Britain and France, these industries are also under considerable pressure to change their ways following parliamentary inquiries into the sexualisation of children.

We need a regulatory system independent of the vested interests of marketers, and which draws upon the expertise of child health professionals.

It is time for corporate social responsibility in this area. If industry continues to show almost no willingness to be proactive, then someone should step in and make it do the right thing. Corporate profits shouldn't come before the welfare of children and young people.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/sex-sells-but-were-selling-out-our-children-20120408-1wj7e.html

Dr Wright was never sacked from anywhere. Why would anyone say that?

Kiah - unfortunately youre way off course . This topic is not about sexualizing girls or boys with S&M, playboy or other crap

Its about kids playing with a backyard pole dancing/exercising kit

Here;s the news about Helen. Not sacked, but replaced . She may have resigned . Anyway ...

The prestigious Sydney girls’ school Ascham has replaced its headmistress Helen Wright citing “significant differences” between her and the school’s senior staff, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported.

”It became apparent that there were significant differences in approach and style between the headmistress and her senior team and staff on how they engaged as a team, managed change, implemented our vision and educated our girls,” said a letter from the chairman school’s board, Diane Grady, to parents.

”Differences in our respective expectations for the role of the headmistress in managing a school of this size and complexity on a daily basis also emerged, combined with differences around the interpretation and application of school policies,” it said.

Dr Wright was in the role for only one year after being recruited from Britain after a global search. She has been replaced by the school’s deputy Andrew Powell.

https://www.schoolgovernance.net.au/2014/01/23/ascham-headmistress-replaced-over-differences-with-senior-staff/

Shetso1

6 yrs ago

Thanks for sharing that article Thea...oops sorry darl meant 'Kiah' ....but in relation to the advertisement under discussion still cannot see any evidence of 'adultification' or the sexualization of children playing acrobatically on a pole in their backyards in that particular advertisement...

Sorry to disappoint you "darl" but you've never made any sense in the past and you are making even less now. You'll find out soon enough that Kiah is certainly not Thea.

This is an article I read tonight which I have pleasure in sharing.

From The International Business Times

This week it was reported that children as young as eight are attending pole dancing classes. I absolutely despise this idea. I also hate kids' pageants, girls' catwalk parties and children's beauticians. This is 2016, a time when we should be at the pinnacle of our understanding of equality. Has feminism and the past sufferings of our sisters not educated us to a point where we are able to recognise how oppressive the sexualisation of women and girls is?

Gender issues aside, this is also an age when our children should be brought up to focus on their intrinsic self-worth and virtues, such as kindness, compassion and intelligence. In contrast to such progression, we see a generation of selfie-obsessed, insecure, judgemental and physically focused young girls.

We are unsurprised when celebrities show off their huge, naked asses in an attempt to 'break the internet' and we celebrate mediocrity in the form of reality 'stars' who have sex on TV. Such sensationalist stories rarely involve a male – when you look at the majority of titillating stories in the press, they have women's faces attached.

So, what message are we sending our little girls when we take them along to pole dancing classes? Many women will, of course, say that they are providing their daughters with important exercise and that, with childhood obesity levels at an all-time high, it demonstrates responsible parenting. Well, gymnastics will keep your daughter fit, cycling will ensure those pounds don't creep on, as will a sensible, healthy diet. In fact, there are a plethora of alternatives.

Don't get me wrong – I recognise that pole dancing can be viewed as a performance art that is incredibly hard work, takes a lot of dedication and gives you amazing muscles. So, if you are over 18 and fancy prancing around a pole, then power to you.

Pole dancing is also inextricably linked with strip clubs and erotica. This cannot be denied, and if you are an adult who wants to have paying customers leering over you and shoving fivers in your stockings, then that is your choice. It's not something that appeals to me, but sex sells – and pole dancing is HUGELY sexual.

Children, however, should have no place in a world that exists primarily to satisfy the sexual desires of men. I completely understand that these girls won't be parading in front of your stereotypical pole dance audience. But the very fact that there is a demographic for this type of observer should put parents off allowing their kids to be anywhere near such an environment.

A little girl opening her legs seductively as she slides down a pole is something that makes my blood run cold. It's a fact that the more access a child has to sexualised images, music or environments, the more likely they will be to engage in early sexual behaviour. Is that what we want for our children, to see their bodies exhibited in such a way and to actively encourage it – albeit unconsciously?

What I want for my kids, and for all kids, is a childhood. I want it for all the children across the world. I want the child brothels in Thailand closed, and the untouchable children in India to be freed from their fate. I know this is something I won't witness in my lifetime, because perverts exist, along with systems that support them and politics that oppress the vulnerable.

In the UK, however, we have no excuses to legitimise the sexualisation of children. We live in an apparently civilised society where we understand the sanctuary and sanctity of childhood... or do we?

It is ironic that the liberal ideology to which we all aspire, with the freedoms for women it promotes, has been warped and twisted into a society that champions behaviour leading to greater inequality and exploitation of the vulnerable – all under the guise of 'progress'

I have witnessed the erosion of childhood, along with the blurring of appropriate boundaries where children are concerned. You can buy lingerie for five-year-olds and take your primary-aged little girl for facials and manicures. You can buy stiletto heels for a seven-year-old and book her birthday at a 'catwalk' party, where mum and dad can clap along as she struts her stuff.

None of this is OK. It's not progressive, it's not equality and it's not childhood.

I am tired of people towing the 'PC' parenting line where we mustn't judge and must all recognise that each mother and father has their own set of values that we must respect; it's bullshit and it's dangerous. It is perhaps ironic that the liberal ideology to which we all aspire, with the freedoms for women it promotes, has been warped and twisted into a society that champions behaviour leading to greater inequality and exploitation of the vulnerable – all under the guise of "progress".

So, I judge you. I judge each and every one of you mothers and fathers who allow their children to plaster their perfect skin with make-up, who book their children in for fake tans and facials, and who refuse to allow their children the chance to experience the fleeting and pure beauty of childhood.

If you take your kids to a pole dancing class then it's time to rethink the impact it is having on them, their peers and society as a whole. It's time to stand up for childhood.

Emma Kenny is a registered Psychological Therapist and has been working in therapy for 18 years, specialising in therapy with young people. She is the CEO of Switch Generation.

No need to make a come back with any of your lame duck arguments Shetso. You know you haven't a leg to stand on.

Really funny how people are ready to tear Cardinal Pell down (and rightly so), but I and others shake our heads in disbelief that those people can't see the connection between the seemingly innocent act of a child on a pole and the later results of psychological trauma and promotion of a paedophile culture.

That's my lot. Can't say I think much of your parenting skills.

Quote from the silly one "Dr Wright was in the role for only one year after being recruited from Britain after a global search. She has been replaced by the school’s deputy Andrew Powell."

Obviously dunderhead, if Dr Wright was recruited after a global search, then that must tell even the most stupid person that, her skills are highly respected and she is widely sought after.

Shetso1

6 yrs ago

The Emma Kenny article is completely irrelevant to the advertisement under discussion, which depicts children playing acrobatically on a pole in a backyard....Nothing evil nothing sinister - just kids playing like kids do on a piece of plaground equipment...

Shetso1

6 yrs ago

Shetso is spot on.

the rest of you are deliberately attempting to obfuscate and pepper that with insults

And Helen had to leave her post . Just becuase she was recruited from a global search. Doesn't necessarily infer the right choice was made by her or the school, hence the parting of ways.

many a Fortune 500 and Huge multinational companies have headhunted CEO's and senior management globally only to realize it was a mistake . If you worked in a global environment at a senior level you'd know that

Why do some commenters quote long, completely irrelevant articles?