Ladies please! Try not to annoy men so much.

I previously wrote about the unavoidable "so you're a stripper?" issue and was happy to conclude that these misconceptions don't seem to be a problem here in Scandinavia. Recently I've read quite a few other pole dancing blogs and it seems that my fellow pole dancers in other parts of the world don't have it so easy. Maybe wearing high heels on the pole has something to do with it, maybe other countries have more skilled striptease artists than Finland, I don't know. One thing I know is that no matter what sport women decide to do, certain type of men always have something to say about it.

"Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered entry. She entered and completed the race in 1967, five years before women were officially allowed to compete in it. She registered under the gender-neutral ‘K. V. Switzer’. Race official Jock Semple attempted to remove her from the race, and is noted to have shouted, ‘Get the hell out of my race and give me those numbers.’ However, Switzer’s boyfriend, who was running with her, shoved Semple aside and sent him flying. The photographs taken of the incident made world headlines.” (source)

Zhang Shan, shown here at the 2005 10th National Games in China, was the first woman to win Olympic Gold in a mixed-gender shooting event, in 1992. Then 24-year-old Shan won Gold in a mixed-gender Skeet shooting event, becoming the first woman ever to win a shooting event that included both men and women. After this, the International Shooting Union made a ruling which barred women from shooting against men. (source) I hardly have to speculate here why this ruling was made.

My point is this: Keep on rocking the poles, ladies! Strippers do it, circus artists do it, you can be both or neither. Some men will never be happy with whatever it is that women decide to do. As for the women who judge you: Ask them to join you for a lesson. You know they'll be hooked.

Tankotanssiblogeja lukiessa olen huomannut, että kaikkialla maailmassa ei olla yhtä suvaitsevaisia tankotanssin suhteen kuin Suomessa. Toisaalta, kivinen on ollut naismaratoonareiden ja kilpa-ampujienkin tie...

Posted in: pole dancing vs strippers