finally, a reason to discuss pole dancing

Tim Kurtz and Kally Whitehead discuss the shift of meanings with regards to pole dancing, from an activity that potentially objectifies women (as performed in strip bars usually subject to male gaze) to a form of aerobic exercise and as something that women enjoy and feel good about.

It is necessary to note that in instances of oppression (whether perceived or real), the ones oppressed often find ways to retrieve power back. This can be seen by how colonialized cultures assimilate their cultures to the dominant one, or how homosexuals have shifted the meaning of ‘queer’, and women of ‘bitch’. Language too, is power play.

(Pole dancing link comes from Patrick of Secret Vespers.)