Inequality and discrimination against pole fitness.

I have been teaching pole dancing for over 9 years and I am still amazed at the serious discrimination against pole dancing schools/instructors. During my time as a proprietor of the Art of dance pole dancing school in Plymouth and my time as joint administrator for the Pole Dance Community I have been prevented from attending public events, refused the right to advertise in publications and even received death threats from so called Christian groups. I have documented many of these experiences in my public blog that was originally written for a local newspaper but it is now written purely for my own agenda. Just this year alone I have been refused the right to perform at Lord Mayors day, Dance Dance Dance (a grant funded event to promote social inclusion and encourage multi-cultural diversity) and The Respect Festival to name but a few. I have also been refused the right to have my classes advertised by Plymouth Dance and told my website is a child protection risk. Once again Companies House have denied me Community Interest Status as they can't see how pole dancing can possibly be beneficial to ones physical and mental health, this is despite a 12 page supporting document that includes testimonials from the NHS and several women's groups supporting my application.

Here are just some of the articles written to express my concerns at the way I and others have been treated.

Little Spinners - challenging ideas about the sexualisation of children in the media - Monday 3rd September 2012
Pole Dancing is an art form - Friday 23rd March 2012
Pole Dancing Prejudice - Sunday 4th March 2012
The debate continues - Wednesday 22nd February 2012
The problem with pole dancing - Thursday 16th June 2011
Pole dancing is good for you - Tuesday 15th February 2011
Sexual Encounter Establishments Consultation - Monday 31st January 2011
Dance and Health - Saturday 18th March 2010
Pole Dancing Controversy - Tuesday 15th June 2010
Pole Dance Related Rage - Thursday 15th April 2010
More Pole Dancing Controversy - Sunday 9th August 2009
Should Tom Daley wear a wetsuit - Thursday 9th July 2009
The debate continues - Sunday 15th March 2009
Aftermath - Friday 13th March 2009
More backlash - Friday 6th February 2009
The morning after - Friday 30th January 2009
Trouble at Mill - Thursday 29th January 2009
Trouble at Mill part 1 - Tuesday 20th January 2009
Videos from 'banned' performance - Friday 16th January 2009
I think the articles I have written demonstrate the extreme prejudice towards pole dancing/pole fitness for sport and recreation. I sincerely hope that pole dancing gets the recognition it deserves some time soon.

Stay Healthy.

Sam x