While pole dancing once held negative connotations, many pole dance groups are reclaiming the sport and dancing as a form of empowerment.
Pole dancing is the art of using a pole as a piece of fitness equipment.
Types of pole dancing include pole fitness, exotic dancing, pole art, spin pole and heels pole dancing.
While there is stigma around pole dancing due to associations with strip clubs and an undertone that it may be anti-feminist to perform like this for a man, women are instead using the sport as a hobby to boost their confidence and become more comfortable with their bodies.
Maja, a pole fitness instructor from The Pole Studio in Surbiton, said: “We have all different body shapes and sizes, different ages, people from different groups can try and feel confident with themselves.
“Sometimes people judge but if this is making you feel good about yourself, do you need to worry about what people will say?”
In 2017, the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) provisionally recognised pole dancing as a sport and a 2023 study by Pfeiffer, Sowitzki, Schäfer and Euteneuer found that pole dancing may have positive psychological effects on mental wellbeing and sexual self-esteem.
Watch the participants of a heels pole dance class at Pole Ninjas in Shepperton explain how they find pole empowering.
