All-Star Should This Be Allowed As Part Of The Cheer/gymnastics Community?

[armycheermom]

A fellow cheer/dance mom posted this video of a young girl, maybe 9-10 years old, doing as she called it acrobatics/gymnastics pole dancing, saying she wish she could find a class like this for her 10 year old daughter. I commented with I don't think I would be comfortable with my 18, almost 19 year old cp doing this, so I definitely wouldn't allow my (hypothetical) 10 year old do this. A lot of people comment back with saying it's totally different from strip pole dancing and to stop being so uptight, but I still feel like it's a lot for a little one. So what do you all think? Would you allow your cp to try this type of gymnastics ?

 

[KPep]

Funny... we try so hard to dissociate cheerleaders from the cliché on films, or competitive cheer from NFL dancers... and from porn, literally...

...And yet we have a problem with pole gymnastic, because we can't dissociate this from stripping. To me, the pole is like any other gymnastic gear. It existed in circus before it even got sexualized.

 

[UCFKnights07]

They have stuff like this in cirque du soleil....I wanna say the varekai show.. She didn't really do any form of dancing so I'd consider it acrobatic

 

[randomactsofcheer]

Pole dance was a form of art and dance far before it was used in strip clubs. And someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the US and Canada are the only places that associate pole dancing with strip clubs.

I was very impressed with the little girl in this video. There was nothing sexual or offensive about her dance/acro routine. She is incredibly talented.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Funny... we try so hard to dissociate cheerleaders from the cliché on films, or competitive cheer from NFL dancers... and from porn, literally...

...And yet we have a problem with pole gymnastic, because we can't dissociate this from stripping. To me, the pole is like any other gymnastic gear. It existed in circus before it even got sexualized.

I agree, it's funny how we continue to associate something with another form of it that is sexualized, even if it's not. I think of it as similar to the pole dancing exercise classes, I've done them before and in no way was it sexual.
I would have no problem with my hypothetical child doing something like this, as you said it's just another form of gymnastics/acrobatics, just a different apparatus that happens to be a pole.

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

The girl in that routine would probably be good at any form of gymnastics - I'd personally chose artistic or rhythmic gymnastics over the pole stuff if she were my DD because of the Olympic posibilities of those tracks.

Re: OPs question, IMO it doesn't look sexual now cause she's young, but if she were a teenager or older, I do think the stripper stigma would be there for most viewers, so I really don't think I'd want my daughter doing it, no. However, a different song choice and costume may help it seem more Cirque De Soliel and I'd think differently then.

 

[armycheermom]

These are interesting ways to look at it. My entire life (and I'm almost 50) pole dancing and tricks have been acquainted with strippers and we were always taught to keep our daughters off the pole. I could definitely see the athleticism in the video, but the pole did throw me for a loop.

 

[SL&AM]

I have no issue with it and if CP asked me to sign her up for something like it, I'd find a local class. I've found 99.9% of the time kids don't 'get it' because it's the adults of the world who are sexualizing their actions. Also, have you ever tried dancing or exercising with a pole before? Seriously, the most physically demanding thing you could ever imagine. The skill and strength required is out of this world!

 

[getsum]

To me, the pole is like any other gymnastic gear.

according to my quick research, the use of a pole in performance/gymnastics traces back to india about 800 years ago. it's called mallakhamb.



it's not a matter of if it should be a part of gymnastics, because it's been a part of gymnastics for a long time now.

 

[Cheermom1969]

I'm not even reading these replies before I hit the h*ll no button!!! This is ridiculous!

 

[SL&AM]

Pole dance was a form of art and dance far before it was used in strip clubs. And someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I believe the US and Canada are the only places that associate pole dancing with strip clubs.

I was very impressed with the little girl in this video. There was nothing sexual or offensive about her dance/acro routine. She is incredibly talented.

The adult shop around the corner from our local train station had a window vinyl and the girl was with a pole; also those types of clubs were pretty popular in our small town though it may have been American driven but the train station was a good 20-25 minutes from post. So some Germans associate pole dancing with stripping.

 

[crazzyeyesassypants]

If she was wearing a tad more clothes I wouldn't side eye this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[icequeen]

One of the girls who won SYTYCD a few seasons back did this. She said it's pretty much required to wear what is essentially a bikini, because you need your skin to stick to the pole to be able to do the skills.

Correct. I did a pole fitness class, nothing sexual, pure fitness and your thighs take a beaten until your skin toughen up. Would I let my future daughter do it? Nope.

 

[randomactsofcheer]

according to my quick research, the use of a pole in performance/gymnastics traces back to india about 800 years ago. it's called mallakhamb.



it's not a matter of if it should be a part of gymnastics, because it's been a part of gymnastics for a long time now.

There is also Chinese Pole which I believe is more commonly performed by men. It is pretty close to what you can see in many Cirque shows.

 

[KPep]

according to my quick research, the use of a pole in performance/gymnastics traces back to india about 800 years ago. it's called mallakhamb.



it's not a matter of if it should be a part of gymnastics, because it's been a part of gymnastics for a long time now.

Did I say the opposite?