I live for the summer. It’s what keeps me going throughout the winter. I feel like I really come alive in the summer. This summer flew by way too fast.
I booked time off to go to a 4 day music festival near Barrie that was called Roxodus. Less than a week before the festival, it was cancelled. I was devastated. I bought tickets with 2 pole friends and we have been planning for this for months. So since there was no festival, me and my husband decided to go on a little road trip. We drove to Vermont and then to Montreal and had such a good time!
Vermont is such a beautiful little state. It was just so serene and relaxing. We did some exploring, shopping and even went to the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory.
In Montreal, I suggested to go to a strip club, as I have never been to one. I always would joke that I’m a pole dancer, but have never been in a strip club. Since that’s where my craft originated, I figured it’s about time I go to one, and there was no place better than Montreal.
The dancers were not very good, there was only one girl that was really able to pole. I left feeling really sad for the strippers, most looked strung out and quite obviously didn’t want to be there. There is such a huge difference between pole dancers and strippers, but at the same time, we have a lot in common. It’s a very weird paradox. Here are the similarities:
☑️ Dance using a pole, performing similar tricks
☑️ Need to wear little clothing for grip
☑️ Wear heels to look good, feel sexy, accentuate legs
☑️ Often stigmatized
The differences:
❌ Strippers get paid for dances; pole dancers pay for classes
❌ Strippers may not practice much on the pole; pole dancers train extensively
❌ Strippers use the pole as prop in their jobs as part of their sales pitch for private dances; pole dancers use the pole as a fitness apparatus
A lot of the tricks and movements pole dancers do, come from strippers. It’s important for pole dancers to appreciate strippers as we have a lot of commonalities. Nobody is better than anyone else. Stripping is nothing to be ashamed of. I just know it’s a very hard life, that often involves drugs and mental and/or physical abuse. Strippers have no employee rights and they are often used and abused. It’s an extremely difficult job.
Through pole, I have met strippers and girls that have done porn. They are some of the nicest and sweetest girls I have ever met. I have learnt not to judge or look down upon anyone based on what they do to make money. We are all grinding to make a buck, some people just happen to have a more difficult time than others and have to take sex work jobs just to be able to survive in this world.
This city, this whole country, is a strip club. You’ve got people tossing the money, and people doing the dance – Ramona Vega from Hustlers
