Trans Het Woman on the Internet

Context is important! Pole and sex work are inextricably linked, but there are distinctions between them. Strippers made this hobby what it is, and taught me what I know, and while I haven’t lived that life, I’m honoured to stand on their shoulders.

Pole dancers are some of the strongest, toughest aerialists out there. I aspire to be as badass as they are. And the sub-category of pole dancers known as strippers? They manage to do strength moves and make it look sexy! Do you have any idea how crazy that is???? How difficult????? Taking a move that is all muscle and making it look effortless while throwing in flair to make it look sexy is just. Insane? Can you imagine trying to make pull-ups look cutesy and effortless? Because, uh, strippers do that all the time - WITH A SIDEWAYS GRIP. You don't even realize they've done a pull-up 99% of the time, that's how good they are at disguising the fact they're doing strength moves.

And that's not even getting into the socio-economic aspects of stripping. Look, just from a sheer talent standpoint, anyone who has earned the title of stipper deserves your awe. They are top-tier athletes.

Not every pole dancer is a stripper. There are people who do pole as a competitive sport. There are people who do pole as a form of modern dance. There are people who do it as a circus discipline. There's this one weird guy (affectionate) who does archery on pole. There are people who do flying pole, which in my opinion is the best aerial apparatus there is! And then there are strippers, whom everyone else stands on the shoulders of. Strippers are the originals, the ones who paved the way, the ones who invented moves and techniques and then taught everyone else.