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Recently, Ross was talking to a friend who took a pole dancing class at Flirty Girl Fitness, a gym in Chicago that specializes in exercise a la strip club dancing. She and her friends really enjoyed the experience, so “Doin’ It Well” decided to interview these women to find out more about their perspectives and understand stripper aerobics a little better.

Over the past five years, pole and chair dancing classes, along with a host of other stripper-inspired fitness routines have swept the nation. Even before Carmen Electra released her Aerobic Striptease videos, women who are not working in strip clubs have wanted to learn how to perform like women who do. Many women who take these classes leave in awe of the performance of women in strip clubs, of the muscle strength and control that the moves take, all while looking sexy.

Where the Girls Are

Flirty Girl boasts they are “Chicago’s hottest women’s fitness and lifestyle facility.” In addition to pole dancing, chair dancing, video vixen classes, women can also take kickboxing or boot camp classes, get manicure or visit the bar (juice or liquor). Imani (a pseudonym) said, “Probably what I liked most was that they seemed to be very focused on promoting women’s health and empowerment — there were a number of classes ... that were not in the pole dancing ‘genre’, but that were geared towards general women’s fitness, like kickboxing.”

As a women-only club, men aren’t even allowed in the waiting room. As Sasha said, “The class was a lot of fun and the instructor made it fun. She encouraged us to feel comfortable in our own skin and that made it enjoyable. Also, the space is strictly for women so that made it a nice place to hang out.” Grad Student added, ” I think there are a lot of women who [have wanted] to be that woman for a while — intrigued by what they know about strip clubs — and like the opportunity to try that in a way that feels safer and gives you more control.”

The women also found Flirty Girl to be welcoming because as women of color, they appreciated that many of the women who were staff and customers were also women of color. Grad Student said, “It didn’t feel like we had to ascribe to ideal/European standards of sexy. There were all different body sizes and shapes ... Women were there in sweats and ponytails, not all done up and made up to be super gorgeous. It was more like a real gym class.”

Sexual Empowerment on a Pole

We asked the women if the experience changed how they felt about themselves sexually. Several of the women talked about feeling freer with their bodies after the classes. Imani said, “I tend to be less comfortable with my sexuality, particularly in comparison to some of my friends. Going to Flirty Girl helped me to ‘come out of my shell’ and feel a little more comfortable with moving my body in more sexual ways.” Others talked about feeling more sensual and more connected to their bodies after the experience.

If Pole Dance Occurs Without a Man Around, Does It Objectify?

The women who went to Flirty Girl Fitness were very clear that they did not feel objectified during their visit at Flirty Girl. Sasha said, “The instructor made us feel comfortable with our sexuality and it was not about pleasing a man or learning these techniques to attract men.” Grad Student added, “I feel 10 times more objectified in an everyday night club than I do in these classes.”

It raises some interesting questions: Is strippercise liberating? Or are we buying into the same messages we’ve been told about ourselves? For women who perform in strip clubs, dancing is their job, and they act out a fantasy for the viewer. Strippercise allows women to perform the stripper role without it being tied to paying their bills. Strippercise is marketed as an avenue for sexual liberation and weight loss — two things women are often told they aren’t doing well enough. But it’s also part of a larger porn-inspired phenomenon, encouraging women’s sexual empowerment by acting like sex workers. This benefits the sex industry from a simple marketing perspective: men want her, women want to be her.

At the same time, it may not be objectifying if objectification relies on someone else watching. All we know for sure is that in these experiences these women aren’t dupes; they are making choices about their own bodies and sexuality, aware of the complex messages about what it means to be a woman and “sexy.” And they felt empowered by it and enjoyed it. As Firewoman said, “[Y]ou felt comfortable in your own skin and learned how you can be sexy and healthy at the same time.” It is perhaps each of our ability to make these thoughtful choices that keeps us “Doin’ It Well.”

Check us out next week when we’ll explore a reader question about what to do when you find your partner’s “goody drawer!”