The warning proved necessary: minutes later, Jay led an onlooker by the hand to a bench at the back of the room. London has no shortage of queer club nights.
The group was founded in Melbourne during the lockdown of , when former stripper Linhqu, a queer Vietnamese-Australian, began to notice a growing tension between the pole and sex worker communities. Sex workers were either unable to work or risking their health to make money; at the same time, people were continuing to pay to attend inner-city pole dance classes. The night would be a tangible way for allies to support the industry and would, hopefully, recreate the feeling of belonging and community Linhqu had felt in the strip club locker rooms.
Pole fitness classes can now easily be booked in studios across London, while online, millions frequent StripTok β a TikTok subcommunity started by, and created for, sex workers that, despite many informative, truthful and educational videos, is increasingly filled with people outside of the industry. Today, Australia is changing: same-sex marriage has been legalised since late , and in major cities queer collectives are common. New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and most recently Victoria have legislated for sex work to be decriminalised.
But despite this, research conducted in found that stigma towards the industry β even in legalised territories β remains rife. This stigma extends to the pole. The loudest and most powerful voices in the country are white and the pole scene has been a reflection of that. We embrace them, question them, and move within and beyond them. It is so freeing to be in a space which celebrates what my body can create, rather than always being aware of my limitations.
We do different moves, use different parts of our body, dance to different kinds of music. I still feel valued as an individual. Following its recent showcases in Singapore and London, a Singapore-based group has formed.
