Betty Dodson with Carlin Ross

Better Orgasms. Better World.

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I still can't stop thinking a about Daniel Berneger's piece in Sunday before last New York Times magazine "Women who want to want". Carlin covered the story in her blog earlier last week. This story has reminded me of themes I have been working with here in my blog. Specifically, the hunt for the erotic creature that women are searching for within themselves in their pole dance classes.

The Times article addresses the issue of low desire in women and the classification of the low desire as a disorder in a diagnostic manual used by psychologists and psychiatrists.

After taking my first (and admittedly last) pole dance class I had the kind of juicy participant observer experience that nosy, action oriented researchers such as myself just love. Although I did enjoy the experience of taking the class my intention was to unpack the phenomenon rather than get swept away in it, hence one class.

Something that really struck me after taking the pole dance class was the whole concept of the "erotic creature". The instructor led us through a series of exercises that involved mindful, sensual, and positive appraisal of one's own body. The idea of attending to one's shape, especially one's curvy, feminine shape is not an activity usually practiced at the gym - the idea usually, is to get rid of it.

After infiltrating an event at the pole dance school, I decided that the only way to really understand the phenomenon was to engage in it. I have studied various dance forms my entire life and have performed professionally as well.  Over the last 5 years I have dedicated myself mostly to Middle Eastern belly dance. Belly dance is another form of dance that women have reported feeling self-esteem, body image and sensuality benefits from - I figured if I could shimmy on my toes and writhe on by back in a dance studio and on stage I could handle a pole dance class.

I signed up for an intro class. The intro class is basically an orientation that includes a full class. Since I have had a lot of experiences taking dance classes I figured the whole thing would be very familiar territory only with different movements. I was wrong.

I could not wait to get my pole dance project under way. This is truly an understudied environment and I'm all about being the pioneer! I began a month long conversation with the studio manager at the New York City location about if and how the school would want to be involved in my project. It was during much phone tag with my contact at the school that I discovered they were having a Halloween party for their students. I decided this was a perfect opportunity for observation of the students at this school and a full on sub-cultural experience.  After I put out a few more unreturned phone calls in order to get on the guest list for the event I did what any intrepid investigator would do, I went ahead and crashed the party.

It was summer of 2007, the year that one of the most ubiquitous lifestyle pieces covered in major media outlets was the emergence of a very interesting fitness phenomenon - pole dancing for everyone! I was preparing to go into my second year of my master's program in psychology and was working with a preeminent sex therapist. Not convinced that becoming a clinician was the route for me I was looking for a sexuality topic to create a research program around.

The coverage of recreational pole dance class in the media was highly visual and the sight of regular women working the pole seemed to intrigue, titillate and entertain the general public.