From seedy clubs to your next football party, the stripper pole -- and let's just call it a dance pole -- has come a long way towards mainstream acceptance.
Perhaps nothing is a greater testament to that trend than this
portable stripper pole, first noticed by
Boing Boing.
The pole is a great way to make a scene, according to Keith Scheinbert, CEO of
Platinum Stages, which manufactures the pole.
"That thing for tailgating is humongous," Scheinbert told The Huffington Post. "If you want to be the center of attention at any tailgate, you bring that pole."
The product description boasts that the pole "can be attached to the ball hitch of any truck or SUV."
"The Hitch Stage has a 3 foot by 3 foot platform that floats approximately five feet from the ground and has approximately seven feet of usable pole," according to the company website.
To be fair, a dancer doing their thing in public doesn't need any props to get noticed, but Scheinbert insists "it's not about the nudity."
"Now [pole dancing] is about acrobatics and trying to compete with somebody," Scheinbert said. "It's like playing H-O-R-S-E. One person does a move and another person tries to top it."
Andrew Katzander, founder of
PoleRiders, a group of pole-based performance artists, believes that the activity is starting to become more mainstream and differentiated.
"There's a lot of dancers that have stayed with the whole high-heels and sexy moves, and others who have moved toward the gymnastic and athletic side of it," Katzander said. "Others are moving towards the more dance side of it."
Listening to Katzander, one might even forget that they're watching an activity most commonly associated with dollar bills, champaign rooms and self-loathing.
"When you see the more gymnastic performances, it's really hard to differentiate the moves from something like stilts or other aerial performances," Katzander said. "You're not really thinking of a stripper when you see it."
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