My relationship with how I perform pole dance has been changing in parallel with my relationship with social media platforms as a scholar, activist, content creator and performer. I’ve been reflecting on it for quite a while, and now that…
In January 2026, after six years of trying, I was finally diagnosed with endometriosis. This article is about that diagnosis, and my celebration of finally being believed through a pole dance performance at the PERIOD cabaret. I’ve written about my…
Today I am turning 33! So I’m celebrating the only way I know how: the no chill way. By dropping my photoshoot pictures inspired by The Last Supper, through this post I reflect on ageing as a woman, as a…
Elvira Langdon is one of the most accomplished pole dance performers I know. At only 19 years old at the time of writing, she has won 14 titles, created a taboo-defying pole competition, taught many classes and workshops, and campaigned…
YAS Work is an advocacy, media and consulting company centring the needs, knowledge and expertise of strippers and sex workers. When I heard that the company was trying to change the way pole dance is represented in events and entertainment,…
Five years ago, Leila Davis (@cutiewhippingham) founded Blackstage, a non-profit events company centring and enhancing the creativity of pole dancers of colour, with a special focus on Queer, Trans, Disabled, low-income or sex working performers. The rest, as they say,…
In October I was a guest speaker and performer at Exotic Hell, Elvira Langdon’s brand-new pole dance competition which promised to be the first openly transfeminist pole competition in Italy, platforming and centring sex workers and the erotic. In case…
“Get you a girl who can do both – pole dance and academia” (and who gets, like, really anxious about it). “Doing both” was, for a while, my brand, something I lived and breathed, without too much thought. But as…
Following recent safety concerns at competitions, mentions of a governing body for the pole dance industry have been floating around again. My name has been made a few times as someone who may be interested in taking part in it,…
I’ve decided to take a break from competing in pole dance competitions, meaning that PDSM, which you may have read about here, will be my last comp for a while. In this blog post, I explain why I wasn’t enjoying…
