ANTI-GLAM!
ON POLE, SWWORK, ACTIVISM & ALLYSHIP
What’s beyond, and behind the “exotic” heels and sekzi moves? Is being a slvt the same thing as being a wh-ore? Time to get off the poles and take off our Pleasers for a day of learning about rights, history, resistance and resilience!
This is a day to begin understanding the complex and changing landscape of SW realities and challenges, from advocacy work, to legal frameworks, to anti-SW policies and digital erasure and censorship, to testimonies from industry workers. Away from oversimplifications and binaries of empowerment/violence, we’ll dive into what is what, and what to do to be an ethical pole practitioner and SWer ally.
CODE OF CONDUCT
Consent, safety and care are central to this day. This is not a place to debate whether SW is “good” or “bad”, or whether it should be “allowed”. No disclosure of status (immigration, SWer) or legal name is necessary. We ask all attendees to be mindful of interactions that lead to disclosure, and to refrain from asking others questions that could cause or coerce outing of any kind.
Participants must commit to not divulging personal or sensitive information about other individuals outside of the context of the day/workshops. And that any personal information shared by anyone in the context of the day is not to be used for research purposes.
No photos or videos are allowed unless permission is explicitly given. We support decriminalization and destigmatisation of SW, yet we understand that reality is far from that. We ask all attendees to be responsible and proactive in protecting others’ safety by following the rules and instructions given for the day, and during each activity.
Pay What You Can all day - All donations go to Utsopi!
TALK 14H30 > 16H
Understanding SW intersectionnally
In this talk with UTSOPI, the only SWer union in Belgium, we are diving into the broad spectrum of SW. What types of SW exist, especially here in Belgium? What reasons motivate SWorkers to exercise their jobs? How do financial privileges or their lack, migration, LGBTQIA+ rights, racism and ableism impact one’s experiences? How do SWorkers organize, and how can we be their best supporter and ally?
UTSOPI is the 10 years-old first and only Belgian Union of SWorkers. “We are governed by SWorkers and run together with allies. We strive for agency, autonomy and rights. More rights mean more choices. We strive for independence: the independence of our choices, our bodies, our lives.”
Bissi aka Butchibou is a yogi, dancer, poet, teacher, and sex(y) activist. They contribute to holding spaces by and for marginalized communities, highlight trans, non-binary, and racialized artists.
For who? Everyone! But especially: SWorkers and their allies, the pole dancers and teachers and studio owners, erotix performers, event organizers, lover and friends of SWorkers, SW clients, those that fantasize or question SW…. CHECK CODE OF CONDUCT (above)!
TALK + PANEL 16H30 > 18H
Political Splits and Ethical Heels Talk + The Club Reality Check Panel
Are you annoyed that when people see a pole they think of skrippers, rather than athletes or artists, when you’ve put so much effort in learning your tricks? Do you love being a bad bitch exotic slvt in heels class, and think you’d probably make a great skripper, because how different could it be, really? This talk+panel is for you!
Half talk, half panel, we will dive into pole dance’s history and where it stands today in regards to SW and skripping. The goal is to gain insight into the relationship and dynamics between the two communities, as well as the shifting cultural, legal, technological and political landscape affecting them, with an emphasis in the Western European context. We will tackle the urgency of political awareness and ethical allyship for people within pole dance, and why it is in everyone’s best interest.
Paying your respect to those who created pole and paved the way, valuing their voices and expertise, understanding the harm that can be caused even with the best intentions, making the studio a safeR space, and being an excellent SWer ally? Yes, please!
TALK BY MAJO: POLITICAL SPLITS AND ETHICAL HEELS
Romantisation, wh-rebaiting, wh-rearchy and pole dance mainstreamisation
You might have heard about mallakhamb, or Chinese pole as the “ancient origins of pole dance”. While some contemporary forms of pole dance today take technical inspiration from these traditions (and we will dive into why), it’s important to situate the origin of the chrome pole as an object, and of pole dance as a recreational discipline, in skripclubs and skrippers.
Today, the pole dance industry, including in its “exotic” variation, has grown to include competitions, events, fitness and sensual empowerment classes. Yet, the relationship between pole dance and stripping has become a sometimes fraught one. But why? We’ll analyze common tension points, and explore ways to make your pole practice more ethical, becoming a better ally to those that created what you love so much.
THE CLUB REALITY CHECK PANEL
Hear it from the pros! The Club Reality Check panel will help you understand some of the concrete differences between clubs and studios, the workframes and models within the industry, the motivations, the stories, and the risks behind it.
Your host: Majo is a performer, writer, educator, DIY sociologist and notorious buzzkill. Special interests include human and labour rights for all, and ending the moral panic surrounding SW, and serving as a pipeline for social disenfranchisement, violence, and liberticide and surveillance policies.
For who is it? Everyone! But especially: the pole dancers, hobbyists and teachers, sx-positive practitioners and aficionados, er-tic and burlesque performers, SW-curious people, those that dream of or question the skripclub, those that love the skripper and “exotic” aesthetics, proud slvts, event organizers, pole dance studio owners….
SCREENING 19H > 20H
STRIPPER MANIFESTO BY Emma Neame
Join us to watch this thrilling, raw and beautiful video-documentary by Emma Neame.
It’s a 17 minute work in progress visual portrait of 4 dancers and performers of the skripper world, sharing glimpses of their realities and giving a voice to their experiences. Emma’s movie is a representation of different racialised strippers, drawing inspiration by hip hop clip videos & esthetics. This work is an invitation to open a space - free of fetishisation - for these dancers and to connect & prioritize their marginalised experiences.
Emma Neame is a multidisciplinary artist, videographer & pole dance performer. She works on the topics of the eRRotic, as well as the fetishisation of racialised bodies in the skripclub, in video clips and cinema. Being herself part of the skripper universe, she follows the urge to represent the different racialised skrippers of her world(s).
Credits:
Dancers: @arpailleuse @intergalactic_starr @krystal.lw @butterflyhiighhh @vanille.is.dancing @ginasiula @kaly.kalypso
Camera Assistants: Carmes-Sibha Keiso, Candice Dela Fudzie, Ines Rezki
Scenographic Assistants: Elena Corboud, Matteo Debove, Kairaan Kika, Candice Dela Fudzie
Off voice: Candice Dela Fudzie