Pole dance and fitness is often associated with prostitution and pornography result of which is the fact that it is, as an inappropriate form and sexually explicit stylization of body movements, denied its artistic and sports value. Despite the stigma, which this discipline entails, there was its dynamic development, if not mainstreamization, in the last decade. Recent researches interpret this form of movement/dance as a feminine or feminizing practice. The presented thesis, however, takes issue with their conclusions and attempts to the contrary, to draw attention to the possibility of subversive rearticulation of normative prescriptions of gender relations that are emerging in the context of this phenomenon. The thesis is theoretically grounded in poststructuralist feminist theories that are defined against the essentialist conceptions of gender. All the data were collected using a participant observation method and six in-depth, semi-structured interviews with (co-)owners of the studios specialized in teaching of pole dance/fitness. All my respondents participated in the establishment and institutionalization of the discipline in the Czech Republic and they perceive pole dance/fitness as one of the most important factors of their lives to which they dedicate themselves intensively for a long...

“‘Am I Sexy Yet?’: Contextualizing the Movement of Exotic Dance and Its Effects on Female Dancers’ Self-image and Sexual Expression” looks at exotic dancing in three contexts––a pole fitness studio, a strip club, and a college dance concert––and how the movement is experienced by the dancers in each space. It questions how the movement changes meaning for the dancers, audience, and mainstream culture based on the context and location, even with similar content. Specifically, it analyzes how the experiences of the dancers affect their self confidence, sexuality, and sexual expression. Then, it applies Audre Lorde's “Uses of the Erotic” to their experiences to show how this movement can be looked at through a different lens as deeper, more freeing, and more transgressive than it is usually thought to be.