New Olympic Event...Pole Dancing??

Recently I heard something on the news that really got me thinking. There has been some interest in adding a new event to the Olympics. That in itself didn’t seem surprising, just this year at the Winter Olympics there was the addition of Ski cross. Fan’s loved it. I’m all about trying to keep people’s interest with new events. The event or “sport” being discussed as a new addition did come as a bit of a shock. Pole Dancing. That’s right...the “sport” made famous by naked women in seedy bars could become part of the world stage of the Olympics. I would prefer to refer to Pole Dancing as more of an art than a sport. Don’t get me wrong, there is certainly an athletic aspect to it. One could even compare it to those Olympic athletes that perform on the parallel bars. The only difference really is that the poles of one are vertical and the others are horizontal. I found myself really thinking about the possibilities... What could the structure for this type of event be? Would there be divisions similar to that of Ice Dancing- women’s, men’s and couples? What types of moves would qualify for a higher score? Trust me, I can easily take something like this and run with it mentally for days...

Now, let me start by saying I am far from a prude. My view of Pole Dancing does not coincide with those who feel it is degrading to women. In fact, I can see some women using it as a way to build strength and stay in shape. I personally have never attempted it, not because of any opposition to it, but possibly because of intimidation. I see commercials on television all the time for workout videos that teach things such as Lap Dancing and Pole Dancing. There are a number of women who have there own poles at home that can be removed very easily, just in time for their fellow PTA members to drop by, and I say good for them...and their spouses. Not only can it keep you fit, it can keep the hubby from spending all the grocery money on watching someone else perform the “art”. Those who doubt that there is athletic ability needed to pole dance, check out the link to the video for the National Pole Dancing Championship that I have attached below. These are certainly the elite in the art. I would have to think that if I entered any local “establishment” I would not encounter women whose skills were even remotely close to those in this video, or needed in order to compete in the Olympics.

I found myself wondering how the event would be judged. There are currently events in both the Winter and Summer Olympics that are required to be judged by a person’s interpretation. Pole Dancing would have to be judged in a way similar to Ice Dancing or Gymnastics. Unlike events that have competitors who are trying to beat the clock, to determine the winner a judge would have to be more cerebral. These types of events seem to become hot topic issues when a country feels their representative has been robbed of a medal because a judge did not interpret the routine the way they had hoped. I wonder if a judge could remove the erotica that is usually part of a pole dancing routine and actually rate it on the technical difficulty of the routine. What is technically difficult on a pole? I would assume there are different names for the tricks that are used, similar to say, Snowboarding. Shaun White just unveiled a new trick in Snowboarding this year called the Double McTwist 1260. For all I know this is also a Pole Dancing move. The judges would have to be educated in these types of things in order to do a good job. Imagine the number of applications for the judging of this event. My husband thinks the judging panel should be all male since they are, after all, the general spectators of this “sport”. I believe a woman could be a bit more biased, and not have the score be in direct proportion to the competitor’s chest.

Another question I have is- would men participate? In order for a sport to be allowed in the Olympics it could not discriminate against men and refuse their right to compete. This in and of itself could put the kibosh on the whole idea. I’ve never seen, nor heard of a man who participates in Pole Dancing. I’m sure there are some out there but can only imagine the stigma attached to it. Just as male Figure Skaters are assumed to be feminine or gay, male Pole Dancers would face much of the same. To be honest I’m not really sure I would even want to see a male Pole Dancer, but that’s just me.

Overall, I’m not opposed to the addition of Pole Dancing to the Olympics. I just don’t think it would be able to overcome the obstacles it faces to do so. It would certainly draw spectators, many of which have never even watched the Olympics because they considered them to be boring. If it does get in, they may want to schedule a Curling match between Pole Dancing sets just to help that event’s ratings. I can just see it, years down the road, my sons coming over to visit and watch the Olympics with their dear old dad. As they gather around the television my husband turns to them and says “Boys, when I was your age, they didn’t have Pole Dancing in the Olympics....now pass your old man a beer and don’t talk until this is over!”

Click Here to see video

Poor Tiger

The reason for the following rant is the constant discussion I've been hearing about Tiger Woods, mostly from the male perspective. Since I live in a house of all males- two of which my conversations are limited to "please stop that" and "are you sure you don't have to pee?"- I decided that I need an outlet to other adults in order to share my thoughts on the subject. I should probably add a disclaimer here, as my thoughts may offend some,but here goes....

Tiger's story of infidelity in inescapable. The constant commentary on whether he is truly sorry, and sincere is sickening. I must admit, it is refreshing that most people find his actions deplorable. However, there are those out there who feel the need to defend him. Some explain that his actions are justified because he is in a position of power that made him feel that the rules didn't apply to him (his own words, actually). My question here would be, why get married then? Doesn’t marriage in itself create these rules which wouldn’t apply? Had Tiger been a single guy that participated in numerous romps with various women, I would say, good for him. The fact that he did this while married creates an entirely different sentiment.

There is also the view that "men are just wired differently" and they simply can't resist temptation the way women do. I am not naive to the fact that women and men are different. I also don't believe women have special powers of resistance. Just ask a woman who has a chocolate bar within close proximity. Temptation can cause weakness in anyone, but when giving in to that temptation would cause harm to those around them, I am of the biased opinion that a women would use that fact as a tool to help them restrain themselves. Using the excuse that men are "wired differently" could only imply that their brains are wired directly to their penis, and while one is functioning, the other cannot.

As far as the defense that he is a sex addict, I'm not really buying it in this case. I understand that there are people who suffer from addiction to various things. Most commonly you hear of chemical addiction, such as those to drugs and alcohol. I am not out to disprove that sex addiction is a real condition for some, but it seems more likely that it is used as a scapegoat by those who are not truly "sufferers" of the affliction. From what I know of most true addictions, the dependency completely overrides the person's ability to go without it. I would have to think that the need for sex or at least the inability to have sex whenever desired, wouldn't generally end in the sufferer hitting rock bottom- i.e. losing jobs, families, homes as is so often seen with other types of addictions. The exception would be those who are married and get caught in situations of infidelity. The effects can be detrimental to a family. The danger in having the option of being a sex addict is the addiction aspect only comes into play when someone wants something they can blame their actions on. They are suddenly sick and stricken with the effects of a disease. Sex addiction seems to overwhelmingly affect those who feel entitled to pleasure. I would suggest that the condition be downgraded to something more like “The Me Syndrome”.

Another interesting aspect of Tiger’s story, are the women with which he had his affairs. These women should be considered enablers. It’s not as if Tiger Woods is a man one could meet and not know who he was. These women were not “duped” into carrying on an affair with a married man. One woman actually sought out the legal representation of attorney Gloria Allred; notoriously know for hunting down and suing rich men. She claims to have been devastated by the affair, and even lost her career over it. Allred claimed that Tiger Woods owed her client an apology, and should have mentioned her by name in his public statement last week. Given the sheer number of women he had affairs with, had he mentioned them all by name it may have doubled the time that he spoke. In fact, it is quite possible that he didn’t even know her name. What was this woman’s profession you may ask? She was an actress in adult films…which is a toned down way of saying she’s a porn star. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if she returned to her “place of employment” and bent over something, she would be back in business….

The bottom line is, I don’t feel that I needed an apology from Tiger Woods. He is not my husband, nor an idol for my children, so his actions do not affect me in any way. I do reserve the right, however, to view him as a dirty dog and I will do just that……