As a pole dancer, I recognize and respect the root of my practice: stripping and SW. It may have taken time, and undoing some of my own internal misogyny, but today I am so proud to say that I admire and appreciate SWrs. This matters because SWrs continue to face scrutiny, judgement and "othering" in pole-dominated spaces when these should be safe spaces for everyone because SWrs are actually the ones who we all take our original inspiration from. It is amazing to see improvements in awareness and acceptance in the industry in recent years - let's keep it up!