Strip Down Rise Up, the Netflix Documentary is not empowering for all women. It further stigmatizes sex work and does nothing to include the voices of actual strippers.
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Strip Down, Rise Up : From the Perspective of a Stripper on Set /
Today marks the release of Strip Down, Rise Up, the Netflix Documentary about the empowering impacts of pole dance. I participated in the filming as part of a class in a modality called S Factor. Upon watching the trailer when it was released a few weeks back, unresolved thoughts and feelings about my experience during filming rose to the surface once again.
On of my main points of discomfort is in the fact that the trailer entirely omitted stripping from an implied complete conversation on those who interact with the pole.
This was a reflection of the experience I had while working as a professional stripper at the time of filming. I felt deeply unseen and out of alignment in a classroom where the context of history, race, class was never addressed in regards to pole. Nor was education or advocacy on this topic ever on the table.
I am currently in the process of digesting and sharing about this experience. Hear my thoughts below: