March 24th, 2010 
ThePoleStory 
There are, in almost every pole dance class, references made to “The Goddess”: The Goddess Within, The Prancing Goddess, Goddess Rising, and The Writhing Goddess. Some of these are names for certain moves, others are references a teacher or a student might make when talking about some part of herself that comes alive during a dance. Strip clubs are often adorned with statues of goddesses at their entryway and calling someone a “goddess” usually implies that they have a strong sense of self and a sense of entitlement to pleasure.
But traditionally the word “goddess” has had a sort of mother-earthy connotation, one that implies that a woman’s power lies in her ability to reproduce. While it’s true that child bearing gives women a link with the creative forces of the universe, the argument that women’s power lies in their capacity to give birth irks me. It suggests that having babies is central to the meaning of femininity and it reduces female sexuality to the role of reproduction. This is only one piece of a woman’s sexuality. And it is based on her accessibility to a man.
What about her own pleasure? Where does that fit in? When we talk about The Goddess in our dance class, we are talking about the innate power that resides in the female body: the power to feel, to entice, to express pleasure and to tell a story with our bodies. We are talking about the pleasure of sexual exploration and expression, the pleasure of selfishness, the pleasure of female companionship. We are talking about the power and honor of the half naked female form.
We are also, then, talking about The Whore: the woman inside of us who teases, who taunts, who manipulates and arouses. We are talking about the woman who just might take your money and run, the woman who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants. We are talking about the dark side of the feminine. In pole dance classes, she can come out to play. She is given a place in our psyches and this can be deeply healing for many women.
So the next time you invoke The Goddess in your dance, or in your daily life, give a little nod to The Whore as well. Because without her, The Goddess is incomplete, perhaps even a little too accommodating and not nearly as much fun.
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There a many goddesses within the Hindu pantheon. A goddess for every characteristic of the female personality. All equal all honored. In the west we always tend to soften the face of the Goddess by invoking her sprite like qualities or nurturing ability. But my Goddess in Kali. Shiva’s wife Parvati was summoned to war after her servants could not wake Shiva from his trance to do battle with a terrible demon. All the other gods and goddesses could not destroy the demon because every time they cut him with the sword his blood would hit the ground and produce another legions of demons. Pavarti took to flight and when she arrived on the battle field she saw what was happening. Her eyes and skin turned black she ripped off her clothes to do battle naked and started slaughtering her enemies. So the blood would not touch the ground her tongue went out to catch it. Kali’s face drenched in blood drunk on the blood of her enemies decapitated her victims and wore there heads as a loin covering. After the battle was over in her fury went to her home decapitated Shiva… mounted him and began to copulate over his dead body. Then she trampled it into the ground. In Hinduism the Black Mother is the image of the supreme reality. Destructive but benevolent. She is both time and death. My pole dancing Divas release in you this fierce energy and become Kali Ma