At Positive Spin, we believe that being a community with strong values of ally-ship is a constantly evolving process rooted in continuous action. It’s easy to hang a Black Lives Matter sign on the door, but we want to take direct action to support our students, not just as dancers, but as whole people.
Our core social justice initiative is Pole for Justice, a part of our studio that has historically done various forms of activism and currently runs bi-annual fundraiser shows for Green Light Project.
Below is a list of our core values, and some of the actions we’ve taken to create tangible change and provide resources in ways that reflect our values.
Far too often, the pole fitness industry has tried to distance itself from its roots in sex work. Not only is it hypocritical to shame the very people who created the sport we love, but the stigma around female/femme sexuality causes broad harm. Sex work is work, and consenting adults have a right to chose what they do with their bodies. Sex workers deserve rights, safety, and support just like all other workers.
- We hire current and former sex workers.
Not only because we don’t discriminate, but because we believe representation matters in order to create a space where everyone feels free and encouraged to talk about their identities and experiences. - We have an ongoing partnership with the Sex Workers Outreach Project.
Positive Spin sponsor’s SWOP’s annual fundraiser, in addition to partnering on several smaller projects throughout the year. New students can purchase their first Positive Spin class through SWOP’s website here and $5 will be donated back to SWOP. - Pole for Justice, an international, live from your living room pole competition series we created raised almost $4,000 for SWOP!
During the covid19 pandemic, we wanted to create a way to stay connected as a pole community while providing resources for the most vulnerable among us. Over $1,500 went toward minigrants for sex workers who didn’t qualify for unemployment, and over $2,000 went to POC SWOP, specifically to support sex workers of color.
The pole fitness industry, particularly in Seattle, has been undeniably white, despite the many Black founders of the sport. We realized that we could be doing more to make the pole community more equitable, and to fight for Black lives in our broader community. Here’s what we’ve been working on:
- Polers for Justice
Polers for Justice is a sub community started by Positive Spin for Polers across the country who want to get involved in fighting fascism and specifically speaking out against racial injustice. Anyone can sign up to lead a weekly political action meeting where we spend an hour contacting our representatives about important policy change. Learn more in the Facebook group. - BIPOC Scholarship Fund
We’ve dedicated profits from certain sales and event toward providing scholarships for BIPOC polers. Applications for this scholarship fund will resume when Seattle reaches phase 3. You can donate to this scholarship fund via venmo @alyssa-taubin with a note saying BIPOC scholarships, or by purchasing a wombat mask by the end of August here. - August for the ACLU
All studio profits for the month of August 2020 will be donated to the ACLU to fight fascism. We believe this is in everyone’s best interest, but BIPOC people are almost always disproportionately impacted by injustice.
The fitness industry, including certain sectors of the pole world, have played a huge role in enforcing toxic body standards. These standards can lead to disordered eating and exercise behaviors, but even when they don’t, they bring about shame that nobody deserves to live with. At Positive Spin, we have a ban on body shaming yourself and others. Our goal is to transform exercise into a celebration of what your body can do. Additionally, we believe it’s important to provide space for our community to discuss the ways that toxic fitness culture and beauty standards have impacted them and find healing together.
- Our staff is Roz the Diva trained.
Many would call Roz the face of inclusivity in the pole and fitness world. Roz is a certified personal trainer and pole instructor who travels the world teaching other instructors how to create supportive spaces and safely work with larger bodies. Most of our staff took Roz’s workshop on coaching plus size pole dancers in 2019 and it was incredibly informative! - Project HEAL
We partner with the Seattle chapter Project HEAL to help provide resources toward recovery for those suffering from eating disorders. In October 2019 we collaborated with Project HEAL on Body Love Month.
- We are an all genders studio.
This includes cis, trans, and nonbinary genders across the spectrum. We normalize sharing pronouns, and know that your pronouns may change over time. We strive to create a space where students of all genders can feel safe expressing themselves in whatever ways feel good to them. - Over half of the instructors at Positive Spin are queer.
Diversity in our teaching staff has helped us to create a culture where differences in gender, sexuality, and relationship styles are not just accepted, but understood. - Our Partners
We have partnered with Gay City, Northwest Network, and Lambert House on events that serve LGBTQ+ individuals and raise money for important LGBTQ+ causes.
This is the most central of our core values from which our other values are born. There are lots of accepting spaces out there, but we think accepting is a pretty low bar. We want to know and understand you so that we can celebrate what makes you you!
We hope that when you visit our studio, you can be exactly who you are, because we believe that this leads to higher quality relationships and a more connected, supportive community.
How can we do a better job of living by our core values? Let us know! We also welcome student participation in creating new initiatives in any of these areas.