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[high-heel shoes clacking]
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[Sheila] So I asked for truth,
and I asked for your erotic power
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00:00:22,272 --> 00:00:24,399
and that beautiful desire.
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00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:26,693
So I want you to really bring it.
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Don't forget that's a thing
that's hard to show.
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This is going to provoke you,
and it's going to make you surrender.
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Thank you.
Thank you for being the first up.
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- [sensual music playing]
- [women cheering]
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[Sheila] If you think
about the society that we live in,
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women are trapped
in the culture of the masculine.
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There's so much global abuse of women.
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00:01:01,770 --> 00:01:05,815
Body-image shaming,
sexual abuse, and ego smashing.
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00:01:07,776 --> 00:01:09,819
[Amy] There's a lot of shame
that women carry
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because their body doesn't look
like that body on a magazine cover.
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[Sheila] Finding your erotic body.
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[Ali] More Tiffany! More!
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Hit them with your hips!
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[woman] Just because someone is
dressing some way or looking sexy
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doesn't mean that they're inviting you
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to be sexual with them.
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[Sheila] We've been shutting down
the feminine body,
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curbing women's eroticism.
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[Dr. Berman] It is time for women
to step into their power,
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and the time is now!
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[Sheila] The way to step into that power
is through movement.
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I believe that taking the pole
and reframing it
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allows for personal reclamation
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of the feminine body.
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[Sheila] We like to talk
about how forward-thinking we are,
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but the truth of the matter is,
the second you say "pole dancing,"
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they immediately think
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00:02:02,747 --> 00:02:06,751
where men go smoke cigars, drink,
and women do lap dances for money.
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00:02:07,460 --> 00:02:09,629
[Amy] And that's
just a part of what it is.
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00:02:12,632 --> 00:02:14,342
[Jenyne] It's the world of pole.
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It's pole dance, and it's pole artistry,
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pole fitness,
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pole sport.
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It's different things to different people.
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It's a journey of growth
and self-discovery.
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00:02:30,483 --> 00:02:32,944
I wanted to just get my mojo back.
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00:02:33,820 --> 00:02:38,908
[Sheila] I am in a war to help women
reclaim themselves.
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When you enter my world,
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you're gonna feel
like you walked into Fight Club for women.
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And if you judge here,
I'm going to ask you to leave.
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Baby, this is not for sissies.
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Good morning.
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I'm 50 years old.
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I'm the mother of two children.
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And I'm also a widow.
50
00:03:43,556 --> 00:03:47,393
We are coming up
on now a year and eight months
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00:03:48,394 --> 00:03:50,271
since my husband passed.
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[softly] There you go.
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Anyone who knows me
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knows that I'm always on the go,
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out and about,
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00:04:02,700 --> 00:04:05,119
keeping busy all the time.
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00:04:07,455 --> 00:04:08,998
Losing my husband…
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00:04:09,916 --> 00:04:12,001
So much of me died with him.
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I can go to work.
I can take care of my customers.
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00:04:18,049 --> 00:04:19,759
I can take care of the shop.
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00:04:21,219 --> 00:04:22,720
Once I'm back in the car,
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there's no music.
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00:04:25,682 --> 00:04:27,016
There's no life.
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00:04:30,728 --> 00:04:34,357
Right now, the kitchen table
is not a kitchen table anymore.
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It's piled with bills.
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There's darkness everywhere.
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Terry just wasn't my husband.
He was my best friend.
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He was stepfather to my children.
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00:04:47,495 --> 00:04:50,039
I lost all of that in…
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00:04:51,082 --> 00:04:52,709
in one weekend. [cries]
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I need to allow myself to be happy.
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That's why I wanted to try S Factor.
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I opened up the application,
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00:05:03,803 --> 00:05:06,180
and then I closed it and left it alone.
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00:05:06,264 --> 00:05:08,534
- [women cheering]
- [Evelyn] Something told me, "Go back."
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00:05:08,558 --> 00:05:10,101
"Just look at what it is."
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[Sheila] I already was
a voice for this movement.
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00:05:14,564 --> 00:05:16,284
[reporter] Created by actress
Sheila Kelley,
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00:05:16,357 --> 00:05:19,235
the S Factor is
Hollywood's hottest fitness trend.
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00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:23,072
I had already written a book.
I had been on the Oprah Show with S.
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00:05:23,156 --> 00:05:26,951
Sheila Kelley is back to show us
how to work the pole.
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[Sheila] That happened
'cause Teri Hatcher, she was a student,
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00:05:29,954 --> 00:05:31,664
went on Oprah and showed some moves.
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00:05:31,748 --> 00:05:33,958
[Teri] It's very much about empowerment.
85
00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:36,044
There's all size women in the class.
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It's not about
looking at yourself or being sexy.
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00:05:38,421 --> 00:05:41,090
It's about finding this place of comfort
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and confidence in your own body.
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00:05:42,759 --> 00:05:43,801
[audience cheers]
90
00:05:43,885 --> 00:05:46,179
- [Sheila] Martha, come on!
- [audience cheers]
91
00:05:46,262 --> 00:05:48,556
Why is it called the S Factor?
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00:05:48,639 --> 00:05:51,684
It's called the S Factor
after the shape of a woman's body.
93
00:05:51,768 --> 00:05:52,769
The curves of a…
94
00:05:52,852 --> 00:05:55,438
the S kind of mimics
the shape of a woman's body,
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00:05:55,521 --> 00:05:58,441
as opposed to, like,
a man, who's more, like, of an H.
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00:05:58,524 --> 00:05:59,918
- We're an H? Oh!
- Well, you know...
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00:05:59,942 --> 00:06:01,694
- Thanks a lot! [laughs]
- [laughs]
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Women are an S!
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00:06:03,821 --> 00:06:05,531
Men are an H!
100
00:06:05,615 --> 00:06:08,117
- [growls]
- [audience laughs]
101
00:06:08,201 --> 00:06:09,452
[Sheila] Oh, my God!
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00:06:10,661 --> 00:06:15,291
[Sheila] I knew
I had to separate it from this male gaze.
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I talked about it as fitness,
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00:06:18,086 --> 00:06:20,421
as something you can do
to get in great shape.
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00:06:21,172 --> 00:06:22,965
Really, what S Factor is,
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00:06:23,049 --> 00:06:24,801
it's a lifestyle practice
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00:06:24,884 --> 00:06:27,220
designed for those that identify as women
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00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,264
to unlock the body
through sensual movement…
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[women cheer]
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[Sheila] …and to learn
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00:06:33,184 --> 00:06:36,562
how it can bring you
into a better place in the world.
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[woman] Okay.
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[Sheila] When I realized that, I was like,
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"Okay, I have to get this to women.
I want to get this to women."
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[indistinct chatter]
116
00:06:53,287 --> 00:06:55,641
Can you fill these out,
and bring it to me when you're done?
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There's a pen right there.
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00:06:57,333 --> 00:06:59,335
[indistinct chatter continues]
119
00:07:00,878 --> 00:07:03,464
[receptionist] All right, we're good.
We're awesome. Thank you.
120
00:07:04,841 --> 00:07:06,217
- What's your name?
- Evelyn.
121
00:07:06,300 --> 00:07:07,468
- Evelyn. Patty.
- Patty.
122
00:07:07,552 --> 00:07:10,471
- Pleased to meet you.
- My middle name's Evelyn. I'm Violet.
123
00:07:10,555 --> 00:07:11,995
- [Patty] Violet.
- Nice to meet you.
124
00:07:12,056 --> 00:07:15,226
- I'm traveling from Fontana.
- Oh! Is that far?
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00:07:15,309 --> 00:07:18,521
[Evelyn] My goal is to climb the pole.
126
00:07:18,604 --> 00:07:21,858
I'll be happy if I just get up to the top
and just wave at everybody. [chuckles]
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00:07:21,941 --> 00:07:24,110
I probably won't be waving,
but you know. [laughs]
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00:07:24,193 --> 00:07:25,820
That's my goal, is to climb.
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00:07:26,571 --> 00:07:27,613
Evelyn.
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00:07:27,697 --> 00:07:29,031
- I'm Ava.
- [Elizabeth] Ava.
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00:07:29,115 --> 00:07:30,199
Elizabeth.
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00:07:30,283 --> 00:07:32,243
[receptionist] Right here,
we need your initials.
133
00:07:32,326 --> 00:07:35,788
[Amber] I am, like,
so not coordinated at all.
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00:07:35,872 --> 00:07:38,624
- [woman laughs] You don't need to be.
- Super dork.
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00:07:38,708 --> 00:07:41,294
I haven't had a dance class
since I was in third grade.
136
00:07:41,377 --> 00:07:43,439
- Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.
- Same skills.
137
00:07:43,463 --> 00:07:45,548
I guess... not sure what to expect.
138
00:07:45,631 --> 00:07:48,217
- [laughs] Yeah.
- You know? So it'll be interesting.
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[all] Hi!
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How's it going?
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[women cheering] Whoo!
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Are you guys nervous?
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- [women] Yes.
- You guys are brave motherfuckers.
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[all laugh]
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[Ali] I'm gonna, um,
ask you to leave your shoes out here.
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Come on in here.
Put your stuff on the bench here.
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[softly] Hi!
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[Ali] Hair down, glasses off, and then
we're gonna sit in a little circle.
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[Sheila] Wow! Look at this crew!
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- [class laughs]
- [Sheila] I wanna introduce you to Ali,
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who will be co-teaching with me.
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I'm Sheila, and it's my life mission
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to help bring women back
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into their wholeness.
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So we're about to embark
on a six-month journey,
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where we'll reconnect with our bodies
through sensual movement.
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And we'll get to know each other,
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even though we feel
like strangers right now.
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It takes feeling safe.
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That is why there's no mirrors,
and there's no judgement.
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I wanna know your name, where you're from,
and what you're seeking here.
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Who wants to go first?
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I think what I wanna get out of this,
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I've noticed recently
that I've stopped looking in the mirror…
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00:08:53,783 --> 00:08:55,660
particularly this region. [chuckles]
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Sort of like the shame
of putting weight on.
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There's never been a day in my life
where I felt sexy
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00:09:01,707 --> 00:09:04,710
or where I felt
like I accepted my body for what it was.
169
00:09:04,794 --> 00:09:06,629
I've always been a tomboy.
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00:09:06,712 --> 00:09:08,506
I never really understand
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the true meaning of what being a woman is.
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I'm hoping this class will help that
and help me fall in love with myself,
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'cause Lord knows I don't. [chuckles]
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[Evelyn] I recently lost my husband.
It's been a year and a half.
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00:09:21,561 --> 00:09:23,521
So, this is a big thing.
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I want to embrace being intimate again,
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even with myself,
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because I let a lot go,
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and I want it back.
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- [class] Yes!
- Let's do it. Shall we move?
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[sensual music playing]
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[Lisset] So my girlfriend's
been coming to this,
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and she's been opening up
and seeing the goddess in her,
184
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and I'm just like, "I want some of that."
185
00:09:47,253 --> 00:09:49,297
- [all laughing]
- [mouthing]
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00:09:52,049 --> 00:09:55,511
I have three children,
and my baby is 21 years old.
187
00:09:55,595 --> 00:09:57,805
And so I kind of feel like I'm done
188
00:09:57,888 --> 00:10:00,850
with the motherhood part of my life.
189
00:10:01,350 --> 00:10:04,020
If I don't get on it,
I'm not gonna be able to.
190
00:10:06,439 --> 00:10:10,610
[Ali] As your head pulls
your whole body to the left…
191
00:10:10,693 --> 00:10:13,321
Every other woman that I see,
she looks gorgeous to me.
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00:10:13,404 --> 00:10:14,947
I'm like, "Wow, she's pretty!"
193
00:10:15,031 --> 00:10:16,949
[cries] But I can never see it in myself.
194
00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,662
[crying] And I wanna find that confidence
195
00:10:21,746 --> 00:10:26,000
and feel sexy and not compare myself
negatively to other women.
196
00:10:26,083 --> 00:10:27,084
I look around here,
197
00:10:27,168 --> 00:10:30,379
"Oh, my God, everybody's so pretty!
Like, what am I looking like right now?"
198
00:10:30,463 --> 00:10:32,482
- [laughing] So…
- [Sheila] She asked you a question.
199
00:10:32,506 --> 00:10:35,259
- [woman] How is she looking?
- Yeah. How is she looking right now?
200
00:10:35,343 --> 00:10:37,845
- [woman] Super hot!
- [all exclaiming]
201
00:10:37,928 --> 00:10:40,681
[class cheering]
202
00:10:40,765 --> 00:10:42,975
[Sheila] Every woman
that comes in the studio
203
00:10:43,059 --> 00:10:46,187
has a side of herself that's been hushed.
204
00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,566
The world has such incredible judgement
205
00:10:50,650 --> 00:10:52,693
around anyone who carries excess weight.
206
00:10:53,527 --> 00:10:55,488
I went through the process of,
207
00:10:55,571 --> 00:10:58,741
"You're too this. You're too that.
You're not enough of this."
208
00:10:59,367 --> 00:11:00,368
[Evelyn] Growing up,
209
00:11:00,868 --> 00:11:01,868
my father,
210
00:11:02,536 --> 00:11:05,331
he used to call me "Hot Dog."
It was a nickname.
211
00:11:05,414 --> 00:11:07,958
That one little thing just crushed me.
212
00:11:08,042 --> 00:11:09,585
I developed early,
213
00:11:09,669 --> 00:11:11,504
and everybody started noticing me.
214
00:11:11,587 --> 00:11:15,508
[crying] And I was being called a slut
because of what I was born with.
215
00:11:16,217 --> 00:11:18,678
[sniffling] I detached myself from it
216
00:11:19,553 --> 00:11:22,765
because I didn't wanna be judged.
I didn't wanna be called names.
217
00:11:23,349 --> 00:11:26,268
[Erin] Why does being a voluptuous woman,
218
00:11:26,352 --> 00:11:29,188
or even a slim woman with cellulite,
219
00:11:29,271 --> 00:11:32,692
why is that a thing that cannot be loved
220
00:11:33,651 --> 00:11:34,651
and beautiful?
221
00:11:36,487 --> 00:11:39,031
[Ali] I'm gonna teach you to walk
222
00:11:39,115 --> 00:11:40,825
S Factor style.
223
00:11:40,908 --> 00:11:42,743
The first step of the walk
224
00:11:42,827 --> 00:11:44,662
is to start to drag your toe
225
00:11:44,745 --> 00:11:48,249
from back to front across your midline.
226
00:11:48,332 --> 00:11:50,835
So my whole body is slithering along.
227
00:11:51,961 --> 00:11:55,256
You're gonna stick your breasts out,
your shoulder blades back.
228
00:11:55,339 --> 00:11:58,008
Pull your belly button in
to support your low back
229
00:11:58,092 --> 00:11:59,427
'cause it arches.
230
00:11:59,510 --> 00:12:00,928
And it doesn't matter.
231
00:12:01,011 --> 00:12:03,514
You're not going
in a straight line or getting anywhere.
232
00:12:03,597 --> 00:12:06,684
You're just enjoying how you get there.
233
00:12:06,767 --> 00:12:07,977
That's the journey.
234
00:12:08,060 --> 00:12:09,311
[class cheers]
235
00:12:09,395 --> 00:12:11,063
[indistinct chatter]
236
00:12:11,147 --> 00:12:14,567
[Sheila] If a woman is feeling like,
"I can't dance…"
237
00:12:15,401 --> 00:12:17,319
"I feel too awkward, too clumsy…"
238
00:12:17,403 --> 00:12:18,487
[woman] Yeah!
239
00:12:19,113 --> 00:12:23,367
[Sheila] …that's maddening 'cause it's not
like a "dance on the beat" kind of thing.
240
00:12:23,451 --> 00:12:24,368
It's... no, it's…
241
00:12:24,452 --> 00:12:29,165
it's all about releasing deep, deep pain
242
00:12:29,749 --> 00:12:31,751
and deep trauma in your body.
243
00:12:31,834 --> 00:12:33,919
[Sheila] So where's your curve right now?
244
00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,507
- [chuckling] Where's your…
- [class laughs]
245
00:12:40,176 --> 00:12:41,496
[Sheila] Can I have your glasses?
246
00:12:42,386 --> 00:12:43,386
Thank you.
247
00:12:44,597 --> 00:12:45,991
- I can't see.
- [Sheila] It's great.
248
00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:46,932
[class laughs]
249
00:12:47,016 --> 00:12:49,435
Kick your hip out. Just kick a hip out.
250
00:12:49,518 --> 00:12:52,188
Let your hair go. Yeah.
251
00:12:52,772 --> 00:12:53,981
You're like this vixen
252
00:12:54,064 --> 00:12:55,775
who hides in this place,
253
00:12:55,858 --> 00:12:57,902
which we don't want you
to hide there anymore. Okay?
254
00:12:57,985 --> 00:12:58,985
So, how we gonna do it?
255
00:12:59,028 --> 00:13:01,822
In the middle of 2015,
I was diagnosed with lupus.
256
00:13:01,906 --> 00:13:06,202
[voice breaking] So I had a reason
for why, um, I was frozen all the time.
257
00:13:06,285 --> 00:13:07,870
To want to walk and not be able to,
258
00:13:07,953 --> 00:13:09,288
to want to pick up a cup,
259
00:13:09,789 --> 00:13:12,500
and you just couldn't do it.
260
00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:15,127
So, I became very aware of movement,
261
00:13:15,628 --> 00:13:17,296
and I want to explore that more.
262
00:13:19,006 --> 00:13:21,133
Honestly, I don't have a crazy story.
263
00:13:21,217 --> 00:13:23,219
I just wanted to try pole class.
264
00:13:23,636 --> 00:13:26,722
And that's just something different, new.
265
00:13:26,806 --> 00:13:28,474
I wanna shake my thing.
266
00:13:28,557 --> 00:13:30,309
[class laughs] Whoo!
267
00:13:30,392 --> 00:13:33,437
- This, to me, is a transformative journey.
- Yeah, I'm kind of getting that.
268
00:13:33,521 --> 00:13:34,605
- [Sheila] Okay.
- So…
269
00:13:34,688 --> 00:13:35,856
[all laughing]
270
00:13:35,940 --> 00:13:37,149
It's kind of intense. Yeah.
271
00:13:37,233 --> 00:13:39,193
[class laughing]
272
00:13:39,276 --> 00:13:41,987
I'm like, "Wow, okay.
What did I get myself into?"
273
00:13:42,071 --> 00:13:44,824
A lot. You got yourself
into the deep fucking end, baby!
274
00:13:44,907 --> 00:13:48,369
I wasn't scared.
Now I'm, like, a little scared. [laughs]
275
00:13:49,119 --> 00:13:53,374
[Sheila] You're gonna hold
each other accountable to not giving up.
276
00:13:53,457 --> 00:13:55,876
Emotion is gonna come up.
Fear is gonna come up.
277
00:13:55,960 --> 00:13:58,838
Judgement is gonna come up.
You have to fight through it.
278
00:13:59,380 --> 00:14:01,460
I'll tell you right now,
you're all gonna wanna quit.
279
00:14:02,007 --> 00:14:05,886
You're all gonna go, "This is
too fucking intimate. This is scary."
280
00:14:05,970 --> 00:14:08,264
And then if you are brave enough,
281
00:14:08,347 --> 00:14:11,225
you'll continue forward
and reclaim yourself completely.
282
00:14:11,308 --> 00:14:13,018
If you give in to it,
283
00:14:13,102 --> 00:14:16,730
you will drift off and live
in a state of "Where the fuck am I?"
284
00:14:18,065 --> 00:14:20,985
So, listen, I want you to look
across the circle at someone
285
00:14:21,068 --> 00:14:23,737
and catch the eye of somebody,
and then point to her.
286
00:14:25,573 --> 00:14:27,116
Does everybody have somebody?
287
00:14:28,117 --> 00:14:30,452
I'm going that direction.
I can't actually see.
288
00:14:30,536 --> 00:14:32,913
- [class laughing]
- [Sheila] Is someone looking at her?
289
00:14:32,997 --> 00:14:35,457
- You're my girl!
- [Sheila] Put your hand up. Okay.
290
00:14:36,625 --> 00:14:39,295
That is your mirror for this journey.
291
00:14:40,045 --> 00:14:42,298
She's gonna keep you
and hold you accountable,
292
00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:45,050
and you're gonna create a sisterhood.
293
00:14:45,551 --> 00:14:47,553
[soft music playing]
294
00:14:50,598 --> 00:14:51,849
[all cheering]
295
00:14:56,395 --> 00:14:57,897
[dog whimpers]
296
00:15:08,032 --> 00:15:12,786
[Sheila] I never set out
or intended to be the founder
297
00:15:12,870 --> 00:15:14,997
of a feminine movement practice.
298
00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:16,957
[Sheila] Yeah. This is done.
299
00:15:20,085 --> 00:15:23,547
[Sheila] I was preparing for a movie
where I was playing a stripper.
300
00:15:23,631 --> 00:15:25,633
[sensual music playing]
301
00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:29,511
[Sheila] I became
fascinated by pole dance.
302
00:15:32,306 --> 00:15:34,141
It felt so amazing
303
00:15:34,224 --> 00:15:36,477
to be that overtly feminine.
304
00:15:39,104 --> 00:15:41,273
When you have been offended constantly
305
00:15:41,357 --> 00:15:44,109
and told what is right and wrong
to do with your body,
306
00:15:44,818 --> 00:15:47,738
you start to take that inside,
and you start to self-offend.
307
00:15:49,198 --> 00:15:51,700
I had an enormous amount of self-abuse.
308
00:15:52,534 --> 00:15:55,037
I was diagnosed with anorexia.
309
00:15:55,746 --> 00:15:56,789
I was a cutter.
310
00:15:58,207 --> 00:16:00,793
This lifestyle and practice
311
00:16:00,876 --> 00:16:02,419
has made me confront
312
00:16:02,503 --> 00:16:05,297
all the things
that have made me self-conscious,
313
00:16:05,381 --> 00:16:06,924
made me feel judged,
314
00:16:07,007 --> 00:16:09,134
made me feel shut down.
315
00:16:12,012 --> 00:16:13,012
One day,
316
00:16:13,389 --> 00:16:16,517
I was dropping my son off at preschool,
317
00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:18,394
and there was a knock on my window.
318
00:16:19,103 --> 00:16:21,939
It was a mom
I didn't really know. She goes, um,
319
00:16:22,022 --> 00:16:24,608
"I hear you do that pole dance."
320
00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:27,945
And I'm like,
"Yeah, go get some six-inch heels."
321
00:16:28,028 --> 00:16:29,571
"Come on over to my house."
322
00:16:29,655 --> 00:16:31,365
So I started teaching.
323
00:16:32,157 --> 00:16:33,909
[Sheila] Okay, it's ready.
324
00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:35,828
- Let's all sit.
- [all laughing]
325
00:16:35,911 --> 00:16:39,289
[Sheila] My kids
came up against challenges,
326
00:16:39,373 --> 00:16:41,709
being the mom with the poles in the house.
327
00:16:41,792 --> 00:16:42,960
[laughing]
328
00:16:43,043 --> 00:16:45,212
[sensual music playing]
329
00:16:45,295 --> 00:16:49,883
The mothers and the fathers would not
let their daughters come over here
330
00:16:49,967 --> 00:16:52,511
because people think, you know,
"A strip club."
331
00:16:52,594 --> 00:16:55,597
[sensual music continues]
332
00:16:55,681 --> 00:16:57,474
- We needed that.
- [woman exclaims]
333
00:16:57,558 --> 00:16:59,977
Can we start
every single meeting like that?
334
00:17:06,567 --> 00:17:08,152
[cars honking]
335
00:17:09,153 --> 00:17:12,573
[Sheila] I eventually opened studios
in Chicago, San Francisco,
336
00:17:12,656 --> 00:17:14,867
Los Angeles, Houston, and New York.
337
00:17:20,247 --> 00:17:21,915
[Patricia] When I first started,
338
00:17:21,999 --> 00:17:26,086
it just felt like freedom and release.
339
00:17:26,837 --> 00:17:28,839
[sensual music playing]
340
00:17:41,685 --> 00:17:43,687
Even though I wasn't physically crying,
341
00:17:44,563 --> 00:17:46,231
every dance was me crying.
342
00:17:49,193 --> 00:17:52,279
I was just in a really,
really dark, dark place.
343
00:17:52,362 --> 00:17:54,323
My relationship had ended.
344
00:17:54,823 --> 00:17:56,658
I was really devastated.
345
00:17:57,326 --> 00:17:59,203
It just felt like…
346
00:17:59,703 --> 00:18:02,206
"I'm 38 years old,
I'm never gonna get married,
347
00:18:02,289 --> 00:18:04,041
I'm never gonna have a baby,
348
00:18:04,124 --> 00:18:06,126
it's never gonna happen for me."
349
00:18:07,252 --> 00:18:10,547
I wanted to kind of reconnect with myself.
350
00:18:10,631 --> 00:18:12,049
I was feeling very dejected.
351
00:18:12,132 --> 00:18:14,718
I just wanted to feel
more sensual and more sexual.
352
00:18:16,470 --> 00:18:17,846
When I first started,
353
00:18:17,930 --> 00:18:22,810
a lot of what I went through was about
just feeling comfortable in my own skin,
354
00:18:23,435 --> 00:18:25,687
feeling the sensuality in my body.
355
00:18:26,271 --> 00:18:28,690
I didn't know there was a deeper journey.
356
00:18:30,067 --> 00:18:31,610
[Sheila] There's a fight happening
357
00:18:31,693 --> 00:18:34,446
between two erotic energies.
358
00:18:34,530 --> 00:18:37,574
Between your lust and your fire
359
00:18:37,658 --> 00:18:40,869
has been your fear, your pullback, right?
360
00:18:42,412 --> 00:18:45,082
And what's coming is a lot of hope.
361
00:18:46,291 --> 00:18:48,544
But I want the hope to bring the lust.
362
00:18:48,627 --> 00:18:50,629
Don't leave the lust back there.
363
00:18:51,839 --> 00:18:54,174
[Patricia] As a Black woman
in the workplace,
364
00:18:54,258 --> 00:18:55,801
you encounter so many things
365
00:18:55,884 --> 00:18:57,386
that will make you angry.
366
00:18:58,345 --> 00:19:03,100
There's such a stigma
around this idea of the angry Black woman.
367
00:19:03,183 --> 00:19:06,562
That's been something
that I really try to keep a handle on
368
00:19:07,062 --> 00:19:09,773
because you know that people have
those kinds of perceptions
369
00:19:09,857 --> 00:19:12,609
and that your anger is really not okay.
370
00:19:13,152 --> 00:19:15,237
S Factor can be sort of a safe place
371
00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:17,614
to explore that and try to express it.
372
00:19:21,410 --> 00:19:22,578
[women laugh]
373
00:19:22,661 --> 00:19:25,098
[Patricia] I've been doing S Factor
for about eight years now.
374
00:19:25,122 --> 00:19:28,709
A lot of it is about the deepness
of the relationships
375
00:19:28,792 --> 00:19:30,878
that all these women have
with each other.
376
00:19:30,961 --> 00:19:32,963
[soft classical music playing]
377
00:19:39,803 --> 00:19:41,805
[Amy] I went from believing
that pole dancing
378
00:19:41,889 --> 00:19:44,057
was this very solitary thing
379
00:19:44,141 --> 00:19:47,102
to discovering this huge family of people
380
00:19:47,186 --> 00:19:49,021
who are open arms, embrace me,
381
00:19:49,104 --> 00:19:52,024
and would celebrate
all of my wins with me.
382
00:19:53,025 --> 00:19:55,027
Pole is an industry that is unique
383
00:19:55,110 --> 00:19:57,237
because it is built by women.
384
00:19:57,321 --> 00:19:59,323
[soft classical music continues]
385
00:20:01,074 --> 00:20:02,701
The original pole studio owners
386
00:20:02,784 --> 00:20:04,912
come from, like, an S Factor background,
387
00:20:04,995 --> 00:20:07,915
or they were strippers,
and people wanted to learn their craft.
388
00:20:08,874 --> 00:20:12,336
This creative industry
has been growing like crazy
389
00:20:12,419 --> 00:20:14,671
because we built our business around,
390
00:20:14,755 --> 00:20:19,343
"How does pole dancing help you become
empowered in the rest of your life?"
391
00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:23,764
"How do you feel bigger and bolder
outside of the studio
392
00:20:23,847 --> 00:20:27,184
because of the confidence
that pole dance instills in you?"
393
00:20:27,768 --> 00:20:30,729
And that's really
the intoxicating part of pole.
394
00:20:32,064 --> 00:20:34,066
[upbeat music playing]
395
00:20:40,113 --> 00:20:41,448
[Amy] I love competition.
396
00:20:42,032 --> 00:20:44,785
I always want to win,
and that's just the way I am.
397
00:20:44,868 --> 00:20:47,663
[upbeat music continues]
398
00:20:53,126 --> 00:20:54,628
[Amy] I'm also an attorney.
399
00:20:55,295 --> 00:20:58,507
I currently practice pro bono family law.
400
00:20:58,590 --> 00:21:00,550
You can be a pole dancer
and you can be a lawyer.
401
00:21:00,634 --> 00:21:01,635
How cool is that?
402
00:21:01,718 --> 00:21:03,720
[upbeat music playing]
403
00:21:04,638 --> 00:21:05,806
[Amy] I generally am known
404
00:21:05,889 --> 00:21:09,059
as what, in the pole dance world,
we call a trickster.
405
00:21:09,726 --> 00:21:12,479
I post a lot of tricks on social media.
406
00:21:12,562 --> 00:21:14,398
I love teaching tricks.
407
00:21:15,315 --> 00:21:17,943
In five weeks, I am competing
408
00:21:18,026 --> 00:21:20,112
at the Golden Gate Pole Championship.
409
00:21:20,988 --> 00:21:22,447
My reason for competing
410
00:21:22,531 --> 00:21:25,075
has always been about telling stories.
411
00:21:27,077 --> 00:21:28,745
Can I tell a story with my body
412
00:21:28,829 --> 00:21:30,664
that I truly believe in,
413
00:21:30,747 --> 00:21:33,250
that maybe other people
can relate to too?
414
00:21:34,251 --> 00:21:36,253
[R&B music playing]
415
00:21:38,588 --> 00:21:40,048
[audience cheers]
416
00:21:40,132 --> 00:21:42,926
[Amy] I took
my very first pole dancing class,
417
00:21:43,010 --> 00:21:46,179
and I was like,
"Oh, this will be such a nice hobby."
418
00:21:46,930 --> 00:21:49,182
I don't know.
Maybe it was, like, an electric,
419
00:21:49,266 --> 00:21:52,019
magnetic thing
in the stainless steel on the pole,
420
00:21:52,102 --> 00:21:53,854
but as soon as I touched the pole,
421
00:21:53,937 --> 00:21:57,607
I was like, "Oh, I love this."
422
00:21:58,191 --> 00:22:00,569
I literally fly when I'm on the pole.
423
00:22:00,652 --> 00:22:02,779
I'm flying. That's crazy.
424
00:22:03,363 --> 00:22:07,159
I never would've believed
I could have done that five years ago.
425
00:22:08,785 --> 00:22:10,585
- [woman] Amy, did you wash your hands?
- Yes.
426
00:22:10,662 --> 00:22:12,039
[woman] Okay.
427
00:22:12,706 --> 00:22:14,583
[man] There she is. Talk to him.
428
00:22:14,666 --> 00:22:15,667
[young Amy] Hi!
429
00:22:15,751 --> 00:22:17,836
[Amy] I'm the oldest of seven kids.
430
00:22:18,503 --> 00:22:20,964
I was raised in the Mormon Church.
431
00:22:22,924 --> 00:22:23,759
Being Mormon,
432
00:22:23,842 --> 00:22:27,929
women owning their sexuality was something
that was really frowned upon.
433
00:22:28,013 --> 00:22:30,599
You just pretend
that your sexuality doesn't exist.
434
00:22:30,682 --> 00:22:34,478
And if you run into a moment
where it happens to exist for you,
435
00:22:34,561 --> 00:22:37,981
you, like, say your prayers
and you ask for forgiveness for it.
436
00:22:38,774 --> 00:22:40,400
I felt like a bad person
437
00:22:40,484 --> 00:22:42,861
because of this lesson I'd had in my body
438
00:22:42,944 --> 00:22:45,072
about being ashamed of my sexuality.
439
00:22:45,155 --> 00:22:49,159
Like, is this really real?
Is this something I actually believe in?
440
00:22:53,747 --> 00:22:55,165
When I started pole dancing,
441
00:22:55,248 --> 00:22:56,750
I didn't tell anyone about it
442
00:22:56,833 --> 00:23:00,712
because it was still
this weird underground thing.
443
00:23:01,755 --> 00:23:04,841
I want to create a world
where you say that you pole dance,
444
00:23:04,925 --> 00:23:07,260
and the first question
people ask you isn't,
445
00:23:07,344 --> 00:23:09,179
"Oh, are you a stripper?"
446
00:23:09,262 --> 00:23:11,139
It's, "Oh, that's really cool."
447
00:23:11,223 --> 00:23:13,975
- "I've heard that's really hard."
- [man clapping]
448
00:23:14,059 --> 00:23:16,812
Yeah! Do it again! All right!
449
00:23:16,895 --> 00:23:19,106
[man shouting indistinctly]
450
00:23:19,189 --> 00:23:20,941
[sensual music playing]
451
00:23:21,024 --> 00:23:22,025
[door lock beeps]
452
00:23:27,906 --> 00:23:29,991
[Amy] I own San Francisco Pole and Dance.
453
00:23:33,036 --> 00:23:35,163
I wanted to create a space
454
00:23:35,247 --> 00:23:36,456
where anybody can come,
455
00:23:36,540 --> 00:23:38,583
and they're not ashamed to pole dance.
456
00:23:39,209 --> 00:23:43,755
Whatever face my students put on for work,
they can take off when they come in here.
457
00:23:44,923 --> 00:23:47,592
If they've got a belly
on top of their abs,
458
00:23:47,676 --> 00:23:49,261
let it all hang out.
459
00:23:50,762 --> 00:23:54,266
The reason we don't wear a lot of clothes
is because it helps you stick to the pole.
460
00:23:55,559 --> 00:23:57,727
- [teacher] All the way up.
- [Amy] I tell my students,
461
00:23:57,811 --> 00:24:00,939
"I know that you've been shamed
about your body for most of your life,
462
00:24:01,022 --> 00:24:03,859
but I want you to take off
most of your clothes,
463
00:24:03,942 --> 00:24:05,402
strip down to a bikini,
464
00:24:05,485 --> 00:24:07,737
come out here
in front of full-length mirrors,
465
00:24:07,821 --> 00:24:10,615
and I want you to try something
you've never done before
466
00:24:10,699 --> 00:24:13,034
and that you're
probably gonna be really terrible at."
467
00:24:13,118 --> 00:24:15,203
That's a hard sell right there.
468
00:24:15,287 --> 00:24:17,289
[sensual music continues]
469
00:24:22,377 --> 00:24:25,922
I'm gonna show you guys three, like,
tricksy things today.
470
00:24:26,006 --> 00:24:28,341
We'll incorporate it and kind of break up
471
00:24:28,425 --> 00:24:30,302
the tricks that we learn
with free dancing.
472
00:24:30,927 --> 00:24:33,305
And face! Chest!
473
00:24:33,805 --> 00:24:35,140
Belly! Hips!
474
00:24:35,223 --> 00:24:38,685
And then you're gonna tuck your hips.
You're gonna sit down into it,
475
00:24:39,978 --> 00:24:42,355
pulling your face in towards the pole.
476
00:24:44,316 --> 00:24:47,486
Getting your pussy down to the ground.
477
00:24:47,569 --> 00:24:50,238
I signed up
for the sexy choreography class
478
00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:53,325
because I've never
been in shape or felt sexy.
479
00:24:53,408 --> 00:24:56,995
I like doing things that terrify me,
and I swear, this thing terrified me.
480
00:24:57,078 --> 00:24:58,788
[Amy] Let's do this move together.
481
00:24:59,498 --> 00:25:01,124
One, back.
482
00:25:01,208 --> 00:25:02,792
Two, back.
483
00:25:02,876 --> 00:25:03,960
Kick, drop.
484
00:25:04,044 --> 00:25:05,212
Oh! You queen!
485
00:25:05,295 --> 00:25:07,839
That was fucking awesome! That was great!
486
00:25:07,923 --> 00:25:09,925
[soft classical music playing]
487
00:25:17,265 --> 00:25:19,351
[Amy] What is so exciting
about pole dancing
488
00:25:19,434 --> 00:25:22,103
is it helps people, especially women,
489
00:25:22,187 --> 00:25:25,065
rediscover their relationship
with their bodies.
490
00:25:25,148 --> 00:25:27,150
[gentle music continues]
491
00:25:30,862 --> 00:25:32,405
[Sheila] Here's what you're gonna do.
492
00:25:32,489 --> 00:25:35,283
Take your right hand or left hand,
whichever is dominant.
493
00:25:35,909 --> 00:25:39,788
And you're going to stay
in that beautiful curvy walk,
494
00:25:39,871 --> 00:25:42,207
and you're going to close the door.
495
00:25:42,707 --> 00:25:44,167
And then you're gonna turn around.
496
00:25:44,251 --> 00:25:47,254
- [mimics rocket taking off]
- [class cheering]
497
00:25:49,923 --> 00:25:50,757
[Sheila] Right?
498
00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:52,926
I want you to think of the pole
499
00:25:53,009 --> 00:25:55,720
as the frame of the artwork of your body.
500
00:25:56,304 --> 00:25:58,139
It's not about the pole.
501
00:25:58,223 --> 00:26:00,308
[class cheering and clapping]
502
00:26:16,908 --> 00:26:19,119
[Megan] I'm from Ohio, originally.
503
00:26:19,202 --> 00:26:20,996
I grew up doing gymnastics.
504
00:26:21,079 --> 00:26:22,706
It just was my life.
505
00:26:22,789 --> 00:26:27,669
When I was younger,
I was repeatedly sexually abused by
506
00:26:27,752 --> 00:26:32,173
the ex-famed Olympic gymnastics doctor,
Larry Nassar,
507
00:26:32,257 --> 00:26:34,050
but it was one of those things
508
00:26:34,134 --> 00:26:35,594
that I stuffed away.
509
00:26:35,677 --> 00:26:38,471
My whole life,
I just pretended like it never happened,
510
00:26:39,431 --> 00:26:41,182
but it was always there.
511
00:26:41,266 --> 00:26:43,435
[exhales sharply]
I gotta breathe for a sec.
512
00:26:43,518 --> 00:26:45,270
[voice breaking] Um, but, you know, this...
513
00:26:45,353 --> 00:26:46,980
[Sheila] You don't have to keep talking.
514
00:26:47,063 --> 00:26:47,897
[exhales]
515
00:26:47,981 --> 00:26:50,191
- [Sheila] You can just be.
- Okay. Okay.
516
00:26:52,193 --> 00:26:53,862
[exhales]
517
00:26:53,945 --> 00:26:55,947
[gentle guitar music playing]
518
00:26:57,741 --> 00:26:59,075
[man] Wow!
519
00:27:00,118 --> 00:27:02,329
I was two when I started gymnastics,
520
00:27:02,412 --> 00:27:04,080
and I fell in love with it,
521
00:27:04,164 --> 00:27:06,833
and I immediately wanted
to be an Olympian.
522
00:27:08,501 --> 00:27:11,171
I remember the 1996 Atlanta Olympics,
523
00:27:11,254 --> 00:27:13,506
when Kerri Strug broke her foot.
524
00:27:14,507 --> 00:27:16,134
That was such a big moment.
525
00:27:19,846 --> 00:27:21,097
[man] All right, Meg.
526
00:27:22,182 --> 00:27:24,392
[Megan] I gave up everything for it.
527
00:27:24,476 --> 00:27:27,520
I didn't have friends
or a social life or anything.
528
00:27:27,604 --> 00:27:29,564
- [man] Yeah! Good job, Meg!
- [audience applauds]
529
00:27:30,398 --> 00:27:31,858
[Megan] When I was 15,
530
00:27:31,941 --> 00:27:34,986
I ended up having
three stress fractures in my back.
531
00:27:35,695 --> 00:27:38,907
As a gymnast,
what you're told by your coaches is,
532
00:27:38,990 --> 00:27:41,117
"No pain, no gain. Push through it."
533
00:27:42,118 --> 00:27:45,664
So I pushed, and I trained
on those fractures for six months…
534
00:27:46,164 --> 00:27:48,792
and I couldn't walk
'cause there was just so much spasming,
535
00:27:48,875 --> 00:27:51,753
and, like, my body was just so contracted
536
00:27:51,836 --> 00:27:53,630
and trying to protect itself.
537
00:27:55,256 --> 00:27:58,635
We went to a few doctors.
They couldn't find what was wrong,
538
00:27:58,718 --> 00:28:00,470
and so when we found Larry Nassar,
539
00:28:00,553 --> 00:28:02,263
it was like a godsend
540
00:28:02,347 --> 00:28:03,723
that he knew what was wrong
541
00:28:03,807 --> 00:28:05,975
and could treat it. [chuckles]
542
00:28:07,519 --> 00:28:09,354
This is a famous doctor.
543
00:28:09,938 --> 00:28:12,565
All of my heroes saw him.
544
00:28:13,316 --> 00:28:15,902
When Kerri Strug broke her foot,
545
00:28:15,985 --> 00:28:18,446
little do people realize
that it was Larry Nassar
546
00:28:18,530 --> 00:28:20,407
holding his hand out for her.
547
00:28:24,661 --> 00:28:26,871
He would sort of start this massage,
548
00:28:26,955 --> 00:28:29,749
and he'd sort of
work his way up in your inner thighs.
549
00:28:29,833 --> 00:28:31,334
And then he'd camouflage
550
00:28:31,418 --> 00:28:33,795
by standing in between my mom and I,
551
00:28:33,878 --> 00:28:36,589
and he would have one hand massaging,
552
00:28:36,673 --> 00:28:40,135
and then the other
would just aggressively go in.
553
00:28:40,218 --> 00:28:43,638
And it was painful.
It hurt. I'd walk out of there sore
554
00:28:44,139 --> 00:28:45,557
every single time.
555
00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,767
It was… it was really intense.
556
00:28:49,728 --> 00:28:52,313
I knew from day one
that something was wrong,
557
00:28:52,397 --> 00:28:54,733
but I was too scared.
558
00:28:54,816 --> 00:28:56,985
I was terrified.
559
00:28:58,278 --> 00:28:59,988
I was terrified to say something.
560
00:29:00,071 --> 00:29:02,782
I didn't even know
that area of my body yet.
561
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:07,871
[Megan] This past year has been awful.
562
00:29:07,954 --> 00:29:09,831
I just kind of stopped living
563
00:29:09,914 --> 00:29:12,792
because I started to deal with it.
564
00:29:12,876 --> 00:29:15,128
And I went to therapy,
and I was proactive,
565
00:29:15,211 --> 00:29:18,381
but I don't know…
you know, I… I don't know who I am.
566
00:29:19,424 --> 00:29:21,968
[Sheila] You're put on this Earth
to be life force,
567
00:29:22,051 --> 00:29:23,928
and this culture we live in
568
00:29:24,012 --> 00:29:25,972
just robs it from the feminine.
569
00:29:26,055 --> 00:29:27,932
And I am no longer okay with it.
570
00:29:28,641 --> 00:29:32,771
So thank you for joining me on this crazy,
crazy amazing journey of reclamation.
571
00:29:32,854 --> 00:29:34,272
We'll… we'll get there, okay?
572
00:29:35,648 --> 00:29:38,127
Just wanna talk to you
about what you're gonna bring next week.
573
00:29:38,151 --> 00:29:39,319
- [slams loudly]
- Shoes.
574
00:29:39,402 --> 00:29:42,071
- [class exclaims]
- Six-inch to eight-inch shoes.
575
00:29:42,155 --> 00:29:43,239
[class applauding]
576
00:29:43,323 --> 00:29:46,075
[Sheila] These shoes are gonna start
to tell you about yourself.
577
00:29:46,159 --> 00:29:48,495
They will tilt your pelvis
another 30 degrees
578
00:29:48,578 --> 00:29:50,288
and make the curve even louder.
579
00:29:50,371 --> 00:29:54,459
They're also gonna allow your body
to be more heightened in her sexuality.
580
00:29:54,542 --> 00:29:56,419
[class laughs]
581
00:29:56,503 --> 00:29:58,671
Miss Evelyn. Yeah?
582
00:29:59,506 --> 00:30:01,299
- What's going on?
- [crying softly]
583
00:30:01,841 --> 00:30:02,841
[sniffles]
584
00:30:03,176 --> 00:30:04,677
[Evelyn] My husband, Terry…
585
00:30:05,512 --> 00:30:07,847
March 6th was a year and a half
586
00:30:07,931 --> 00:30:09,307
that he's been gone.
587
00:30:10,767 --> 00:30:11,768
[sniffs]
588
00:30:11,851 --> 00:30:14,771
[voice breaking] Around that time,
I put my wedding ring back on
589
00:30:15,355 --> 00:30:17,190
'cause I took it off.
590
00:30:17,899 --> 00:30:20,235
[Sheila] Let the sob happen.
Just sob for a second.
591
00:30:20,318 --> 00:30:22,737
There's no shame here.
There's no cutting back the sobbing.
592
00:30:22,821 --> 00:30:24,447
- No, I...
- [Sheila] You're grieving.
593
00:30:24,531 --> 00:30:27,408
But what your body needs to do
is move emotion through it.
594
00:30:27,992 --> 00:30:31,746
[sobbing] But it's such an ugly cry.
595
00:30:31,830 --> 00:30:34,541
- [Sheila] Oh, my God!
- [class applauding and cheering]
596
00:30:35,166 --> 00:30:36,846
[Evelyn crying] No,
I don't mean it's ugly.
597
00:30:36,918 --> 00:30:39,420
[crying] Yeah, it's probably ugly
in the face, but I mean…
598
00:30:39,504 --> 00:30:41,422
this is a cry I've never…
599
00:30:41,506 --> 00:30:42,924
[sobbing]
600
00:30:43,007 --> 00:30:44,384
…I've not experienced.
601
00:30:44,467 --> 00:30:48,429
And I know it's different,
and I hear it in the echoes in my house.
602
00:30:48,513 --> 00:30:50,390
And it's horrible.
603
00:30:50,473 --> 00:30:51,474
[sobbing]
604
00:30:52,016 --> 00:30:54,519
[Sheila] Put your hand
where he is right now in your body.
605
00:30:54,602 --> 00:30:55,436
I'm sorry?
606
00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,065
Put your hand on where he is in your body.
Where do you feel him most?
607
00:31:00,233 --> 00:31:02,402
- [inhales] Right here.
- [Sheila] Right here?
608
00:31:03,862 --> 00:31:05,071
I want you to just move it.
609
00:31:05,154 --> 00:31:07,574
I don't want you to feel…
I don't want you to talk anymore.
610
00:31:07,657 --> 00:31:09,409
I want you to move your body.
611
00:31:10,535 --> 00:31:11,661
[crying softly]
612
00:31:12,495 --> 00:31:14,038
I don't think I can.
613
00:31:15,748 --> 00:31:18,418
[Sheila] Let that hand
and that arm soothe you right now.
614
00:31:18,501 --> 00:31:19,878
If that's where he is,
615
00:31:21,504 --> 00:31:23,006
let that arm soothe you.
616
00:31:24,048 --> 00:31:26,050
["Let It Go" by James Bay playing]
617
00:31:29,637 --> 00:31:31,890
[Sheila] You know how to do this. Breathe.
618
00:31:32,807 --> 00:31:34,058
- Breathe.
- [exhales]
619
00:31:34,142 --> 00:31:35,393
[Sheila] Let it move you.
620
00:31:36,144 --> 00:31:37,645
Have a dance right now.
621
00:31:39,731 --> 00:31:41,482
Come on. Come on.
622
00:31:42,567 --> 00:31:44,193
Move toward me with your breath.
623
00:31:44,277 --> 00:31:46,613
- [music continues]
- ♪ Just let it be ♪
624
00:31:47,113 --> 00:31:49,657
♪ Why don't you be you ♪
625
00:31:50,199 --> 00:31:51,993
♪ And I'll be me? ♪
626
00:31:53,202 --> 00:31:56,372
♪ Everything that's broke ♪
627
00:31:56,456 --> 00:31:58,041
♪ Leave it to the breeze… ♪
628
00:31:58,124 --> 00:32:00,793
[Sheila] That's it. That's it. That's it.
Beautiful, Evelyn.
629
00:32:01,711 --> 00:32:02,711
And let it go.
630
00:32:03,171 --> 00:32:04,839
♪ And I'll be me? ♪
631
00:32:06,591 --> 00:32:08,134
♪ And I'll be me… ♪
632
00:32:08,217 --> 00:32:11,387
[Sheila] Crawl over to me.
Slow. You know how to do this.
633
00:32:12,305 --> 00:32:13,222
Yes!
634
00:32:13,306 --> 00:32:15,141
[class applauding] Yeah!
635
00:32:16,142 --> 00:32:17,142
Yes!
636
00:32:17,477 --> 00:32:19,437
[class cheering]
637
00:32:23,983 --> 00:32:27,904
[Sheila] Keep moving.
Put his… on your… that arm, yes!
638
00:32:27,987 --> 00:32:29,948
Feel him dancing with you, baby.
639
00:32:32,075 --> 00:32:35,119
♪ Why don't you be you ♪
640
00:32:35,620 --> 00:32:37,372
♪ And I'll be me… ♪
641
00:32:38,998 --> 00:32:41,918
[Sheila] Good!
Now, you're gonna go all the way back.
642
00:32:47,173 --> 00:32:50,843
- [exclaiming and laughing]
- [all cheering]
643
00:32:54,472 --> 00:32:56,474
It's okay to be happy again.
644
00:32:57,976 --> 00:32:59,435
Thank you for trusting us.
645
00:32:59,519 --> 00:33:02,230
[Evelyn crying] It's been a long time
since I could trust.
646
00:33:02,313 --> 00:33:03,439
So, thank you.
647
00:33:04,107 --> 00:33:06,109
[class clapping]
648
00:33:07,902 --> 00:33:11,239
[Dr. Berman] Even though
you're not therapists, you, as teachers,
649
00:33:11,322 --> 00:33:13,658
are providing an experience
650
00:33:13,741 --> 00:33:16,911
that is extremely healing
in a therapeutic way.
651
00:33:17,495 --> 00:33:19,247
But you wanna be extra careful,
652
00:33:19,330 --> 00:33:23,418
because if you're triggering
PTSD reaction,
653
00:33:23,501 --> 00:33:25,628
call her over after class
and connect with her.
654
00:33:25,712 --> 00:33:27,505
"Are you seeing a therapist
655
00:33:27,588 --> 00:33:29,900
to give you the support
that we're not equipped to give you
656
00:33:29,924 --> 00:33:32,677
but that you really need,
not only to get the most out of the class,
657
00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:34,512
but to do your healing?"
658
00:33:34,595 --> 00:33:37,974
Sheila asked me to come in
and just brief you,
659
00:33:38,057 --> 00:33:40,309
make sure you feel confident
660
00:33:40,393 --> 00:33:43,146
working with women
who have a trauma history,
661
00:33:43,229 --> 00:33:45,064
or maybe trauma is coming out
right now…
662
00:33:45,148 --> 00:33:47,191
I have a student in my class
663
00:33:47,275 --> 00:33:49,861
that had sexual trauma
at a very young age.
664
00:33:50,445 --> 00:33:51,725
[Dr. Berman] So what do you see?
665
00:33:51,779 --> 00:33:54,657
- [Jenn] Hesitation, locked body.
- [Dr. Berman] Mmm-hmm.
666
00:33:55,366 --> 00:33:58,995
The key with trauma recovery
is shame release
667
00:33:59,871 --> 00:34:02,665
in the process of reclaiming
668
00:34:02,749 --> 00:34:06,169
your sexuality on your terms at your pace
669
00:34:06,252 --> 00:34:08,254
because the power was
taken away from you,
670
00:34:08,337 --> 00:34:10,840
and shame was put in that place.
671
00:34:10,923 --> 00:34:13,801
Shame will hold you prisoner,
672
00:34:13,885 --> 00:34:18,139
but really all shame wants is to come
into the light and be let go.
673
00:34:18,222 --> 00:34:19,724
"You no longer serve me."
674
00:34:19,807 --> 00:34:21,809
[class cheers]
675
00:34:24,687 --> 00:34:29,734
[Sheila] This movement will bring you
into such an incredible state of peace
676
00:34:30,318 --> 00:34:31,819
and ownership again.
677
00:34:31,903 --> 00:34:33,905
[class cheers]
678
00:34:38,326 --> 00:34:41,162
[Amy] It's amazing how pole can be
so many different things
679
00:34:41,245 --> 00:34:42,580
to so many different people.
680
00:34:42,663 --> 00:34:44,665
[cello music playing]
681
00:34:45,583 --> 00:34:49,003
[Amy] You have your pole competitions
that are more about winning and losing.
682
00:34:49,087 --> 00:34:51,130
They're about performance.
683
00:34:51,214 --> 00:34:54,175
- [indistinct chatter]
- [cello music continues]
684
00:34:54,258 --> 00:34:56,010
[audience cheering]
685
00:34:57,261 --> 00:34:59,889
I have a PhD in theoretical physics
and neuroscience.
686
00:35:00,890 --> 00:35:02,934
I got into it to fix my spine.
687
00:35:08,439 --> 00:35:10,191
[audience cheers]
688
00:35:13,444 --> 00:35:16,322
[Amy] My schools are focused
on building good technical training
689
00:35:16,405 --> 00:35:18,449
with an eye towards competition.
690
00:35:21,327 --> 00:35:24,497
The hands are, like,
making this whole thing. It looks awesome.
691
00:35:26,582 --> 00:35:31,003
[vocalizes]
692
00:35:31,087 --> 00:35:33,548
Don't lose your audience,
since you're telling them a story.
693
00:35:33,631 --> 00:35:35,258
- You gotta keep eye contact.
- Okay.
694
00:35:36,926 --> 00:35:39,929
[Amy] You have professional performers
like Jenyne Butterfly,
695
00:35:40,012 --> 00:35:42,348
who do pole
at shows like Cirque du Soleil.
696
00:35:43,766 --> 00:35:47,395
[announcer on mic] Ladies and gentlemen,
Jenyne Butterfly!
697
00:35:47,478 --> 00:35:48,646
[audience cheers]
698
00:35:55,778 --> 00:35:57,572
My name is Jenyne,
699
00:35:57,655 --> 00:35:59,949
also known as Butterfly.
700
00:36:00,032 --> 00:36:01,576
I'm an aerialist
701
00:36:01,659 --> 00:36:04,871
specializing in pole artistry.
702
00:36:06,372 --> 00:36:09,000
I recently performed five years
with Cirque du Soleil.
703
00:36:10,293 --> 00:36:13,087
And I am also a mother.
704
00:36:13,171 --> 00:36:14,672
[upbeat music playing]
705
00:36:18,426 --> 00:36:20,720
[Jenyne] When I was 18,
706
00:36:20,803 --> 00:36:23,681
I was brought to a gentlemen's club
707
00:36:24,182 --> 00:36:27,727
where the best pole dancer
in the country performed.
708
00:36:29,312 --> 00:36:30,938
Her name was Pantera.
709
00:36:32,899 --> 00:36:34,567
She was very intimidating.
710
00:36:36,027 --> 00:36:38,404
I could not believe what I was watching.
711
00:36:40,448 --> 00:36:43,576
She would go up and do a lay-back
and then do crunches,
712
00:36:43,659 --> 00:36:46,204
and then she would spin around really fast
713
00:36:46,287 --> 00:36:48,331
and then drop down
714
00:36:48,414 --> 00:36:50,750
and then do one-handed push-ups on stage.
715
00:36:51,876 --> 00:36:54,170
I couldn't stop thinking about it.
716
00:36:54,253 --> 00:36:57,006
So I started
working at the club as a waitress.
717
00:36:57,965 --> 00:36:59,800
I had set down my tray
718
00:36:59,884 --> 00:37:02,845
and went to go, you know,
try some stuff on the pole.
719
00:37:02,929 --> 00:37:04,180
I couldn't do anything.
720
00:37:04,764 --> 00:37:07,433
And Pantera walked by and saw me.
721
00:37:07,516 --> 00:37:09,894
She said, "You need boots to climb."
722
00:37:10,645 --> 00:37:13,356
She actually gave me a pair of boots.
723
00:37:13,439 --> 00:37:15,066
I ripped the boots.
724
00:37:15,149 --> 00:37:17,485
Then I realized
that I had to build strength.
725
00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:21,906
[Jenyne] I was self-taught.
726
00:37:23,241 --> 00:37:26,285
I try to spend my time mostly in the air
727
00:37:26,369 --> 00:37:27,912
because I'm really clumsy.
728
00:37:29,247 --> 00:37:31,624
I'm only graceful when I'm in the air.
729
00:37:33,417 --> 00:37:36,003
I decided to stop going to college
730
00:37:36,087 --> 00:37:37,922
and really focus on my training.
731
00:37:38,547 --> 00:37:40,925
- Pole became a priority.
- [upbeat music playing]
732
00:37:42,551 --> 00:37:46,138
I ended up going
to the World Pole Dancing Championship,
733
00:37:46,222 --> 00:37:48,099
where I represented the US.
734
00:37:48,182 --> 00:37:51,018
[audience applauds and cheers]
735
00:37:51,102 --> 00:37:53,854
[Jenyne] That's when things
really started picking up in my career.
736
00:38:02,029 --> 00:38:04,031
[sensual music playing]
737
00:38:12,164 --> 00:38:14,417
[Jenyne] There's so much freedom in pole.
738
00:38:17,962 --> 00:38:20,423
The second my feet come off the ground,
739
00:38:21,716 --> 00:38:23,759
I am in another world.
740
00:38:25,219 --> 00:38:27,471
[Jenyne] There's no right and wrong
in pole.
741
00:38:28,055 --> 00:38:29,598
There's just focus
742
00:38:30,266 --> 00:38:33,477
and the connection with my body.
743
00:38:34,895 --> 00:38:36,355
It's therapy.
744
00:38:36,981 --> 00:38:38,065
It's a release.
745
00:38:39,025 --> 00:38:41,610
You shut out everything else that's
happening in your life,
746
00:38:41,694 --> 00:38:43,529
and you focus on yourself.
747
00:38:45,281 --> 00:38:47,658
It helps you become healthier.
748
00:38:47,742 --> 00:38:50,870
It gives you strength,
and it gives you flexibility.
749
00:38:50,953 --> 00:38:52,747
Good. There you go.
750
00:38:52,830 --> 00:38:55,916
[Jenyne] It doesn't matter
how long it takes you.
751
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,086
You will develop everything that you need
752
00:38:59,170 --> 00:39:01,047
to be able to lift yourself.
753
00:39:01,630 --> 00:39:04,759
You can just start
by taking one class a week.
754
00:39:04,842 --> 00:39:06,719
You know, get off the couch.
755
00:39:08,137 --> 00:39:09,722
When I started pole dancing,
756
00:39:09,805 --> 00:39:12,850
it was still fairly new.
757
00:39:13,392 --> 00:39:14,894
There wasn't anything
758
00:39:14,977 --> 00:39:16,479
as a pole dance instructor.
759
00:39:17,313 --> 00:39:20,900
So when I heard that it was on the news,
760
00:39:20,983 --> 00:39:23,652
I said, "What? This is amazing!"
761
00:39:25,071 --> 00:39:26,322
It was Sheila Kelley.
762
00:39:28,366 --> 00:39:31,952
I thought, "Wow, that's really amazing,
how she's taking it out
763
00:39:32,036 --> 00:39:34,997
and making it available
for so many women."
764
00:39:35,081 --> 00:39:37,625
She's doing this beautiful thing with it
765
00:39:37,708 --> 00:39:41,295
that I knew was a part of pole,
766
00:39:41,379 --> 00:39:44,840
but it was the part
that I had really looked over.
767
00:39:44,924 --> 00:39:46,842
[sensual music playing]
768
00:39:48,302 --> 00:39:51,680
[Jenyne] I felt like
we were going along similar paths,
769
00:39:51,764 --> 00:39:55,226
but I was going the performance route,
and she was going the teaching route.
770
00:39:58,312 --> 00:40:00,232
[Sheila] I'm not gonna teach you
to do what I do.
771
00:40:00,314 --> 00:40:03,859
I'm gonna teach you to do
what your body wants to do,
772
00:40:03,943 --> 00:40:05,861
how your body moves
773
00:40:05,945 --> 00:40:09,115
into your pleasure and your desire.
774
00:40:10,574 --> 00:40:12,952
That's the whole premise of what I teach.
775
00:40:13,494 --> 00:40:16,664
I want women to feel safe enough
to explore this part of themselves
776
00:40:16,747 --> 00:40:18,374
so that they can rediscover,
777
00:40:18,457 --> 00:40:20,376
reclaim, and come whole,
778
00:40:20,918 --> 00:40:22,837
and fucking shine!
779
00:40:24,004 --> 00:40:25,756
[upbeat hip-hop music playing]
780
00:40:31,804 --> 00:40:34,140
♪ Hey, we're just here to have fun now ♪
781
00:40:34,223 --> 00:40:37,059
♪ Livin' life on the high
We can't come down ♪
782
00:40:37,143 --> 00:40:38,144
[Patty] Whoo!
783
00:40:38,227 --> 00:40:40,479
[laughing]
784
00:40:42,815 --> 00:40:45,276
I need orthopedic stilettos.
785
00:40:45,860 --> 00:40:47,236
A demure heel.
786
00:40:47,319 --> 00:40:48,696
It's a classic stiletto.
787
00:40:48,779 --> 00:40:50,114
This could kill somebody!
788
00:40:50,197 --> 00:40:51,615
[mimics stabbing]
789
00:40:51,699 --> 00:40:53,200
[woman] I'm more of a Converse girl.
790
00:40:53,784 --> 00:40:57,163
Hey, look! Dude!
They have something for everyone!
791
00:40:57,246 --> 00:40:59,373
- [all laughing]
- They've got something for everyone.
792
00:40:59,457 --> 00:41:01,459
[hip-hop music continues]
793
00:41:03,335 --> 00:41:04,753
- All right.
- Get up. Ready?
794
00:41:05,588 --> 00:41:07,089
[all exclaiming]
795
00:41:07,173 --> 00:41:08,966
Wow, the air is different up here.
796
00:41:09,049 --> 00:41:10,509
[all laughing]
797
00:41:11,177 --> 00:41:12,678
[Lisset] Oh, yes!
798
00:41:12,761 --> 00:41:14,013
[Jaimee] Oh, yeah!
799
00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:16,807
- [Ava] S Walk!
- I don't know that I can do it.
800
00:41:17,516 --> 00:41:18,601
[Jaimee] I wanted to…
801
00:41:19,310 --> 00:41:21,187
I feel like I'm walking down the aisle.
802
00:41:23,939 --> 00:41:25,441
I am already getting there.
803
00:41:25,524 --> 00:41:26,524
Whoa!
804
00:41:26,984 --> 00:41:29,862
Walk it straight. One, two, one…
805
00:41:31,071 --> 00:41:33,115
[chatting and laughing]
806
00:41:34,492 --> 00:41:35,618
- [Patty] Hi!
- [woman] Hi!
807
00:41:35,701 --> 00:41:37,101
- [Evelyn] Hi!
- Feels a lot bigger.
808
00:41:37,953 --> 00:41:39,038
Brought my gloves.
809
00:41:39,121 --> 00:41:41,707
[all exclaim] Whoo!
810
00:41:41,790 --> 00:41:43,959
- Neat!
- I was, like, really excited.
811
00:41:44,043 --> 00:41:46,462
- Yeah! [laughs]
- [Evelyn] These have been, like…
812
00:41:46,545 --> 00:41:48,297
I'm surprised there's no cobwebs, but…
yeah.
813
00:41:48,380 --> 00:41:50,049
[all laugh]
814
00:41:50,132 --> 00:41:52,092
[indistinct chatter]
815
00:41:52,176 --> 00:41:53,886
[woman 1] Yeah.
816
00:41:53,969 --> 00:41:55,137
[woman 2] No.
817
00:41:55,846 --> 00:41:59,808
[woman 3] There's tons of pole dancing,
stripper things on Hollywood Boulevard.
818
00:41:59,892 --> 00:42:02,269
I went to, like, 20 places, literally.
819
00:42:02,353 --> 00:42:03,938
They had nothing that fit me.
820
00:42:04,021 --> 00:42:05,689
"Put on a thong," and I can't wear thongs
821
00:42:05,773 --> 00:42:07,493
because they get lost
in my butt. [chuckles]
822
00:42:07,525 --> 00:42:09,944
- And I'm like… I'm just like…
- [all laugh]
823
00:42:10,027 --> 00:42:13,280
I'm so fucking pissed off and angry.
824
00:42:13,364 --> 00:42:15,866
And I was like, "Fuck this class."
825
00:42:15,950 --> 00:42:17,284
"Fuck everyone else in it."
826
00:42:17,368 --> 00:42:20,454
- No offense to you guys, but I was like…
- [all laugh]
827
00:42:20,538 --> 00:42:22,748
But I'm, like, in the mirror, seeing this.
828
00:42:22,831 --> 00:42:25,626
And I remember I'm going on the pole,
and it's, like, wrapping around,
829
00:42:25,709 --> 00:42:28,212
and I was just like,
"I don't wanna do this."
830
00:42:28,295 --> 00:42:30,214
"I just feel gross,
831
00:42:30,297 --> 00:42:31,674
and I wanna feel sexy,
832
00:42:31,757 --> 00:42:33,717
but I feel disgusting."
833
00:42:33,801 --> 00:42:35,052
[Sheila] Fucking gorgeous.
834
00:42:35,135 --> 00:42:38,764
- [Sheila] Are you sick and tired yet?
- Yeah, which is why I'm here.
835
00:42:38,847 --> 00:42:41,267
Right now, you're living
with the critical masculine mind.
836
00:42:41,350 --> 00:42:45,020
The critical masculine mind sees the world
with the critical masculine gaze
837
00:42:45,104 --> 00:42:46,480
that measures everything.
838
00:42:46,564 --> 00:42:48,941
Baby! Keep going! Go, go, go!
839
00:42:49,024 --> 00:42:52,611
[Sheila] All the tools I'm gonna give you
are tools that teach the body,
840
00:42:52,695 --> 00:42:54,488
and the body will teach the mind
841
00:42:54,572 --> 00:42:55,406
if you let it.
842
00:42:55,489 --> 00:42:56,949
[women cheering]
843
00:42:57,032 --> 00:42:59,910
A lot of what you learn
in your level-one intro class
844
00:42:59,994 --> 00:43:02,288
is about appreciating your curves.
845
00:43:02,371 --> 00:43:05,124
A lot of the cues they give you,
say things like,
846
00:43:05,207 --> 00:43:06,375
"Stroke your tummy."
847
00:43:06,458 --> 00:43:08,460
And I didn't wanna do it. I…
848
00:43:08,544 --> 00:43:09,837
[laughs] I hate my tummy.
849
00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:11,755
And then I just had this realization of,
850
00:43:11,839 --> 00:43:14,466
"Gosh, if you can't touch your tummy,
who will?"
851
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:17,720
[Sheila] What we're doing is
we're changing patterns in your body.
852
00:43:17,803 --> 00:43:19,972
- Anyone immediately feel a difference?
- [woman] Yeah.
853
00:43:20,055 --> 00:43:21,682
Hands. I wanna see hands. Hold 'em up.
854
00:43:21,765 --> 00:43:23,892
It's just, to me, it's so similar…
855
00:43:23,976 --> 00:43:25,352
[all chuckling]
856
00:43:25,436 --> 00:43:27,104
I don't… I can't even talk now.
857
00:43:27,187 --> 00:43:29,732
- [women laugh]
- Lisset, what is happening?
858
00:43:29,815 --> 00:43:32,401
[Lisset] I had a very emotional week.
859
00:43:32,484 --> 00:43:35,696
I would look at my dog, and I'm like,
"Oh, you love me so much!"
860
00:43:35,779 --> 00:43:37,531
[women laugh]
861
00:43:37,615 --> 00:43:40,117
I felt very open,
like I've been cracked open,
862
00:43:40,200 --> 00:43:42,536
and I can feel everything and everyone.
863
00:43:43,245 --> 00:43:44,913
I've always had a tough exterior,
864
00:43:45,497 --> 00:43:48,959
so moving my body,
I could feel certain things activate
865
00:43:49,043 --> 00:43:50,461
and just started crying.
866
00:43:51,962 --> 00:43:54,381
[woman] I never wear my hair up.
I've always worn it down.
867
00:43:54,465 --> 00:43:56,592
I feel like I use it
as a defense mechanism.
868
00:43:57,343 --> 00:43:59,887
It deflects attention from my features,
869
00:43:59,970 --> 00:44:02,264
but at work,
I actually wore my hair up twice.
870
00:44:02,348 --> 00:44:04,784
It sounds silly to people
who wear their hair up all the time.
871
00:44:04,808 --> 00:44:07,144
I felt confident enough to do it. Sorry.
872
00:44:07,227 --> 00:44:10,189
[crying] Uh, for the first time
in a very long time.
873
00:44:10,272 --> 00:44:11,690
[voice breaking] Um…
874
00:44:11,774 --> 00:44:13,275
[Sheila] Do yourself a favor,
875
00:44:13,776 --> 00:44:15,027
and don't wipe the tears.
876
00:44:15,110 --> 00:44:16,612
Um… sorry.
877
00:44:16,695 --> 00:44:17,780
[class laughing]
878
00:44:17,863 --> 00:44:19,156
It's natural!
879
00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:20,634
- [Sheila] That's a pattern.
- Yeah.
880
00:44:20,658 --> 00:44:22,076
- Pattern of apology.
- Yeah.
881
00:44:22,159 --> 00:44:24,620
[sniffs] I'm happy
I have all of you, by the way.
882
00:44:24,703 --> 00:44:26,872
- [class chuckles]
- [sniffs]
883
00:44:28,374 --> 00:44:30,294
[Sheila] Amber,
you felt a difference. Don't lie.
884
00:44:31,043 --> 00:44:34,755
I had zero idea,
885
00:44:34,838 --> 00:44:37,216
like, what a prude I was.
886
00:44:37,299 --> 00:44:40,010
- [class cheering]
- I mean…
887
00:44:40,094 --> 00:44:41,095
I've run marathons.
888
00:44:41,178 --> 00:44:43,180
I've been an athlete my entire life.
889
00:44:43,263 --> 00:44:45,641
There is nothing that I haven't done.
890
00:44:45,724 --> 00:44:48,060
I left and I was like…
891
00:44:48,143 --> 00:44:49,978
[inhales and exclaims]
892
00:44:50,062 --> 00:44:54,942
I started crying, and I was like,
"I am so much lamer than I thought I was."
893
00:44:55,025 --> 00:44:57,486
My first thing was, like,
"Okay, I'm gonna quit."
894
00:44:57,569 --> 00:44:59,613
Yeah, you said,
"You're gonna want to quit."
895
00:45:00,280 --> 00:45:01,115
I'm not a crier.
896
00:45:01,198 --> 00:45:04,410
Like, I did not expect
that I was gonna ugly cry in the car.
897
00:45:04,493 --> 00:45:07,037
- [women chuckle]
- Maybe the tears are a beautiful thing.
898
00:45:07,121 --> 00:45:08,580
Well, you didn't see 'em. It wasn't…
899
00:45:08,664 --> 00:45:11,375
- [class laughing]
- [laughs] It wasn't like…
900
00:45:11,458 --> 00:45:14,628
There was… it was like…
there was some snot involved.
901
00:45:14,712 --> 00:45:17,673
- It was not pretty.
- Know what? I'm gonna keep pushing at you.
902
00:45:17,756 --> 00:45:19,925
I don't wanna cry in here,
but, like, okay. [laughs]
903
00:45:20,008 --> 00:45:22,344
Amber, you excel at masculine shit.
904
00:45:22,428 --> 00:45:23,721
You're a good little man.
905
00:45:23,804 --> 00:45:24,930
- Yeah.
- [class laughs]
906
00:45:25,013 --> 00:45:27,975
[Sheila] But you ain't never gonna be
as good a man as a man,
907
00:45:28,058 --> 00:45:30,018
but you're gonna be
a phenomenal fucking woman.
908
00:45:30,519 --> 00:45:31,895
[class murmuring] Mmm-hmm.
909
00:45:31,979 --> 00:45:34,773
[Amber] I think
I'll be here next week? We'll see.
910
00:45:34,857 --> 00:45:36,024
[Sheila] Okay, sweetie.
911
00:45:36,984 --> 00:45:40,362
What I struggle with a lot
is disassociating from my body.
912
00:45:40,446 --> 00:45:43,157
Like, it just doesn't seem
part of me ever.
913
00:45:43,240 --> 00:45:46,452
[Sheila] Which parts of your body
scare you the most?
914
00:45:46,535 --> 00:45:50,164
I… I think, like,
my heart and what my heart wants, and…
915
00:45:51,331 --> 00:45:52,708
my feminine areas.
916
00:45:52,791 --> 00:45:54,042
[Sheila] Your vulva?
917
00:45:54,126 --> 00:45:55,961
[all laughing]
918
00:45:58,130 --> 00:45:59,757
Yeah, vulva.
919
00:45:59,840 --> 00:46:01,800
Someone stole that from you,
920
00:46:01,884 --> 00:46:03,844
and we need to re-own it, reclaim it.
921
00:46:03,927 --> 00:46:07,139
Yeah, I was thinking back to, like,
the first time I started
922
00:46:07,222 --> 00:46:09,558
to dissociate with my vulva
923
00:46:09,641 --> 00:46:11,852
and learn about that part of my body.
924
00:46:11,935 --> 00:46:13,812
And I was taught from a young age
925
00:46:13,896 --> 00:46:15,063
that this was just bad,
926
00:46:15,147 --> 00:46:16,440
and sexuality was bad.
927
00:46:16,523 --> 00:46:19,359
And that pisses me off
that I was conditioned that way.
928
00:46:19,443 --> 00:46:22,321
It just… like, it makes me red with rage.
929
00:46:22,404 --> 00:46:26,200
And that's okay. Not only is it okay,
we wanna release the kraken.
930
00:46:26,283 --> 00:46:27,283
Yeah.
931
00:46:27,618 --> 00:46:29,328
[class whooping]
932
00:46:29,411 --> 00:46:30,954
[woman] What are we doing, Jenn?
933
00:46:31,038 --> 00:46:32,831
[Jenn] So,
we're gonna walk around the pole.
934
00:46:32,915 --> 00:46:36,043
Using your half-pint, you're gonna pivot
up on to your left foot.
935
00:46:36,126 --> 00:46:38,253
Cross your left hand across.
936
00:46:38,337 --> 00:46:40,756
Bring that to the right,
and go all the way back here.
937
00:46:40,839 --> 00:46:42,382
[women cheering]
938
00:46:47,095 --> 00:46:49,973
Once you're here,
you've already done half the work.
939
00:46:50,516 --> 00:46:53,435
The only thing to do now
is to hold your grip
940
00:46:53,519 --> 00:46:55,729
and bring your other leg behind you.
941
00:46:57,105 --> 00:46:59,316
[women laugh]
942
00:46:59,399 --> 00:47:02,319
- So sad.
- [Sheila] No, that was awesome!
943
00:47:02,402 --> 00:47:04,404
[upbeat music playing]
944
00:47:06,198 --> 00:47:07,574
Whoo!
945
00:47:07,658 --> 00:47:09,785
[women exclaiming and cheering]
946
00:47:12,287 --> 00:47:13,539
[Sheila] Work it!
947
00:47:13,622 --> 00:47:15,582
[women cheer]
948
00:47:17,251 --> 00:47:19,211
[yelps]
949
00:47:19,294 --> 00:47:20,671
I have never done that!
950
00:47:20,754 --> 00:47:22,172
[women cheer] Whoo!
951
00:47:22,256 --> 00:47:24,675
Next week, you're gonna go up two feet.
952
00:47:24,758 --> 00:47:26,802
And then the week after,
you'll be all the way up.
953
00:47:26,885 --> 00:47:27,719
[woman] Yes!
954
00:47:27,803 --> 00:47:30,222
Upper body strength, gotta get that.
955
00:47:31,849 --> 00:47:33,851
[women cheering]
956
00:47:35,853 --> 00:47:37,896
[Jenn] When I first started,
it was as a student.
957
00:47:39,064 --> 00:47:42,234
Sheila tapped me in. She's like,
"You should become a teacher."
958
00:47:42,317 --> 00:47:45,112
I'm like, "Oh, my gosh. She's crazy.
There's no way I can teach."
959
00:47:45,195 --> 00:47:46,989
But I was totally enthralled,
960
00:47:47,072 --> 00:47:49,741
came back, signed up
for teacher training, and taught,
961
00:47:50,367 --> 00:47:52,619
and then became the events director.
962
00:47:52,703 --> 00:47:54,454
And it became a mission in my life
963
00:47:54,538 --> 00:47:58,500
to give women
another opportunity, as I had.
964
00:47:58,584 --> 00:48:00,002
- [boy] Ready?
- [Jenn] Ready.
965
00:48:00,085 --> 00:48:01,712
- Am I in now?
- [boy] Yeah, you're in.
966
00:48:01,795 --> 00:48:03,005
Ooh! Oh!
967
00:48:03,088 --> 00:48:04,172
That was stressful.
968
00:48:04,256 --> 00:48:06,258
- [ball bounces]
- Oh! Whoa!
969
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:08,176
[laughs]
970
00:48:08,260 --> 00:48:09,803
See that? Oh, no!
971
00:48:09,887 --> 00:48:11,430
When I was 13,
972
00:48:12,556 --> 00:48:16,476
that was, like, the beginning
of just a slow downfall in my life.
973
00:48:17,019 --> 00:48:19,521
- [exclaims] Yes!
- You're out.
974
00:48:19,605 --> 00:48:22,274
[Jenn] I was short-tempered.
Some people called me a monster.
975
00:48:23,483 --> 00:48:25,527
I felt like I was misunderstood.
976
00:48:26,528 --> 00:48:28,947
I lost touch with my body.
977
00:48:29,531 --> 00:48:31,742
I stopped loving her.
978
00:48:32,910 --> 00:48:34,870
I went into a raging spiral.
979
00:48:35,704 --> 00:48:37,122
I started putting on weight.
980
00:48:37,205 --> 00:48:38,665
Then I would take it off.
981
00:48:39,166 --> 00:48:43,211
It's been a rise and fall of 40,
50 pounds.
982
00:48:43,295 --> 00:48:45,255
And then I had my children,
983
00:48:45,339 --> 00:48:47,591
so I added another 60 pounds.
984
00:48:47,674 --> 00:48:50,761
Now, I'm over 100 pounds overweight.
985
00:48:51,428 --> 00:48:53,639
I've stopped taking care of myself.
986
00:48:55,390 --> 00:48:57,392
What's on the dinner menu tonight?
987
00:48:58,143 --> 00:49:02,064
Well, since the vines finally,
uh, bloomed a little bit,
988
00:49:02,147 --> 00:49:03,941
I figure we can make tamales.
989
00:49:05,734 --> 00:49:07,653
[Straty] Does it bother me
if she's overweight?
990
00:49:08,570 --> 00:49:10,364
You know, um…
991
00:49:11,782 --> 00:49:13,450
it's… it's a health thing.
992
00:49:14,451 --> 00:49:16,554
I know she's beautiful,
and she knows she's beautiful,
993
00:49:16,578 --> 00:49:19,414
but there is inherent negativity out there
994
00:49:19,498 --> 00:49:21,667
when someone is overweight.
995
00:49:22,751 --> 00:49:25,420
I could go and teach an S Factor class
996
00:49:25,504 --> 00:49:27,381
and then go to McDonald's
right afterwards…
997
00:49:28,090 --> 00:49:29,925
or go all day without eating
998
00:49:30,008 --> 00:49:32,219
and then come home and do a sweet binge.
999
00:49:32,302 --> 00:49:36,014
I wasn't practicing
what I'm preaching in class.
1000
00:49:37,975 --> 00:49:40,519
The idea of looking in the mirror,
1001
00:49:40,602 --> 00:49:43,563
I feel like Roger Rabbit,
that girl on Roger Rabbit.
1002
00:49:43,689 --> 00:49:46,817
She's voluptuous, and just sexy,
1003
00:49:46,900 --> 00:49:50,320
and furious, and just, like… ugh.
1004
00:49:50,404 --> 00:49:53,573
Radiant, then I stand in front of the
mirror, I'm like, "You fat motherfucker."
1005
00:49:53,657 --> 00:49:55,951
"Who are you? Get out of my mirror!"
1006
00:49:57,369 --> 00:50:00,330
My body was just screaming for freedom.
1007
00:50:02,582 --> 00:50:04,710
It wasn't until I started moving my body
1008
00:50:04,793 --> 00:50:07,254
and coming to terms with my rage,
1009
00:50:08,005 --> 00:50:11,341
listening to that vibrating
muscle exertion music
1010
00:50:11,425 --> 00:50:13,260
that allowed me to really release
1011
00:50:13,343 --> 00:50:15,262
instead of hitting walls.
1012
00:50:15,762 --> 00:50:17,806
[Sheila] Uh-uh. You're letting her win.
1013
00:50:17,889 --> 00:50:21,018
They've gotta fight inside,
and you don't let that happen.
1014
00:50:21,643 --> 00:50:23,729
[shouts] Uh-uh! I can't hear it!
1015
00:50:25,188 --> 00:50:27,190
[hip-hop music playing]
1016
00:50:27,899 --> 00:50:30,652
[Jenn] I just had
a lot of oomph and aggression,
1017
00:50:30,736 --> 00:50:32,612
and I didn't know what to do with it.
1018
00:50:33,572 --> 00:50:35,365
But rage is always with me.
1019
00:50:35,907 --> 00:50:36,907
[Sheila] Yes!
1020
00:50:38,035 --> 00:50:40,537
[hip-hop music continues]
1021
00:50:40,620 --> 00:50:42,581
[Sheila shouting] Yeah!
Feel the battle inside!
1022
00:50:42,664 --> 00:50:44,666
Feel the fight inside!
1023
00:50:44,750 --> 00:50:47,252
[hip-hop music continues]
1024
00:50:51,798 --> 00:50:54,509
- [music stops]
- [Jenn laughs]
1025
00:50:55,010 --> 00:50:56,470
[Sheila cheers] Whoo!
1026
00:50:56,553 --> 00:50:57,553
[applauds]
1027
00:50:58,055 --> 00:51:01,641
[Jenn] I'm ready to look in the mirror
and see what everybody else sees.
1028
00:51:02,350 --> 00:51:04,895
- That was, um, massive.
- Thank you.
1029
00:51:04,978 --> 00:51:06,354
- Massive.
- Thank you.
1030
00:51:06,438 --> 00:51:08,440
Do you know what I… it was a rebirth.
1031
00:51:08,523 --> 00:51:09,524
Okay.
1032
00:51:10,692 --> 00:51:12,319
[Patricia] Within this community,
1033
00:51:12,402 --> 00:51:15,238
there is such a level of truth because…
1034
00:51:15,322 --> 00:51:18,950
"I just saw you dance,
so I know you're not fine."
1035
00:51:22,829 --> 00:51:26,958
I had an experience of molestation
from a family friend.
1036
00:51:27,626 --> 00:51:29,711
It's a hard thing when you feel
1037
00:51:29,795 --> 00:51:31,421
that no one is protecting you.
1038
00:51:32,005 --> 00:51:33,924
One of the great gifts of S Factor
1039
00:51:34,007 --> 00:51:35,717
is figuring out a way
1040
00:51:35,801 --> 00:51:38,220
to move through sadness,
1041
00:51:38,303 --> 00:51:40,305
to feel your emotion
1042
00:51:40,931 --> 00:51:43,350
but not let it drown you.
1043
00:51:46,353 --> 00:51:47,896
[Sally] When I first felt that lump,
1044
00:51:47,979 --> 00:51:50,440
I knew that I most likely had cancer.
1045
00:51:55,112 --> 00:51:58,532
[Janelle] I'm becoming
a second-time mother here soon,
1046
00:51:59,032 --> 00:52:03,662
and the fear of losing myself
1047
00:52:03,745 --> 00:52:06,331
in that first year of motherhood.
1048
00:52:07,374 --> 00:52:10,710
And it feels terrifying and isolating.
1049
00:52:13,797 --> 00:52:17,217
[Sally] I went through sadness.
I went through anger.
1050
00:52:17,300 --> 00:52:19,886
I lost my breasts. I lost my hair.
1051
00:52:19,970 --> 00:52:22,055
And for most women,
1052
00:52:22,139 --> 00:52:24,015
those are the two body parts
1053
00:52:24,099 --> 00:52:25,892
that are so strongly tied
1054
00:52:25,976 --> 00:52:27,561
to our femininity.
1055
00:52:29,729 --> 00:52:31,815
[Janelle] Having that dance was
1056
00:52:31,898 --> 00:52:34,484
about how lonely it feels
1057
00:52:34,568 --> 00:52:36,695
and feeling sometimes
1058
00:52:36,778 --> 00:52:39,489
like you just have to scream
1059
00:52:39,573 --> 00:52:41,575
and knock down walls, and…
1060
00:52:43,118 --> 00:52:44,119
I don't know.
1061
00:52:44,744 --> 00:52:47,122
Destroy things in order to be heard.
1062
00:52:47,205 --> 00:52:49,207
[uplifting music playing]
1063
00:52:51,918 --> 00:52:54,004
[Sally] My teacher asked me
to touch my head,
1064
00:52:54,087 --> 00:52:56,381
and I was grossed out and disgusted,
1065
00:52:56,464 --> 00:52:57,966
and I couldn't do it.
1066
00:52:59,009 --> 00:53:01,636
The moment
where she had me touch my head,
1067
00:53:01,720 --> 00:53:03,638
that was the most powerful moment
1068
00:53:03,722 --> 00:53:05,682
I have ever shared with a friend
1069
00:53:05,765 --> 00:53:07,100
in my entire life.
1070
00:53:07,726 --> 00:53:09,728
[Janelle sobbing]
1071
00:53:14,357 --> 00:53:15,358
[Sheila] You made this.
1072
00:53:16,318 --> 00:53:17,903
[Janelle sobbing]
1073
00:53:17,986 --> 00:53:20,405
[crying] Oh, this is humiliating.
1074
00:53:20,488 --> 00:53:23,742
It's so cathartic.
Just let it keep coming out, baby.
1075
00:53:23,825 --> 00:53:26,328
[sobbing]
1076
00:53:26,411 --> 00:53:28,163
[Sally] To have a place
1077
00:53:28,246 --> 00:53:30,207
that taught me a vocabulary
1078
00:53:30,290 --> 00:53:33,168
to move through the myriad of emotions
1079
00:53:33,251 --> 00:53:35,420
that comes with being cut open,
1080
00:53:35,503 --> 00:53:36,796
having that gift
1081
00:53:36,880 --> 00:53:39,007
was especially meaningful.
1082
00:53:40,508 --> 00:53:41,635
That's why I believe
1083
00:53:41,718 --> 00:53:43,845
that I danced my way through cancer.
1084
00:53:43,929 --> 00:53:45,931
[uplifting music continues]
1085
00:53:56,358 --> 00:53:57,275
[Amy sighs]
1086
00:53:57,359 --> 00:53:58,359
[trainer] Here.
1087
00:53:58,401 --> 00:53:59,401
[Amy exhales]
1088
00:54:00,403 --> 00:54:02,572
The majority of my time is focused
1089
00:54:02,656 --> 00:54:05,450
around training for competition.
1090
00:54:06,451 --> 00:54:07,994
I've got 32 students
1091
00:54:08,078 --> 00:54:09,537
and six instructors competing
1092
00:54:09,621 --> 00:54:11,331
at the Golden Gate Pole Championship,
1093
00:54:11,414 --> 00:54:12,582
myself included.
1094
00:54:12,666 --> 00:54:15,126
Okay. Sit back all the way.
1095
00:54:15,210 --> 00:54:16,586
Mmm!
1096
00:54:17,420 --> 00:54:18,420
Yeah.
1097
00:54:19,047 --> 00:54:21,967
Breathe in. More. Okay. Now…
1098
00:54:22,050 --> 00:54:24,761
[Amy] I think that discipline
and that will to succeed
1099
00:54:24,844 --> 00:54:26,471
comes from my parents.
1100
00:54:27,180 --> 00:54:30,141
My dad was a lieutenant colonel
in the Marines.
1101
00:54:30,225 --> 00:54:33,645
My mom was in the first class of women
to graduate from West Point.
1102
00:54:34,062 --> 00:54:36,064
[funk music playing]
1103
00:54:36,856 --> 00:54:39,192
[Amy] When I was 19, I ran away from home
1104
00:54:39,734 --> 00:54:41,319
and I moved to Los Angeles.
1105
00:54:44,114 --> 00:54:45,949
I really wanted to be an actress.
1106
00:54:46,032 --> 00:54:48,410
I didn't know how to act.
I didn't know how to sing.
1107
00:54:48,493 --> 00:54:52,038
I didn't know how to do anything,
but I had a lot of confidence…
1108
00:54:52,122 --> 00:54:54,124
[laughs]
…that I was just gonna be amazing,
1109
00:54:54,207 --> 00:54:57,711
and then I was gonna walk into an audition
or be discovered in a mall.
1110
00:54:57,794 --> 00:54:59,212
You know, like, very cliché.
1111
00:55:00,797 --> 00:55:02,882
I'd saved up maybe, like, $2,000,
1112
00:55:02,966 --> 00:55:06,177
and very quickly ran out of that money.
1113
00:55:06,261 --> 00:55:09,431
[man] I'll pay you $25 an hour
to do nude modeling.
1114
00:55:09,514 --> 00:55:10,890
Oh, this is nude modeling?
1115
00:55:10,974 --> 00:55:12,350
[man] You don't have to do it.
1116
00:55:12,434 --> 00:55:15,770
I only make
six dollars an hour babysitting, so…
1117
00:55:16,563 --> 00:55:18,106
[man] Start by taking off your top.
1118
00:55:19,149 --> 00:55:21,735
Lack of funds led me to nude modeling,
1119
00:55:21,818 --> 00:55:25,947
and then nude modeling
led to working in the porn industry.
1120
00:55:26,573 --> 00:55:28,825
[man] Who's this gorgeous face
here before my lens?
1121
00:55:28,908 --> 00:55:30,493
My name is Wendy James.
1122
00:55:30,577 --> 00:55:33,705
[man] Wendy James.
Tell us, Wendy, how old are you?
1123
00:55:34,622 --> 00:55:36,041
I'm old enough.
1124
00:55:36,624 --> 00:55:37,792
Old enough.
1125
00:55:37,876 --> 00:55:40,587
[Amy] I was still a virgin
when I started porn.
1126
00:55:41,212 --> 00:55:44,007
And it wasn't until I was in the industry
1127
00:55:44,090 --> 00:55:47,635
that I learned,
"Oh, sexuality can be an okay thing!"
1128
00:55:48,303 --> 00:55:51,583
- [man] Do your friends know what you do?
- Of course, they don't! Are you kidding?
1129
00:55:51,639 --> 00:55:52,639
[laughing]
1130
00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:55,352
[Amy] I lied to a lot of people
1131
00:55:55,435 --> 00:55:58,938
and kind of lived
this double life for a long time.
1132
00:56:00,065 --> 00:56:01,441
I was desperate enough.
1133
00:56:02,942 --> 00:56:06,571
I also didn't want to admit
to the people I love that I was failing.
1134
00:56:10,200 --> 00:56:13,203
I had a lot of shame
about what I was doing
1135
00:56:13,286 --> 00:56:16,206
because I was still going
to church and doing porn.
1136
00:56:17,832 --> 00:56:20,335
I was tithing on my porn money
1137
00:56:20,418 --> 00:56:22,712
like that somehow made it okay.
1138
00:56:22,796 --> 00:56:24,672
I told myself I was like Robin Hood.
1139
00:56:24,756 --> 00:56:27,759
I was, like, taking from the bad
and giving to the good,
1140
00:56:27,842 --> 00:56:29,594
which is ridiculous.
1141
00:56:31,596 --> 00:56:35,225
My two worlds collided
when two of the Mormon elders…
1142
00:56:35,308 --> 00:56:37,685
they're literally called "the patriarchy…"
1143
00:56:38,311 --> 00:56:40,855
they met me in the parking lot
before the service.
1144
00:56:41,398 --> 00:56:44,776
They told me they knew what I was doing,
and I got really embarrassed,
1145
00:56:44,859 --> 00:56:46,778
and I never went back to church.
1146
00:56:47,654 --> 00:56:50,865
I got punished
because someone saw me in a porn video.
1147
00:56:50,949 --> 00:56:52,200
They were watching it,
1148
00:56:52,283 --> 00:56:53,993
but they didn't get punished.
1149
00:56:55,412 --> 00:56:57,831
After six months, I got out of porn.
1150
00:56:57,914 --> 00:56:58,914
Okay.
1151
00:57:00,583 --> 00:57:02,544
I started waitressing,
1152
00:57:02,627 --> 00:57:04,712
and people started to realize
1153
00:57:04,796 --> 00:57:07,924
I was Wendy James in porn movies.
1154
00:57:08,508 --> 00:57:09,592
They'd call me a whore,
1155
00:57:09,676 --> 00:57:12,679
and they would tell me
that I was a cum dumpster.
1156
00:57:14,097 --> 00:57:17,725
There would be these men
who would come into the restaurants,
1157
00:57:17,809 --> 00:57:20,478
and they'd be out with their kids
and their wives.
1158
00:57:22,439 --> 00:57:24,524
I would get a receipt back saying,
1159
00:57:24,607 --> 00:57:27,110
"I've seen how you give great head."
1160
00:57:27,819 --> 00:57:30,238
"Meet me in the parking lot at 10:00 p.m."
1161
00:57:30,864 --> 00:57:35,493
I would have my co-workers walk me out
to my car so that I would be safe.
1162
00:57:36,202 --> 00:57:39,914
I really wondered
if there was a life for me after porn.
1163
00:57:41,332 --> 00:57:42,667
"Should I go back?"
1164
00:57:42,750 --> 00:57:44,919
"Is this all I can be now…
1165
00:57:45,503 --> 00:57:48,506
because I spent six months working
in this industry?"
1166
00:57:49,883 --> 00:57:52,385
It was a really dark moment
and it was really sad.
1167
00:57:54,095 --> 00:57:55,722
It took me four years
1168
00:57:55,805 --> 00:57:58,099
to get through community college
1169
00:57:58,183 --> 00:57:59,934
and transfer to Berkeley.
1170
00:58:00,518 --> 00:58:01,518
When I got there,
1171
00:58:01,561 --> 00:58:03,688
I felt like I was starting over.
1172
00:58:03,771 --> 00:58:06,524
I was like,
"Okay, this is a new world now."
1173
00:58:06,608 --> 00:58:10,028
"I'm using my mind.
It's not about using my body anymore."
1174
00:58:11,738 --> 00:58:14,699
I go to Ralphs that night
to pick up some groceries.
1175
00:58:14,782 --> 00:58:18,203
And the first thing
the checkout guy says is,
1176
00:58:18,745 --> 00:58:20,997
"Oh, hey! Are you Wendy James?"
1177
00:58:21,080 --> 00:58:24,834
[laughs] And I'm like,
"No! It's gonna follow me forever!"
1178
00:58:24,918 --> 00:58:26,211
[laughing]
1179
00:58:27,003 --> 00:58:29,923
[upbeat music playing]
1180
00:58:32,008 --> 00:58:34,093
♪ Everybody's got something to prove ♪
1181
00:58:34,177 --> 00:58:35,261
♪ So much to gain ♪
1182
00:58:35,345 --> 00:58:37,096
♪ Nothing to lose ♪
1183
00:58:37,180 --> 00:58:38,431
♪ Just try
What will you do… ♪
1184
00:58:38,515 --> 00:58:41,059
[Sheila] You're gonna enter intermediate
in about a week or two.
1185
00:58:41,142 --> 00:58:43,436
And then after July,
when we do the ceremony,
1186
00:58:43,520 --> 00:58:47,148
that's gonna be a ritual to take you
into your advanced practice here.
1187
00:58:47,232 --> 00:58:50,818
We'll be taking flower petals.
We'll do this dancing a bit at the ocean.
1188
00:58:50,902 --> 00:58:53,655
[Jenn] So, really quickly, just to review,
1189
00:58:53,738 --> 00:58:57,116
it's right hand up, left hand here.
1190
00:58:57,200 --> 00:59:00,495
You're gonna bring your foot
over on this side.
1191
00:59:00,578 --> 00:59:03,456
♪ Never seen nothin' quite
Quite like it ♪
1192
00:59:03,540 --> 00:59:05,333
♪ Give me some
Give me some silence ♪
1193
00:59:05,416 --> 00:59:08,294
♪ Never seen nothin' quite
Quite like it ♪
1194
00:59:08,378 --> 00:59:10,213
♪ Give me some
Give me some silence ♪
1195
00:59:10,296 --> 00:59:12,757
♪ Give it to me straight
Stop makin' me wait ♪
1196
00:59:12,840 --> 00:59:13,675
♪ Game on… ♪
1197
00:59:13,758 --> 00:59:15,802
[teacher] There is gonna be a new one
1198
00:59:15,885 --> 00:59:17,971
called "the Corkscrew."
1199
00:59:18,471 --> 00:59:19,764
I'm just gonna demo it for you.
1200
00:59:19,847 --> 00:59:22,058
♪ Everybody's got something to prove ♪
1201
00:59:22,141 --> 00:59:24,727
♪ So much to gain
Nothing to lose ♪
1202
00:59:24,811 --> 00:59:26,312
♪ Just try
What will you do… ♪
1203
00:59:26,396 --> 00:59:28,898
Who wants to go upside down?
Come over here.
1204
00:59:28,982 --> 00:59:30,858
[teacher] Inversion is kind of freaky.
1205
00:59:30,942 --> 00:59:33,319
You're gonna bring your knees to chest.
1206
00:59:33,403 --> 00:59:35,738
Let your head come back.
Lift your hips up.
1207
00:59:36,864 --> 00:59:38,575
♪ Game on, game on ♪
1208
00:59:38,658 --> 00:59:41,160
♪ Round and around
And around we go ♪
1209
00:59:43,788 --> 00:59:46,124
♪ Never seen nothin' quite
Quite like it ♪
1210
00:59:46,749 --> 00:59:48,585
♪ Give me some
Give me some silence ♪
1211
00:59:48,668 --> 00:59:50,670
♪ Give it to me straight
Stop making me wait… ♪
1212
00:59:50,753 --> 00:59:53,756
- [women applauding and cheering]
- [music fading]
1213
00:59:54,716 --> 00:59:56,092
[Ali] So, here's the thing, gals.
1214
00:59:56,759 --> 01:00:00,555
You are just starting to awaken
what we call your "erotic creature."
1215
01:00:00,638 --> 01:00:04,017
So what you're gonna do is
you're gonna take your walk
1216
01:00:04,100 --> 01:00:05,476
over towards the wall.
1217
01:00:05,560 --> 01:00:07,061
I'm gonna reach up,
1218
01:00:07,604 --> 01:00:09,439
and then I'm gonna do a wall push
1219
01:00:09,522 --> 01:00:11,024
all the way back.
1220
01:00:11,858 --> 01:00:14,652
Yes, Evelyn! Beautiful!
1221
01:00:16,029 --> 01:00:17,614
[Evelyn] I'm a plus-size woman.
1222
01:00:18,448 --> 01:00:20,283
There's judgement,
1223
01:00:20,992 --> 01:00:22,410
but in here
1224
01:00:23,494 --> 01:00:24,662
I don't feel different.
1225
01:00:25,163 --> 01:00:26,247
The door closes.
1226
01:00:26,331 --> 01:00:27,790
The music turns on,
1227
01:00:28,499 --> 01:00:30,168
and I feel we're the same.
1228
01:00:31,294 --> 01:00:33,463
That's what I wanna get from this journey.
1229
01:00:33,546 --> 01:00:36,341
I want to carry it, so it leaves with me.
1230
01:00:37,050 --> 01:00:38,861
- [woman hyperventilating]
- [teacher] Breathe.
1231
01:00:38,885 --> 01:00:41,763
In through your nose.
Out through your mouth. Okay?
1232
01:00:41,846 --> 01:00:43,431
[breathes deeply]
1233
01:00:44,015 --> 01:00:46,851
- What was overwhelming?
- [woman] I just felt really uncomfortable,
1234
01:00:46,934 --> 01:00:50,355
like I don't belong here and,
"What the fuck? Why am I here?"
1235
01:00:50,438 --> 01:00:53,274
"You're not pretty enough,
not this, not that. You'll look stupid."
1236
01:00:53,358 --> 01:00:54,984
And I just got really…
1237
01:00:55,068 --> 01:00:57,570
But you were called
to put this on your body,
1238
01:00:57,654 --> 01:01:01,157
which means that she's dying to be here
and dying to be seen.
1239
01:01:01,240 --> 01:01:02,450
[women cheering faintly]
1240
01:01:02,533 --> 01:01:04,369
[soothing music playing]
1241
01:01:04,452 --> 01:01:08,081
♪ Give me the love ♪
1242
01:01:10,166 --> 01:01:13,127
♪ Give me the love ♪
1243
01:01:16,422 --> 01:01:20,510
♪ Give me ♪
1244
01:01:22,470 --> 01:01:24,472
[music fading]
1245
01:01:26,057 --> 01:01:28,851
[woman] I'm the one
flying from Utah every Sunday.
1246
01:01:28,935 --> 01:01:30,228
It's fun to be here
1247
01:01:30,770 --> 01:01:34,482
getting on such a high vibration
that I'm just absolutely craving
1248
01:01:34,565 --> 01:01:36,442
and loving and wanting more of.
1249
01:01:36,526 --> 01:01:39,028
[voice breaking] But then to go home and…
1250
01:01:40,154 --> 01:01:43,866
I don't understand how to explain this
1251
01:01:43,950 --> 01:01:46,494
to my very conservative family.
1252
01:01:47,954 --> 01:01:49,372
When people see this,
1253
01:01:49,455 --> 01:01:53,668
it'll be perceived
as my one-way ticket to hell.
1254
01:01:54,335 --> 01:01:56,421
And so that's my struggle right now.
1255
01:01:56,504 --> 01:01:58,715
Does your husband know what you're doing?
1256
01:01:58,798 --> 01:02:01,259
I think he knows
a little bit about it, but…
1257
01:02:02,802 --> 01:02:04,762
I don't know how to share it. [laughs]
1258
01:02:04,846 --> 01:02:06,973
Did you sit him in a chair
and do a lap dance?
1259
01:02:07,056 --> 01:02:09,392
- Fuck no! [chuckles]
- [class laughing]
1260
01:02:10,143 --> 01:02:11,644
Okay, you have an assignment.
1261
01:02:11,728 --> 01:02:14,981
[class clapping] Yeah!
1262
01:02:15,648 --> 01:02:19,235
Next time I see you, you will have done
at least one lap dance for him.
1263
01:02:19,318 --> 01:02:21,279
So that will explain it to him.
1264
01:02:21,362 --> 01:02:23,072
That I learned how to lap dance?
1265
01:02:23,156 --> 01:02:26,492
If you do it the way we're teaching you,
which is for your pleasure,
1266
01:02:26,576 --> 01:02:28,578
he's gonna feel a free woman.
1267
01:02:30,955 --> 01:02:32,123
I have the same struggle,
1268
01:02:32,206 --> 01:02:34,625
but the thing is
my family don't watch Netflix.
1269
01:02:34,709 --> 01:02:36,961
- [class laughs]
- So, I don't have…
1270
01:02:37,044 --> 01:02:39,422
I don't have to tell them.
1271
01:02:40,757 --> 01:02:44,010
So, it's my secret
I am taking to the grave.
1272
01:02:44,093 --> 01:02:45,803
[class laughs]
1273
01:02:46,345 --> 01:02:48,347
[choral music playing]
1274
01:02:50,808 --> 01:02:53,352
[Amy] My husband
is an executive at Microsoft.
1275
01:02:54,061 --> 01:02:56,147
He calls me "Wonder Woman."
1276
01:02:56,814 --> 01:02:58,900
He believes I can do anything.
1277
01:03:00,318 --> 01:03:02,320
He's just my greatest cheerleader.
1278
01:03:03,321 --> 01:03:04,530
[record scratching]
1279
01:03:06,908 --> 01:03:09,577
[audience cheering]
1280
01:03:09,660 --> 01:03:11,788
["Party in the USA"
by Miley Cyrus playing]
1281
01:03:14,624 --> 01:03:16,959
[Keith] Being a pole husband can be fun.
1282
01:03:17,043 --> 01:03:19,545
At first, pole dancing is very exotic,
1283
01:03:19,629 --> 01:03:22,423
and you're like,
"Ooh, look at my wife being all sexy!"
1284
01:03:22,924 --> 01:03:24,404
There comes a point when you're like,
1285
01:03:24,467 --> 01:03:26,594
"I just don't wanna watch
any more pole dancing."
1286
01:03:26,677 --> 01:03:27,512
[laughs]
1287
01:03:27,595 --> 01:03:29,138
"I've seen all I can see."
1288
01:03:31,265 --> 01:03:33,142
[Richard] Oh, nice! Look at this!
1289
01:03:35,853 --> 01:03:38,856
She wanted to put a pole
in my little office in the backyard,
1290
01:03:39,816 --> 01:03:42,610
and I said no
'cause it was gonna block the TV.
1291
01:03:42,693 --> 01:03:45,112
But then we both started working out
at the same time.
1292
01:03:45,196 --> 01:03:47,657
I was doing the step on the pole
and against the wall.
1293
01:03:47,740 --> 01:03:51,577
He didn't give a flying banana
about the Yankees.
1294
01:03:51,661 --> 01:03:52,745
He was just like…
1295
01:03:54,831 --> 01:03:56,582
We're 28 years in.
1296
01:03:57,750 --> 01:03:59,377
But he's a handful.
1297
01:04:00,002 --> 01:04:01,562
[Richard] We had a roller coaster ride,
1298
01:04:01,629 --> 01:04:05,091
and it was rocky for a while.
1299
01:04:05,675 --> 01:04:08,302
[Sheila] If I didn't have
this feminine lifestyle practice,
1300
01:04:08,386 --> 01:04:12,014
I would be divorced from who I'm with.
1301
01:04:12,682 --> 01:04:15,685
[Richard] No,
I don't think we'd be divorced.
1302
01:04:16,644 --> 01:04:19,313
What did she say?
"Yes, we would be divorced"?
1303
01:04:20,147 --> 01:04:23,025
Know what? Now I want a divorce.
1304
01:04:24,986 --> 01:04:27,154
- [kissing]
- [Sheila] I'm totally in love.
1305
01:04:27,238 --> 01:04:29,782
This is where I can collapse right here.
1306
01:04:31,742 --> 01:04:33,160
He's my everything.
1307
01:04:33,244 --> 01:04:34,244
I'm her pole.
1308
01:04:34,662 --> 01:04:37,206
[gasps and laughs]
1309
01:04:37,290 --> 01:04:39,000
In more ways than one.
1310
01:04:39,792 --> 01:04:41,252
I do get annoyed sometimes
1311
01:04:41,335 --> 01:04:45,256
'cause I'll see husbands and boyfriends
1312
01:04:45,339 --> 01:04:46,757
of other pole dancers,
1313
01:04:46,841 --> 01:04:48,509
and they seem very ashamed
1314
01:04:48,593 --> 01:04:51,888
that their wives or girlfriends
are pole dancing.
1315
01:04:51,971 --> 01:04:54,473
I just think
those girls should dump those guys.
1316
01:04:54,557 --> 01:04:56,726
'cause you don't need that in your life.
1317
01:04:56,809 --> 01:04:59,312
If your boyfriend
or husband doesn't like you pole dancing,
1318
01:04:59,395 --> 01:05:00,521
just get a new one.
1319
01:05:00,605 --> 01:05:01,731
[Amy chuckles]
1320
01:05:01,814 --> 01:05:03,983
There's, like, 3.5 billion of them
in the world.
1321
01:05:04,066 --> 01:05:05,484
[laughs]
1322
01:05:05,568 --> 01:05:06,569
Maybe four.
1323
01:05:07,653 --> 01:05:09,655
[mellow music playing]
1324
01:05:18,998 --> 01:05:22,126
[Allison] The pole
has changed my life in so many ways.
1325
01:05:24,962 --> 01:05:28,966
After I had my child, I gained 60 pounds.
1326
01:05:29,050 --> 01:05:32,428
I didn't feel confident in my skin,
didn't fit in any of my clothes.
1327
01:05:33,262 --> 01:05:35,556
I tried everything I could
to lose the weight.
1328
01:05:35,640 --> 01:05:37,308
It wouldn't drop off.
1329
01:05:37,391 --> 01:05:38,684
Then I tried pole.
1330
01:05:40,978 --> 01:05:43,356
I lost all the 60 pounds.
1331
01:05:43,439 --> 01:05:45,983
It's just such a fun way of working out.
1332
01:05:48,444 --> 01:05:50,613
I understand that people will judge.
1333
01:05:51,280 --> 01:05:53,783
I wish that that perception would change,
1334
01:05:53,866 --> 01:05:55,993
because it's not what people think it is.
1335
01:05:56,077 --> 01:05:58,454
[soft piano music playing]
1336
01:06:01,123 --> 01:06:03,751
[Allison] My husband
is extremely conservative.
1337
01:06:03,834 --> 01:06:07,171
When I first told him
that I wanted to take pole classes,
1338
01:06:07,254 --> 01:06:08,965
he didn't understand,
1339
01:06:09,048 --> 01:06:11,342
and he thought
that it was gonna be a phase,
1340
01:06:12,051 --> 01:06:14,178
that I would find pole
and then give it up.
1341
01:06:14,261 --> 01:06:16,138
And then when you hook,
1342
01:06:16,222 --> 01:06:18,557
you need to push and come out.
1343
01:06:18,641 --> 01:06:20,393
There. Do you see it?
1344
01:06:20,977 --> 01:06:22,353
I love him so much,
1345
01:06:22,436 --> 01:06:26,065
but he's extremely possessive
of me and my body.
1346
01:06:26,941 --> 01:06:29,485
He doesn't want anybody
to be looking at me.
1347
01:06:30,027 --> 01:06:33,572
So, I don't have
a social media platform for what I do.
1348
01:06:35,074 --> 01:06:37,994
I do feel like my husband is taking
something away from me.
1349
01:06:38,077 --> 01:06:40,121
Career-wise, it's limiting me
1350
01:06:40,204 --> 01:06:42,844
because instructors will post,
"Here's what I'm teaching in class,"
1351
01:06:43,290 --> 01:06:44,625
but I can't do that.
1352
01:06:45,209 --> 01:06:48,504
And I also feel like it's my body,
1353
01:06:48,587 --> 01:06:53,175
and if it's my body, then I should be
able to do with it what I want.
1354
01:06:53,259 --> 01:06:55,261
[church bells ringing]
1355
01:07:03,978 --> 01:07:05,021
[Allison] I'm a rare breed
1356
01:07:05,104 --> 01:07:08,691
in that there are not a lot
of pole dancers who are also churchgoers.
1357
01:07:09,734 --> 01:07:11,902
I do know that I am to be
a submissive wife
1358
01:07:11,986 --> 01:07:15,489
from a Christian perspective
and respecting and honoring him.
1359
01:07:17,533 --> 01:07:21,620
But if I posted a video of myself
on Instagram, where I was told not to,
1360
01:07:22,121 --> 01:07:23,372
he would be mad at me.
1361
01:07:24,248 --> 01:07:26,292
Is he gonna stay married to me?
1362
01:07:27,126 --> 01:07:28,044
I have two kids.
1363
01:07:28,127 --> 01:07:31,130
I have a family
and I don't want to lose that.
1364
01:07:36,719 --> 01:07:39,680
One thing that I had been taught a lot
through my church
1365
01:07:39,764 --> 01:07:44,935
is that my worth was
quite dependent on the men around me,
1366
01:07:45,019 --> 01:07:49,315
and that I was valuable
if I married a man who is valuable.
1367
01:07:50,316 --> 01:07:54,070
Part of the reason I love pole dancing
is because it's subversive.
1368
01:07:54,153 --> 01:07:55,446
I feel like I'm saying,
1369
01:07:56,030 --> 01:07:59,700
"Take your societal patriarchal standards
and go shove them up your ass."
1370
01:08:00,201 --> 01:08:03,370
This is what I love
and this is what makes me feel alive.
1371
01:08:04,830 --> 01:08:06,665
[Sheila] Drop your head back, Megan.
1372
01:08:06,749 --> 01:08:08,125
[all whooping]
1373
01:08:08,209 --> 01:08:09,585
[Sheila] Yes!
1374
01:08:09,668 --> 01:08:10,586
Yes, baby!
1375
01:08:10,669 --> 01:08:12,671
[woman] Yeah! What?
1376
01:08:14,340 --> 01:08:19,136
[Sheila] I teach women to move into
the fullest integrity of their feminine.
1377
01:08:19,220 --> 01:08:22,765
Slow. I want you to get slow.
Round off slow.
1378
01:08:22,848 --> 01:08:25,851
[Sheila] Starting with their curves,
their sensuality,
1379
01:08:26,435 --> 01:08:27,353
their movement.
1380
01:08:27,436 --> 01:08:28,479
Stay right there.
1381
01:08:29,355 --> 01:08:32,316
Is it burning? Do you feel it?
Is it pissing you off? Yeah?
1382
01:08:32,399 --> 01:08:34,235
Is it? Stay there.
1383
01:08:34,318 --> 01:08:36,403
[Sheila] And when they get
full-voiced in their body,
1384
01:08:36,487 --> 01:08:39,990
apparently, that's extraordinarily
distracting to certain people.
1385
01:08:40,741 --> 01:08:41,741
The patriarchy.
1386
01:08:43,494 --> 01:08:46,413
"Can't control that body.
That's a dangerous body…
1387
01:08:46,497 --> 01:08:49,208
unless I can own it, unless it's for me."
1388
01:08:50,918 --> 01:08:53,087
The minute my son came out of my belly,
1389
01:08:53,921 --> 01:08:56,632
"Be a boy. Be male. Be strong. Be…"
1390
01:08:56,715 --> 01:09:00,136
"Argh! Live as fully as you can
in your manness, your maleness!"
1391
01:09:01,262 --> 01:09:05,349
And we tell our daughters
not to live fully in your body.
1392
01:09:05,432 --> 01:09:06,851
It's too dangerous.
1393
01:09:08,310 --> 01:09:10,563
But to truly be equal…
1394
01:09:12,731 --> 01:09:13,983
you better rise,
1395
01:09:14,066 --> 01:09:16,193
and you better get that body back.
1396
01:09:17,820 --> 01:09:20,197
[indistinct chatter]
1397
01:09:20,281 --> 01:09:23,159
[women cheering] Whoo!
1398
01:09:34,795 --> 01:09:36,797
[cheering and whooping continue]
1399
01:09:55,024 --> 01:09:56,704
[Amber] Well,
I came in pretty open-minded.
1400
01:09:56,775 --> 01:09:58,819
I had no idea what to expect.
1401
01:09:58,903 --> 01:10:00,946
I had no idea what I was getting into.
1402
01:10:01,864 --> 01:10:05,159
We spent two hours, basically,
1403
01:10:05,242 --> 01:10:07,453
with women just crying and sobbing.
1404
01:10:07,536 --> 01:10:09,705
I just didn't feel empowered.
1405
01:10:09,788 --> 01:10:13,375
I felt like I was watching a soap opera.
1406
01:10:13,459 --> 01:10:15,336
We were on that WhatsApp.
1407
01:10:15,419 --> 01:10:16,670
There was, like, a group.
1408
01:10:17,213 --> 01:10:18,797
After I saw the pictures,
1409
01:10:18,881 --> 01:10:22,134
it was not something
that I would have chosen
1410
01:10:22,218 --> 01:10:24,428
to ever be involved in.
1411
01:10:24,511 --> 01:10:26,096
[women cheering]
1412
01:10:26,180 --> 01:10:30,392
I would never want
my 12-year-old son to see me
1413
01:10:30,476 --> 01:10:32,519
in my panties with no shirt on.
1414
01:10:33,938 --> 01:10:36,273
Sheila writhing around on the ground
1415
01:10:36,357 --> 01:10:39,443
and her whole feely "let it out,"
1416
01:10:39,526 --> 01:10:43,614
this wasn't the way
my tribe and I empower each other.
1417
01:10:44,198 --> 01:10:45,658
I feel like I'm coming off
1418
01:10:45,741 --> 01:10:48,410
like such a huge bitch…
[chuckles]
1419
01:10:48,494 --> 01:10:51,622
…but I'm just trying to be
as real as possible
1420
01:10:51,705 --> 01:10:54,041
because I think
that there are probably other people
1421
01:10:54,124 --> 01:10:55,793
that feel the same way I do.
1422
01:10:57,836 --> 01:10:59,713
[Sheila] I have battles all the time.
1423
01:11:01,173 --> 01:11:02,925
There's the external battles
1424
01:11:03,008 --> 01:11:05,594
with the world
not understanding what we do,
1425
01:11:07,388 --> 01:11:09,974
and then there's the internal battles
of the fear.
1426
01:11:14,019 --> 01:11:17,606
[woman] Everything is cool when I'm here,
and I feel wonderful and fabulous.
1427
01:11:17,690 --> 01:11:22,236
And then as soon as I leave it's like,
"Well, it's back to regular stuff."
1428
01:11:23,279 --> 01:11:24,905
I love this class, and I want that.
1429
01:11:24,989 --> 01:11:27,616
I want to grow, feel something different,
feel like I've changed.
1430
01:11:27,700 --> 01:11:29,326
I don't feel like I've changed at all.
1431
01:11:29,410 --> 01:11:31,578
Um, at the party on Friday,
1432
01:11:31,662 --> 01:11:33,539
I was struggling. Everyone was sexy.
1433
01:11:33,622 --> 01:11:36,792
Everyone was dancing and free
and just being themselves.
1434
01:11:36,875 --> 01:11:38,919
At one point, I went and sat by myself.
1435
01:11:39,003 --> 01:11:41,714
I was like, "I'm not sexy at all."
1436
01:11:42,298 --> 01:11:43,966
I look at my body and I hate my body.
1437
01:11:44,049 --> 01:11:45,884
I don't feel sexy in anything.
1438
01:11:46,802 --> 01:11:49,054
It sucked to feel like that.
1439
01:11:52,891 --> 01:11:55,144
[Sheila] This is the safest place
in the world for you
1440
01:11:55,227 --> 01:11:56,645
because we will protect you
1441
01:11:57,146 --> 01:11:59,148
and allow you to be who you need to be.
1442
01:12:01,025 --> 01:12:04,194
To want to always hear
somebody say, "You're beautiful,"
1443
01:12:04,278 --> 01:12:08,449
it meant more to hear it from him,
and I didn't get that from him.
1444
01:12:09,033 --> 01:12:11,243
The last three months when he was alive,
1445
01:12:11,327 --> 01:12:13,662
we were finally getting
to where we needed to be,
1446
01:12:14,163 --> 01:12:15,497
and then he died.
1447
01:12:16,749 --> 01:12:19,501
To want to always hear
somebody say, "You're beautiful…"
1448
01:12:19,585 --> 01:12:22,546
[voice breaking] I want to hear it
from him, and I didn't.
1449
01:12:22,629 --> 01:12:24,173
But I just found it
1450
01:12:24,882 --> 01:12:28,677
in a fucking text message
to some other girl.
1451
01:12:28,761 --> 01:12:29,845
[sobs]
1452
01:12:36,185 --> 01:12:39,146
[crying] And I thought to myself,
1453
01:12:39,229 --> 01:12:41,231
"How… how could you?"
1454
01:12:42,733 --> 01:12:45,361
[Sheila] Your deceased husband
was having an affair?
1455
01:12:46,070 --> 01:12:48,822
Maybe a texting affair? Who knows?
1456
01:12:48,906 --> 01:12:50,824
And, you know, I can't ask him.
1457
01:12:52,993 --> 01:12:55,704
It's just that one word, "Beautiful."
1458
01:12:56,830 --> 01:12:58,415
And I'm like, "Oh, my God."
1459
01:12:59,541 --> 01:13:01,627
How many times have I wanted to hear it?
1460
01:13:06,048 --> 01:13:08,717
Then I thought to myself,
"Maybe it's good I found out
1461
01:13:08,801 --> 01:13:11,970
because I was ready
to fucking just fall a-fucking-part."
1462
01:13:12,554 --> 01:13:13,555
I was like,
1463
01:13:14,223 --> 01:13:17,226
[crying softly] "Okay, I need to come back
and touch this floor,
1464
01:13:17,810 --> 01:13:19,520
and be in this room…
1465
01:13:20,396 --> 01:13:21,647
so I can live again."
1466
01:13:22,439 --> 01:13:24,441
[women cheering and clapping]
1467
01:13:25,984 --> 01:13:27,694
[Evelyn] Gonna have to just go on.
1468
01:13:36,787 --> 01:13:40,624
It has been six years
since I've had intercourse with a person.
1469
01:13:42,876 --> 01:13:44,420
I just felt the need to say it.
1470
01:13:44,503 --> 01:13:46,380
[Sheila] I think it's important to say it.
1471
01:13:46,463 --> 01:13:49,383
I think it's important in this circle
of naked truthing
1472
01:13:50,008 --> 01:13:51,844
to be able to own where you are.
1473
01:13:51,927 --> 01:13:52,928
I'll be quite frank.
1474
01:13:53,011 --> 01:13:56,306
Your body hasn't wanted to have sex
with another human being yet.
1475
01:13:56,390 --> 01:13:58,475
- That's what I'm...
- I haven't.
1476
01:13:58,559 --> 01:14:00,853
[Sheila] There's nothing wrong with that.
1477
01:14:01,395 --> 01:14:04,273
Are you gonna be ready for a haircut soon?
1478
01:14:04,356 --> 01:14:06,984
I haven't had my hair above my shoulders
in 20 years,
1479
01:14:07,067 --> 01:14:09,236
and I have no intention
of putting it there.
1480
01:14:10,404 --> 01:14:12,990
Your hair wants to fly and move more.
1481
01:14:13,532 --> 01:14:14,992
Okay? So we'll do that.
1482
01:14:15,075 --> 01:14:17,453
You're gonna do, like, a makeover thing.
1483
01:14:20,414 --> 01:14:22,458
Some people come in
just to learn how to pole dance,
1484
01:14:22,541 --> 01:14:24,668
and their minds are blown open
1485
01:14:24,751 --> 01:14:27,504
that it touches a part of themselves
they didn't know they had.
1486
01:14:27,588 --> 01:14:30,424
[gentle music playing]
1487
01:14:36,597 --> 01:14:38,807
[indistinct chatter]
1488
01:14:40,267 --> 01:14:42,686
[Sheila] Take a breath
and breathe here and sit back.
1489
01:14:43,270 --> 01:14:47,191
I've needed to fall apart for a long time
and I can't seem to do it.
1490
01:14:47,733 --> 01:14:49,610
[Sheila] This is a neurogenic tremor.
1491
01:14:49,693 --> 01:14:52,613
It's just trying to release shit,
and so you're holding on.
1492
01:14:52,696 --> 01:14:54,114
- It's not...
- I'm fighting it.
1493
01:14:55,908 --> 01:14:56,908
[Sheila] I know.
1494
01:14:57,534 --> 01:14:59,453
You don't want to just sob?
1495
01:15:01,038 --> 01:15:02,581
- No.
- [Sheila] Why?
1496
01:15:04,333 --> 01:15:07,419
Because if I fall, I don't know
that I'll put myself back together.
1497
01:15:07,503 --> 01:15:09,505
[Sheila] We've gotta
get this shit out of you.
1498
01:15:09,588 --> 01:15:10,923
- Right?
- [Jaimee] Yeah.
1499
01:15:11,882 --> 01:15:14,218
Every woman who walks in that door
1500
01:15:14,301 --> 01:15:17,054
is coming here to at the very least
1501
01:15:17,137 --> 01:15:19,681
get into her sexuality and her body.
1502
01:15:19,765 --> 01:15:21,308
So she's signing up for this.
1503
01:15:22,017 --> 01:15:24,895
I know she's not asking
for emotional pain,
1504
01:15:24,978 --> 01:15:27,439
but she's trying to move beyond that.
1505
01:15:27,523 --> 01:15:31,235
And when you are working with her
in a responsible way to do that,
1506
01:15:31,318 --> 01:15:33,403
you're giving her a priceless gift.
1507
01:15:36,573 --> 01:15:39,368
It is something that is healing.
1508
01:15:39,451 --> 01:15:40,994
It's empowering.
1509
01:15:41,620 --> 01:15:44,164
But I also get that it's something
1510
01:15:44,248 --> 01:15:45,541
that can be triggering.
1511
01:15:47,000 --> 01:15:48,000
So, by teaching,
1512
01:15:48,043 --> 01:15:50,837
you're also healing yourself even further.
1513
01:15:53,715 --> 01:15:55,175
[Jenn] You gonna knock on that door?
1514
01:15:55,801 --> 01:15:56,843
[knocks on door]
1515
01:15:57,511 --> 01:15:59,680
[Sheila] You and I have talked
about losing the weight.
1516
01:15:59,763 --> 01:16:01,390
How much do you wanna lose?
1517
01:16:01,473 --> 01:16:03,809
I would like to lose 100 pounds.
1518
01:16:04,309 --> 01:16:05,769
Okay. What are you right now?
1519
01:16:05,852 --> 01:16:08,981
- [Jenn] Um… 265?
- Yeah.
1520
01:16:09,481 --> 01:16:11,692
- Yeah, 100 pounds would be good.
- [Jenn] Mmm-hmm.
1521
01:16:11,775 --> 01:16:14,236
- [Sheila] So let's do that.
- Yeah. [chuckles]
1522
01:16:14,861 --> 01:16:15,904
That's scary.
1523
01:16:16,488 --> 01:16:20,617
- Um, if 100 pounds is doable...
- [Sheila] Fourteen pounds a month for 100.
1524
01:16:21,285 --> 01:16:22,285
Really?
1525
01:16:22,995 --> 01:16:24,329
- That's it?
- [Sheila] Yeah.
1526
01:16:24,413 --> 01:16:25,581
- Really?
- [Sheila] Yeah!
1527
01:16:26,748 --> 01:16:29,585
All I did was calculate
seven months by 100 pounds,
1528
01:16:29,668 --> 01:16:31,670
and it's 14.2 pounds.
1529
01:16:31,753 --> 01:16:33,839
- Can we make that our goal?
- [exhales deeply]
1530
01:16:34,339 --> 01:16:35,632
- Yeah.
- [Sheila] Okay?
1531
01:16:35,716 --> 01:16:38,176
Why now? Why this moment?
1532
01:16:38,844 --> 01:16:40,262
I don't wanna die early.
1533
01:16:42,180 --> 01:16:43,932
I wanna live for my children.
1534
01:16:44,016 --> 01:16:46,518
- I wanna see them grow up. [sniffles]
- Yeah.
1535
01:16:46,602 --> 01:16:50,063
[crying] I wanna have
a thriving marriage, a healthy one.
1536
01:16:50,147 --> 01:16:51,648
- A hot, sexy one?
- [laughs] Yeah.
1537
01:16:51,732 --> 01:16:53,692
- Where you can get on top?
- [laughs] Yeah.
1538
01:16:53,775 --> 01:16:55,652
[Sheila] Do all kinds of fun stuff
up there.
1539
01:16:56,278 --> 01:16:58,572
- Yes.
- [Sheila] Yeah. Yeah.
1540
01:16:58,655 --> 01:17:01,199
- And it hurts. My body hurts.
- I know. I hear.
1541
01:17:01,742 --> 01:17:03,368
- Just now.
- Yeah, now.
1542
01:17:03,452 --> 01:17:04,452
[Sheila] Yeah.
1543
01:17:05,120 --> 01:17:08,457
It took you eight years to tell me
what happened to your body.
1544
01:17:08,540 --> 01:17:09,540
[Jenn] Mmm-hmm.
1545
01:17:10,959 --> 01:17:13,545
That you kind of just went,
"Well, this happened."
1546
01:17:13,629 --> 01:17:16,340
Do we wanna come clean
with what happened to your body?
1547
01:17:17,633 --> 01:17:18,634
I don't know.
1548
01:17:20,218 --> 01:17:21,762
It's easier to just forget about it.
1549
01:17:21,845 --> 01:17:24,306
No, it's not. It's not "forget about it,"
it's in your body.
1550
01:17:26,475 --> 01:17:29,311
Before that incident, were you overweight?
1551
01:17:30,854 --> 01:17:32,314
- No.
- [Sheila] No.
1552
01:17:33,023 --> 01:17:34,566
- Mmm.
- [Sheila] Hmm.
1553
01:17:38,820 --> 01:17:41,323
I was taken advantage of
1554
01:17:42,199 --> 01:17:47,120
by boys in junior high or high school.
1555
01:17:49,998 --> 01:17:52,000
[sobs]
1556
01:17:56,630 --> 01:17:59,299
[breathes deeply]
1557
01:18:01,343 --> 01:18:03,261
[breathes deeply]
1558
01:18:09,976 --> 01:18:12,080
[Sheila] Will you let those fuckers
destroy your life?
1559
01:18:12,104 --> 01:18:14,189
- [cries] No!
- [Sheila] No? Mmm-mmm?
1560
01:18:15,232 --> 01:18:17,192
- Will you let them steal your body?
- No.
1561
01:18:17,275 --> 01:18:18,275
- Your pleasure?
- No.
1562
01:18:18,318 --> 01:18:20,195
- Okay, so it's time.
- Yeah.
1563
01:18:20,278 --> 01:18:22,406
- [Sheila] It's time.
- It's just the excuse
1564
01:18:22,489 --> 01:18:24,700
of them being young and stupid.
1565
01:18:24,783 --> 01:18:26,868
[Sheila] No, it was brutalizing.
1566
01:18:27,619 --> 01:18:30,038
Not realizing the impact.
1567
01:18:30,706 --> 01:18:32,791
And then having my own daughter,
and just…
1568
01:18:32,874 --> 01:18:34,754
- I don't ever want her to just…
- [Sheila] Oof.
1569
01:18:36,878 --> 01:18:38,714
…do what I did and let it be.
1570
01:18:38,797 --> 01:18:40,966
You did nothing wrong, okay?
1571
01:18:41,049 --> 01:18:43,301
Except exist on the planet
as a female creature
1572
01:18:43,385 --> 01:18:46,012
that was innocent and,
I don't know, 16, 15 years old?
1573
01:18:46,096 --> 01:18:47,389
[Jenn] Yeah. Yeah.
1574
01:18:47,472 --> 01:18:51,309
So snap every fucking time you wanna say
something like, "Do what I did."
1575
01:18:52,060 --> 01:18:53,812
And you gotta get back into class.
1576
01:18:55,939 --> 01:18:58,483
You gotta move this, okay?
1577
01:18:58,567 --> 01:19:00,569
[somber music playing]
1578
01:19:04,448 --> 01:19:07,367
[crying] Um, so, I…
1579
01:19:07,451 --> 01:19:09,369
When I was 13, I was raped. [sniffles]
1580
01:19:09,995 --> 01:19:11,997
[voice breaking] Um, and that was…
1581
01:19:13,165 --> 01:19:15,917
that was my first,
like, real sexual experience.
1582
01:19:16,001 --> 01:19:19,671
I was a virgin. I had not had sex.
I was very insecure in my body.
1583
01:19:20,338 --> 01:19:23,967
And I began to feel
more comfortable with myself,
1584
01:19:24,050 --> 01:19:26,928
but then I was drugged
and violently raped,
1585
01:19:27,012 --> 01:19:29,139
and it really fucked me up.
1586
01:19:29,723 --> 01:19:33,643
And it happened again twice in college,
um, two different times.
1587
01:19:34,269 --> 01:19:36,813
I myself was sexually assaulted
by a partner.
1588
01:19:36,897 --> 01:19:40,567
And I ended up comforting
the guy that raped me.
1589
01:19:40,650 --> 01:19:43,195
- [woman] Mmm.
- I know. "How does that work," right?
1590
01:19:43,278 --> 01:19:44,278
[laughs]
1591
01:19:45,030 --> 01:19:46,281
[woman] I was 20 years old
1592
01:19:46,364 --> 01:19:48,366
the first time that I was raped,
1593
01:19:48,450 --> 01:19:50,952
and my rapist
was my boyfriend at the time.
1594
01:19:52,454 --> 01:19:53,747
I was sexually assaulted
1595
01:19:53,830 --> 01:19:57,042
and ostracized and bullied after that
1596
01:19:57,125 --> 01:19:58,460
really badly,
1597
01:19:58,543 --> 01:20:00,212
that I had to drop out of school.
1598
01:20:01,171 --> 01:20:02,506
For years afterwards,
1599
01:20:02,589 --> 01:20:05,091
I carried so much shame in my body
1600
01:20:05,175 --> 01:20:08,929
and I felt really uncomfortable
embracing my sexuality after all of that.
1601
01:20:09,012 --> 01:20:11,765
I felt like it was part of me trying
to be sexual and confident.
1602
01:20:11,848 --> 01:20:13,934
- And so I blamed myself.
- [woman] Yeah.
1603
01:20:14,017 --> 01:20:16,019
I feel still really unsafe,
1604
01:20:16,102 --> 01:20:18,146
like, unsafe in society,
1605
01:20:18,230 --> 01:20:20,774
unsafe around men, specifically.
1606
01:20:21,316 --> 01:20:23,235
My body doesn't feel like my own.
1607
01:20:23,318 --> 01:20:26,822
I feel like a blob sometimes.
Like, I just feel so disconnected.
1608
01:20:26,905 --> 01:20:29,533
I was constantly living
in a state of fear.
1609
01:20:30,742 --> 01:20:33,495
The fear of just any man could hurt me.
1610
01:20:35,163 --> 01:20:37,332
Pure terror, and it, um…
1611
01:20:38,500 --> 01:20:40,335
[sniffles] Yeah.
1612
01:20:40,418 --> 01:20:41,503
[laughs nervously]
1613
01:20:43,004 --> 01:20:44,005
[exhales]
1614
01:20:44,089 --> 01:20:46,091
[somber music playing]
1615
01:20:47,801 --> 01:20:50,637
[laughs]
1616
01:20:55,934 --> 01:20:58,186
[woman] I really want to learn
1617
01:20:58,270 --> 01:21:00,021
how to trust myself.
1618
01:21:00,522 --> 01:21:04,651
So that's basically why I'm here,
to really have a confidence within myself,
1619
01:21:04,734 --> 01:21:08,488
to trust my inner self,
to just be who I know I'm meant to be.
1620
01:21:08,572 --> 01:21:10,323
[all agreeing]
1621
01:21:10,407 --> 01:21:14,160
[applauding]
1622
01:21:15,203 --> 01:21:16,746
[Allison] I thought you were after me.
1623
01:21:16,830 --> 01:21:20,125
- [boy] Well, I think you skipped me.
- [Allison chuckling] Oh… sorry.
1624
01:21:20,208 --> 01:21:23,253
[Allison] I have decided to go public
with what I do.
1625
01:21:23,837 --> 01:21:25,839
- Brycee wins!
- [boy exclaims] Yeah!
1626
01:21:25,922 --> 01:21:29,551
My husband found my Instagram account
before I was able to tell him,
1627
01:21:30,468 --> 01:21:31,803
and he immediately said,
1628
01:21:31,887 --> 01:21:34,222
"You did exactly the thing
I told you not to do."
1629
01:21:34,806 --> 01:21:36,349
I said, "You crossed a line,
1630
01:21:36,433 --> 01:21:38,602
telling me what I can and cannot do
with my pole life."
1631
01:21:40,520 --> 01:21:43,023
"If I want to post pictures of myself,
1632
01:21:43,106 --> 01:21:44,900
it's my body, it's my right."
1633
01:21:44,983 --> 01:21:46,234
"This is what I do."
1634
01:21:46,902 --> 01:21:48,111
"Take it or leave it."
1635
01:21:48,862 --> 01:21:51,156
And he said, "We're done."
1636
01:21:52,949 --> 01:21:54,326
"We're getting a divorce."
1637
01:21:56,369 --> 01:21:59,289
I have nothing to be ashamed of.
I have nothing to fear.
1638
01:21:59,831 --> 01:22:01,207
This is who I am.
1639
01:22:01,291 --> 01:22:04,252
I've allowed my husband
to control me for a very long time,
1640
01:22:04,836 --> 01:22:07,589
and then I realized that I wasn't free.
1641
01:22:09,215 --> 01:22:11,217
There's people who question me and say,
1642
01:22:11,843 --> 01:22:14,262
"How is what you're doing
bringing glory to God?"
1643
01:22:15,013 --> 01:22:17,265
And then I have other people that say,
1644
01:22:17,349 --> 01:22:21,895
"You're 40 years old. You have two kids,
and you're in phenomenal shape."
1645
01:22:22,604 --> 01:22:23,647
"You're inspiring."
1646
01:22:23,730 --> 01:22:27,817
[audience applauds and cheers]
1647
01:22:31,988 --> 01:22:35,367
[Sheila] There are women
who become so full and so rich
1648
01:22:35,450 --> 01:22:38,495
and so explosively radiant.
1649
01:22:38,578 --> 01:22:40,580
[gentle music playing]
1650
01:22:44,626 --> 01:22:47,379
[Sheila] And the loves that they're with,
the men that they're with,
1651
01:22:48,672 --> 01:22:49,965
get so overwhelmed
1652
01:22:50,048 --> 01:22:53,051
and don't know how to handle that…
1653
01:22:54,636 --> 01:22:56,513
how to hold space for that,
1654
01:22:56,596 --> 01:22:58,598
how to be even present
1655
01:22:58,682 --> 01:23:00,308
for that kind of power.
1656
01:23:02,268 --> 01:23:03,687
Not only are the women gonna grow,
1657
01:23:03,770 --> 01:23:06,481
but they're gonna affect everything
and everybody in their path.
1658
01:23:06,564 --> 01:23:08,566
[gentle music continues]
1659
01:23:16,908 --> 01:23:19,869
What I'm talking about
is an entire paradigm shift
1660
01:23:19,953 --> 01:23:22,414
of how we live together,
1661
01:23:23,289 --> 01:23:24,582
masculine and feminine.
1662
01:23:27,252 --> 01:23:30,422
[Sheila] I think you all know that I've
invited some masculine energy here.
1663
01:23:30,505 --> 01:23:33,508
I think it would be really,
really helpful for you
1664
01:23:33,591 --> 01:23:35,343
to confront a male presence.
1665
01:23:36,678 --> 01:23:39,556
[Ali] These are heightened, conscious men.
1666
01:23:40,181 --> 01:23:41,725
They cultivate that ability
1667
01:23:41,808 --> 01:23:43,893
to hold the space for the feminine
1668
01:23:43,977 --> 01:23:46,479
and whatever comes up emotionally
1669
01:23:46,563 --> 01:23:47,689
is what comes up.
1670
01:23:48,523 --> 01:23:49,733
[Sheila] Thank you for coming.
1671
01:23:49,816 --> 01:23:52,694
One of the things I love
when I bring masculine presence
1672
01:23:52,777 --> 01:23:55,530
is for you to hold their gaze
1673
01:23:55,613 --> 01:23:58,950
with not just love
but the feeling of "I would kill for you."
1674
01:23:59,617 --> 01:24:01,036
[Ali] Whenever you're ready,
1675
01:24:01,119 --> 01:24:02,537
I'm gonna lead you in
1676
01:24:02,620 --> 01:24:04,122
and just find that flow.
1677
01:24:06,207 --> 01:24:08,209
[soft background music playing]
1678
01:24:08,835 --> 01:24:12,756
[Sheila] Their one goal is
to make you feel loved and seen
1679
01:24:13,423 --> 01:24:14,924
and protected.
1680
01:24:16,134 --> 01:24:17,927
Whatever you need.
1681
01:24:18,678 --> 01:24:21,306
They're holding masculine presence.
1682
01:24:22,807 --> 01:24:24,684
These men do exist.
1683
01:24:24,768 --> 01:24:27,479
This masculine energy does exist.
1684
01:24:27,979 --> 01:24:29,939
- [Patty] Can I touch?
- [Sheila] Ask him.
1685
01:24:30,023 --> 01:24:31,566
Is it okay if I touch you?
1686
01:24:32,233 --> 01:24:34,235
[Sheila] Everything above the belt.
1687
01:24:34,319 --> 01:24:36,362
[women laugh]
1688
01:24:39,824 --> 01:24:42,327
[Sheila] This can be incredibly healing
1689
01:24:42,410 --> 01:24:43,661
if you choose that.
1690
01:24:46,331 --> 01:24:48,750
Feel what it feels like to truly be seen
1691
01:24:49,834 --> 01:24:51,836
in all your feminine splendor.
1692
01:24:55,340 --> 01:24:59,094
- [sobs] I just miss him.
- Mmm.
1693
01:25:00,261 --> 01:25:02,263
- I miss him a lot.
- Yeah.
1694
01:25:04,057 --> 01:25:05,642
[sobs]
1695
01:25:05,725 --> 01:25:06,559
[indistinct]
1696
01:25:06,643 --> 01:25:09,354
[Sheila] Can you ask him to show you love?
1697
01:25:11,689 --> 01:25:13,691
[indistinct crying and chatter]
1698
01:25:23,827 --> 01:25:26,830
[Lisset] I never got to come out
to my father while he was alive,
1699
01:25:27,413 --> 01:25:30,250
mainly because my mother didn't think
he could accept me.
1700
01:25:30,750 --> 01:25:33,920
So I'd like to have
that feeling of acceptance,
1701
01:25:34,003 --> 01:25:36,005
um, by a man who represented him.
1702
01:25:39,425 --> 01:25:40,927
[breathes deeply]
1703
01:25:42,011 --> 01:25:44,013
[sniffling]
1704
01:25:48,476 --> 01:25:49,811
[crying]
1705
01:25:49,894 --> 01:25:51,896
[sobbing]
1706
01:25:55,316 --> 01:25:58,153
Yeah. You need to feel a man
who can protect you.
1707
01:25:58,236 --> 01:26:00,238
[sobbing]
1708
01:26:10,915 --> 01:26:14,419
[gentle music playing]
1709
01:26:32,187 --> 01:26:34,397
[man] I think of women
that I've been with in my life,
1710
01:26:34,480 --> 01:26:38,026
before I was breathing
as consciously as I do now,
1711
01:26:38,902 --> 01:26:39,902
that I hurt.
1712
01:26:40,361 --> 01:26:44,699
I have tons of regrets
of the way that I would treat women.
1713
01:26:46,075 --> 01:26:48,369
Being with you was that…
1714
01:26:48,453 --> 01:26:50,121
for me, that space of, like…
1715
01:26:50,205 --> 01:26:52,749
[voice breaking]
…being seen in that vulnerable place…
1716
01:26:54,209 --> 01:26:56,419
and being held in that space
1717
01:26:57,045 --> 01:26:59,464
without the expectation of anything else.
1718
01:27:00,340 --> 01:27:04,594
What I wasn't expecting is
how almost all of us became frozen.
1719
01:27:05,261 --> 01:27:06,512
Um, and you're like,
1720
01:27:06,596 --> 01:27:09,849
"Wow! Men have
really done a number on us!"
1721
01:27:09,933 --> 01:27:10,933
[all laugh]
1722
01:27:11,809 --> 01:27:14,270
[quavers`] It just felt like
our hearts touched at one point,
1723
01:27:14,354 --> 01:27:16,981
and, like,
I could feel you, and I felt safe.
1724
01:27:17,065 --> 01:27:20,777
And when I held my arms back…
[laughs]
1725
01:27:20,860 --> 01:27:23,571
…and surrendered that, it was,
like, full surrender.
1726
01:27:23,655 --> 01:27:27,033
[cries] I don't think I've ever done that
with anyone in my entire life,
1727
01:27:27,116 --> 01:27:28,243
so thank you.
1728
01:27:28,326 --> 01:27:30,328
[gentle music continues]
1729
01:27:37,835 --> 01:27:40,046
[woman] The next survivor is
Megan Halicek.
1730
01:27:40,129 --> 01:27:41,881
[inaudible]
1731
01:27:43,383 --> 01:27:46,552
[Megan] Larry Nassar used to be
an absolute god to me,
1732
01:27:46,636 --> 01:27:48,846
but he turned out to be a monster.
1733
01:27:49,430 --> 01:27:51,224
He was an unwarranted intruder
1734
01:27:51,307 --> 01:27:55,061
to my most private, intimate,
never-before-touched places.
1735
01:27:56,062 --> 01:27:58,398
My little child self knew
something was wrong,
1736
01:27:58,481 --> 01:28:02,819
but she was petrified to the point
of physical and emotional paralysis.
1737
01:28:02,902 --> 01:28:05,446
[voice breaking] As she tried so hard
to keep trusting this man
1738
01:28:05,530 --> 01:28:06,656
she thought was her savior,
1739
01:28:06,739 --> 01:28:08,199
the most confusing part was
1740
01:28:08,283 --> 01:28:10,702
my mother was
in the room with us while this happens.
1741
01:28:11,828 --> 01:28:14,497
[crying] When I heard about the abuse,
it was just disbelief.
1742
01:28:14,580 --> 01:28:16,207
"How could I let that happen?"
1743
01:28:17,125 --> 01:28:20,461
You have an image
of what safe should be, and you're there,
1744
01:28:20,545 --> 01:28:22,880
you're there with her,
and she's still not safe.
1745
01:28:23,589 --> 01:28:25,591
[cries] 'Cause I thought you were safe.
1746
01:28:27,927 --> 01:28:29,554
[exhales] Sorry.
1747
01:28:30,054 --> 01:28:31,139
[mouthing] It's okay.
1748
01:28:31,806 --> 01:28:34,100
I couldn't trust anyone
to keep me safe back then,
1749
01:28:34,183 --> 01:28:36,644
and I can't trust anyone
to keep me safe today.
1750
01:28:36,728 --> 01:28:38,062
The world feels unsafe.
1751
01:28:38,146 --> 01:28:39,146
Men feel unsafe.
1752
01:28:39,689 --> 01:28:42,859
I'm intensely vigilant
that someone, somewhere,
1753
01:28:42,942 --> 01:28:46,487
is about to take advantage of,
sexualize, or hurt me.
1754
01:28:47,864 --> 01:28:49,240
I will do what it takes
1755
01:28:49,324 --> 01:28:51,367
for as long as it takes to heal
1756
01:28:51,451 --> 01:28:53,661
so that this no longer has power over me.
1757
01:28:53,745 --> 01:28:55,496
[women clapping and cheering]
1758
01:28:55,580 --> 01:28:58,333
- [Sheila] What's the sound?
- [yelling fiercely]
1759
01:28:58,416 --> 01:29:00,418
- [laughing]
- [women cheer]
1760
01:29:11,596 --> 01:29:13,598
[Amy] On Twitter,
there's actually somebody
1761
01:29:13,681 --> 01:29:15,808
who's created a fake profile.
1762
01:29:17,018 --> 01:29:19,145
So it's @WendyJamesXXX.
1763
01:29:19,228 --> 01:29:21,147
It's not an account that I created.
1764
01:29:21,230 --> 01:29:25,568
He would send people I know
videos of men cumming on my face.
1765
01:29:26,819 --> 01:29:30,114
Here's a pole dance video
that I posted on YouTube.
1766
01:29:30,198 --> 01:29:33,242
Of course, some user named "bug man"
1767
01:29:33,326 --> 01:29:36,037
needs to call it out like he always does.
1768
01:29:36,788 --> 01:29:40,416
"Watch, drain your balls, or squirt,
this woman is very good at her job."
1769
01:29:40,500 --> 01:29:44,462
At every turn, even now, 15 years later,
1770
01:29:44,545 --> 01:29:47,090
"Did you know she used to be in porn?"
1771
01:29:47,173 --> 01:29:49,342
Like it's this terrible thing.
1772
01:29:49,425 --> 01:29:53,054
And I don't think it is, but also,
"Why do you care?"
1773
01:29:53,137 --> 01:29:57,016
You know? "Why are you still
bothering me with this?"
1774
01:29:58,434 --> 01:30:00,937
[upbeat music playing]
1775
01:30:04,816 --> 01:30:09,362
[Amy] The hardest thing
after we go through social ostracization
1776
01:30:09,445 --> 01:30:11,447
is to get up, go back, and say,
1777
01:30:11,531 --> 01:30:14,283
"I'm still here. You can't push me down."
1778
01:30:17,245 --> 01:30:21,249
Using my story
to help others get over the shame
1779
01:30:21,332 --> 01:30:23,292
that they also feel in their lives
1780
01:30:23,376 --> 01:30:25,378
is why I believe I'm here.
1781
01:30:26,295 --> 01:30:27,505
[Amy] I'm gonna check in.
1782
01:30:27,588 --> 01:30:28,798
My name's Amy Bond.
1783
01:30:28,881 --> 01:30:31,217
[laughing] Hey!
1784
01:30:31,300 --> 01:30:34,637
- Oh, my God, you're here! Come!
- [woman] How are you?
1785
01:30:34,720 --> 01:30:37,223
- [Amy] Having fun!
- [woman] Good! How are you doing?
1786
01:30:37,306 --> 01:30:38,891
- I'm so good.
- Are you having fun?
1787
01:30:38,975 --> 01:30:39,976
I'm having so much fun.
1788
01:30:40,059 --> 01:30:42,520
My only goal for tonight is
to make somebody cry.
1789
01:30:42,603 --> 01:30:44,814
- [both laughing]
- [Amy] And not fuck everything up.
1790
01:30:44,897 --> 01:30:47,442
[exclaiming] Oh, my God!
1791
01:30:48,401 --> 01:30:49,401
Can I touch it?
1792
01:30:49,444 --> 01:30:50,862
- Yes!
- [Amy] Ahh!
1793
01:30:50,945 --> 01:30:52,989
- How far along are you?
- Seven months.
1794
01:30:53,072 --> 01:30:54,907
- And you wore heels?
- Oh, yeah.
1795
01:30:54,991 --> 01:30:56,951
They're church shoes, you know.
1796
01:30:59,954 --> 01:31:02,707
- [Amy] How's the spin pole?
- [woman] It's slow.
1797
01:31:02,790 --> 01:31:04,375
[upbeat music continues]
1798
01:31:08,337 --> 01:31:10,756
[Amy] I'm nervous
about all the different ways
1799
01:31:10,840 --> 01:31:12,842
that my routine would go wrong,
1800
01:31:12,925 --> 01:31:16,637
worried about my grip and whether
I would be able to hold on to the pole.
1801
01:31:16,721 --> 01:31:19,015
I just don't wanna die.
That's all I ask today.
1802
01:31:19,098 --> 01:31:21,851
Hold on to the pole and I don't fall off.
1803
01:31:21,934 --> 01:31:23,311
[Amy] That will not happen.
1804
01:31:24,896 --> 01:31:27,064
[engine starting]
1805
01:31:34,614 --> 01:31:37,992
[Jenn] Tomorrow, I am beginning
a weight loss journey.
1806
01:31:38,743 --> 01:31:42,872
I am terrified of the safety
of holding on to my weight
1807
01:31:43,414 --> 01:31:46,751
and the fear of what happens
if I let it go.
1808
01:31:48,002 --> 01:31:49,962
Over the last 12 years,
1809
01:31:50,046 --> 01:31:52,381
I have been releasing layers.
1810
01:31:54,342 --> 01:31:58,012
I truly believe
that the moment my healing started
1811
01:31:58,095 --> 01:32:00,681
was when I actually acknowledged
it was a rape,
1812
01:32:00,765 --> 01:32:03,142
and I didn't make any other excuses.
1813
01:32:03,226 --> 01:32:05,561
[man] Hello. How's it going?
1814
01:32:06,687 --> 01:32:08,327
- [woman] You look very nice.
- Thank you.
1815
01:32:08,397 --> 01:32:10,733
So what is going on exactly today?
1816
01:32:10,816 --> 01:32:11,984
[Jenn] A release.
1817
01:32:12,902 --> 01:32:15,404
[man] I didn't know until seven,
eight years ago
1818
01:32:15,488 --> 01:32:19,033
that she had, um, been raped.
1819
01:32:20,535 --> 01:32:22,703
[woman] I can only imagine
what she went through
1820
01:32:22,787 --> 01:32:24,956
and how she stuffed it down
1821
01:32:25,039 --> 01:32:26,082
all these years.
1822
01:32:26,582 --> 01:32:29,335
[crying] And I know
how important forgiveness is to a person,
1823
01:32:29,418 --> 01:32:31,837
and that was important for me,
1824
01:32:31,921 --> 01:32:36,425
that she truly forgive me for being
ignorant of things that happened,
1825
01:32:36,509 --> 01:32:39,345
for not being there when she needed me,
1826
01:32:39,428 --> 01:32:44,100
for being so busy with work
and taking care of, uh, business
1827
01:32:44,183 --> 01:32:46,477
when I should have been taking care
of my daughter.
1828
01:32:48,563 --> 01:32:50,356
She is putting her life out there,
1829
01:32:50,856 --> 01:32:53,234
but if she can find peace in her heart,
1830
01:32:53,734 --> 01:32:57,321
if she can become the kind of woman
that she wants to be,
1831
01:32:58,864 --> 01:33:00,575
then I say more power to her.
1832
01:33:05,037 --> 01:33:07,707
[Jenn] I'm releasing any ounce of the rape
1833
01:33:07,790 --> 01:33:09,625
that no longer serves my body
1834
01:33:10,167 --> 01:33:13,254
and the thoughts of me
not being worthy enough.
1835
01:33:16,924 --> 01:33:19,969
[sensual pop music playing]
1836
01:33:24,015 --> 01:33:27,018
[Sheila] The next two weeks is
kind of understanding free dance.
1837
01:33:27,727 --> 01:33:29,979
We'll be dancing not from here,
1838
01:33:30,938 --> 01:33:33,649
but it's finding pleasure
and finding a story
1839
01:33:33,733 --> 01:33:36,527
and the conversation
that your body wants to have.
1840
01:33:37,320 --> 01:33:39,322
[pop music continues]
1841
01:33:40,615 --> 01:33:43,075
[Evelyn] I don't know
what wakes you up in the morning,
1842
01:33:43,159 --> 01:33:45,119
but Katy Perry's been waking me up
in the morning.
1843
01:33:45,161 --> 01:33:45,995
[women laugh]
1844
01:33:46,078 --> 01:33:50,166
- I changed all my alarms to erotic songs.
- [Sheila] Yes!
1845
01:33:50,249 --> 01:33:51,626
- Soulful songs.
- [Sheila] Yes!
1846
01:33:51,709 --> 01:33:53,419
So in the morning, when I wake up,
1847
01:33:53,502 --> 01:33:56,505
I lay there in bed, and I smile.
1848
01:33:57,089 --> 01:34:00,259
And then I turn just for a second,
1849
01:34:00,343 --> 01:34:02,928
and just, like,
"Okay, I wanna start my day."
1850
01:34:03,012 --> 01:34:05,640
Hey, I'm not gonna lie,
I'll hit the snooze again, and, you know…
1851
01:34:05,723 --> 01:34:07,016
[women laugh]
1852
01:34:07,516 --> 01:34:09,685
[Evelyn] Music has come back into my life.
1853
01:34:10,353 --> 01:34:13,648
- And I bought a thong.
- [Sheila] I wanna see the thong!
1854
01:34:13,731 --> 01:34:15,524
- [all] Whoo!
- [Evelyn] I'm wearing a thong.
1855
01:34:15,608 --> 01:34:18,069
Who fucking does that?
I mean, I'm sure you guys do that.
1856
01:34:18,152 --> 01:34:20,321
- [women laugh]
- But I… I'm wearing a thong.
1857
01:34:20,404 --> 01:34:22,073
[women cheer]
1858
01:34:22,156 --> 01:34:25,242
[music continues] ♪ Girls do it better
Girls do it better ♪
1859
01:34:25,326 --> 01:34:27,370
♪ Girls do it better
Yeah ♪
1860
01:34:27,453 --> 01:34:28,954
♪ Girls do it better ♪
1861
01:34:29,038 --> 01:34:31,040
♪ Girls do it better
Yeah ♪
1862
01:34:31,123 --> 01:34:32,416
♪ Girls do it better
Oh ♪
1863
01:34:32,500 --> 01:34:34,168
♪ Girls do it better
Yeah ♪
1864
01:34:34,251 --> 01:34:36,545
♪ You know we do it better ♪
1865
01:34:37,505 --> 01:34:39,882
♪ Innocent girls to the naked eye ♪
1866
01:34:40,383 --> 01:34:43,302
♪ Really a bad girl deep inside… ♪
1867
01:34:43,386 --> 01:34:44,387
Oh, goodness!
1868
01:34:44,470 --> 01:34:47,390
♪ I don't care what you say
I don't care how you feel ♪
1869
01:34:47,473 --> 01:34:49,141
♪ You just know when they come ♪
1870
01:34:49,225 --> 01:34:51,310
♪ Hey! I'll make a… ♪
1871
01:34:51,394 --> 01:34:53,521
[Sheila] Jaimee! Look at you!
1872
01:34:53,604 --> 01:34:55,106
[exaggeratedly] What?
1873
01:34:55,189 --> 01:34:56,732
Can we give her some love?
1874
01:34:56,816 --> 01:34:58,693
- All right!
- [women cheering]
1875
01:34:58,776 --> 01:34:59,860
[Sheila] Look at you.
1876
01:35:00,736 --> 01:35:02,655
More! More!
1877
01:35:02,738 --> 01:35:04,990
That's it. Let your head go.
1878
01:35:06,158 --> 01:35:08,536
[Jaimee] The hair coming off
lifted a veil for me.
1879
01:35:09,620 --> 01:35:11,497
I've gotten a lot more confident,
1880
01:35:11,580 --> 01:35:15,960
experiencing the journey with this group
of women and having their support.
1881
01:35:17,670 --> 01:35:20,047
[Sheila] Exhale down. Good! Good!
1882
01:35:20,131 --> 01:35:22,133
Let it go! Let it play!
1883
01:35:22,216 --> 01:35:25,136
As it says, it's alive! Whoo!
1884
01:35:25,219 --> 01:35:28,723
[loudly] What? Who are you?
What's happened to Lisset?
1885
01:35:28,806 --> 01:35:29,807
[class laughs]
1886
01:35:29,890 --> 01:35:33,060
I think the last time I saw you,
you were in a crew neck shirt,
1887
01:35:33,144 --> 01:35:35,855
and I'm like, "What's happened?"
Girl, you were on fire.
1888
01:35:35,938 --> 01:35:38,858
We'd have S women over at the house,
and there'd be a whole pole party.
1889
01:35:38,941 --> 01:35:42,153
And I would sit in the corner and go,
"You guys are so sexy."
1890
01:35:42,236 --> 01:35:43,279
[voice breaks] But that's…
1891
01:35:45,072 --> 01:35:46,073
[exhales]
1892
01:35:47,825 --> 01:35:49,160
[cries] That's not me.
1893
01:35:50,119 --> 01:35:52,663
Drop your right knee into your left knee.
1894
01:35:52,747 --> 01:35:54,248
- [Sheila chuckles]
- [all murmur]
1895
01:35:54,331 --> 01:35:58,169
[Sheila] It's vulnerable for you to let
the feminine curve come out, isn't it?
1896
01:35:58,252 --> 01:36:00,755
You've protected yourself
with the more masculine body,
1897
01:36:00,838 --> 01:36:03,048
but you actually have
a very feminine body.
1898
01:36:03,591 --> 01:36:05,050
It is you, isn't it?
1899
01:36:05,134 --> 01:36:07,011
- It is. [laughs]
- [women laugh]
1900
01:36:07,678 --> 01:36:09,138
[sensual music playing]
1901
01:36:11,724 --> 01:36:14,977
[woman] I'm starting to see
how this spills into everyday life.
1902
01:36:15,060 --> 01:36:16,353
[women cheer]
1903
01:36:16,437 --> 01:36:18,439
Did my lap dance for my husband.
1904
01:36:18,522 --> 01:36:20,524
[women cheering]
1905
01:36:21,442 --> 01:36:25,112
Gazing into each other's eyes
throughout the whole thing
1906
01:36:25,196 --> 01:36:27,031
was just so magical.
1907
01:36:27,114 --> 01:36:28,657
Saved our marriage! [chuckles]
1908
01:36:28,741 --> 01:36:31,744
[women cheer and applaud]
1909
01:36:31,827 --> 01:36:34,079
[Sheila] I get really, really excited
1910
01:36:34,163 --> 01:36:37,416
'cause I see change happening.
I see you confronting demons.
1911
01:36:37,500 --> 01:36:40,044
I see you fucking turning the fuck on.
1912
01:36:40,127 --> 01:36:42,296
And look
how you're just spreading your wings
1913
01:36:42,379 --> 01:36:45,549
in this particular world
that you thought was off-limits to you.
1914
01:36:46,717 --> 01:36:49,428
[upbeat music playing]
1915
01:36:49,512 --> 01:36:51,055
[indistinct chatter]
1916
01:36:57,353 --> 01:36:59,355
[audience applauding]
1917
01:37:02,983 --> 01:37:06,195
[audience cheering]
1918
01:37:08,113 --> 01:37:09,990
[cheering continues]
1919
01:37:18,874 --> 01:37:20,876
[audience cheering]
1920
01:37:22,920 --> 01:37:24,922
[light piano music playing]
1921
01:37:29,218 --> 01:37:32,763
[Jen] My dance today is
not about feeling pretty.
1922
01:37:32,847 --> 01:37:34,849
It is about feeling powerful.
1923
01:37:36,225 --> 01:37:40,437
I was in an abusive marriage
for nine and a half years.
1924
01:37:40,521 --> 01:37:42,189
[audience cheering]
1925
01:37:42,273 --> 01:37:44,149
[Jen] I was able to
go get a restraining order.
1926
01:37:44,733 --> 01:37:48,404
He was out of the house,
and I was able to finally breathe.
1927
01:37:50,447 --> 01:37:53,993
[crying] I just want to let
anyone else know that they're not alone,
1928
01:37:55,452 --> 01:37:57,955
that they're beautiful and they're strong.
1929
01:37:58,455 --> 01:38:02,251
And once you get on the pole and you see
you're doing this for yourself,
1930
01:38:02,334 --> 01:38:05,045
then that can give them
the confidence to realize,
1931
01:38:05,129 --> 01:38:06,672
"I am a strong woman."
1932
01:38:06,755 --> 01:38:10,467
[audience cheering and applauding]
1933
01:38:13,512 --> 01:38:15,431
[indistinct chatter]
1934
01:38:15,514 --> 01:38:17,641
Can I get an Amy Bond?
1935
01:38:17,725 --> 01:38:19,602
- Amy Bond?
- Yes.
1936
01:38:21,186 --> 01:38:22,938
[audience cheering in background]
1937
01:38:23,022 --> 01:38:25,024
[tense music playing]
1938
01:38:40,789 --> 01:38:42,750
[woman on mic] Welcome to Amy Bond.
1939
01:38:42,833 --> 01:38:44,835
[audience cheering and clapping]
1940
01:38:50,466 --> 01:38:54,053
[Rupi Kaur reciting on stereo]
♪ It began as a typical Thursday ♪
1941
01:38:55,262 --> 01:38:58,432
♪ Sunlight kissed my eyelids
Good morning… ♪
1942
01:39:00,309 --> 01:39:03,896
[Amy] I first heard Rupi Kaur
perform this piece about sexual assault
1943
01:39:03,979 --> 01:39:05,356
in a TED Talk.
1944
01:39:06,023 --> 01:39:08,400
[Rupi Kaur] ♪ We ended up
At a get-together with friends ♪
1945
01:39:08,484 --> 01:39:10,736
♪ At the end
You asked if I need a ride home ♪
1946
01:39:10,819 --> 01:39:12,571
♪ And I said yes ♪
1947
01:39:12,655 --> 01:39:15,199
♪ 'Cause our dads work
For the same company ♪
1948
01:39:15,282 --> 01:39:16,951
♪ But I should have known ♪
1949
01:39:17,034 --> 01:39:19,036
♪ When instead of driving me home ♪
1950
01:39:19,119 --> 01:39:20,913
♪ Toward the bright intersection ♪
1951
01:39:20,996 --> 01:39:22,790
♪ Of lights and life ♪
1952
01:39:22,873 --> 01:39:24,500
♪ You took a left ♪
1953
01:39:24,583 --> 01:39:26,627
[Amy] The story is about being raped
1954
01:39:26,710 --> 01:39:28,963
and how to exist in a violated body
1955
01:39:29,046 --> 01:39:30,589
after sexual assault.
1956
01:39:31,548 --> 01:39:34,635
I relate to the story
because I've been raped twice.
1957
01:39:35,511 --> 01:39:37,680
[Rupi Kaur] ♪ Every lover who touches me ♪
1958
01:39:37,763 --> 01:39:39,765
♪ Ends up feeling like you ♪
1959
01:39:41,558 --> 01:39:43,811
♪ They're not even the ones
On top of me anymore ♪
1960
01:39:43,894 --> 01:39:44,895
♪ It's you ♪
1961
01:39:45,896 --> 01:39:49,066
[Amy] Building this routine
with the same body that was violated
1962
01:39:49,149 --> 01:39:51,026
feels like a reclamation.
1963
01:39:51,110 --> 01:39:54,363
It is rebuilding a home in a body
someone tried to take from me.
1964
01:39:55,531 --> 01:39:56,949
[Rupi Kaur] ♪ This home is ♪
1965
01:39:57,032 --> 01:40:00,786
♪ What I came into this world with
You can't take it ♪
1966
01:40:01,578 --> 01:40:03,580
♪ There is no space for you ♪
1967
01:40:06,458 --> 01:40:08,961
♪ I plan to step into the bathtub ♪
1968
01:40:09,545 --> 01:40:11,797
♪ Wash yesterday out of my hair ♪
1969
01:40:13,424 --> 01:40:14,800
♪ Put music on ♪
1970
01:40:15,718 --> 01:40:16,844
♪ Sit back ♪
1971
01:40:17,344 --> 01:40:19,054
♪ Put my feet up ♪
1972
01:40:19,138 --> 01:40:22,349
♪ And enjoy this typical Thursday ♪
1973
01:40:22,433 --> 01:40:25,436
- [music fading]
- [audience cheering and applauding]
1974
01:40:29,940 --> 01:40:32,651
I was so nervous that
the audience was gonna start clapping
1975
01:40:32,735 --> 01:40:34,903
and then you wouldn't be able
to hear the words.
1976
01:40:34,987 --> 01:40:37,114
And it's like they got it.
1977
01:40:37,197 --> 01:40:39,742
I really wish I had nailed my jump,
1978
01:40:39,825 --> 01:40:41,744
'cause I messed it up last year,
1979
01:40:41,827 --> 01:40:44,121
and I messed it up again.
Damn it! [laughs]
1980
01:40:44,204 --> 01:40:46,874
But, um, I guess I'll just have to do it
in another competition
1981
01:40:46,957 --> 01:40:49,043
because I really wanna nail that move
on a stage
1982
01:40:49,126 --> 01:40:50,919
just like I do in the studio. [laughs]
1983
01:40:51,003 --> 01:40:53,005
[woman on mic] Our silver medal…
1984
01:40:53,505 --> 01:40:56,008
- Amy Bond.
- [audience cheering]
1985
01:41:02,431 --> 01:41:03,474
[mouths] Thank you.
1986
01:41:23,744 --> 01:41:25,954
[soft piano music playing]
1987
01:41:45,641 --> 01:41:50,521
[Jenyne] I'm so grateful for how
it's all happened for me in my life.
1988
01:41:50,604 --> 01:41:52,773
And I can't imagine
1989
01:41:52,856 --> 01:41:55,776
where would I be and what would I be doing
if I hadn't seen
1990
01:41:56,401 --> 01:41:57,736
Pantera pole dancing.
1991
01:41:58,821 --> 01:42:01,198
A few years ago, I saw Pantera
1992
01:42:01,281 --> 01:42:03,200
at World Competition,
1993
01:42:03,283 --> 01:42:05,035
and I told her, "Thank you."
1994
01:42:05,119 --> 01:42:08,413
I was so happy that I was able to see her.
It changed my life.
1995
01:42:11,083 --> 01:42:13,210
Everything that I have,
and everything that I am,
1996
01:42:13,293 --> 01:42:16,296
and everything that I do
is because of that.
1997
01:42:18,173 --> 01:42:20,843
I'm 35, and I feel like
1998
01:42:20,926 --> 01:42:23,053
I'm still not the best pole dancer
1999
01:42:23,137 --> 01:42:24,346
that I could be.
2000
01:42:25,180 --> 01:42:28,016
I'm still growing. I'm a lifetime student.
2001
01:42:29,852 --> 01:42:31,854
[hip-hop music playing]
2002
01:42:35,816 --> 01:42:38,402
[in guttural voice] Are you ready to riot?
2003
01:42:38,485 --> 01:42:41,488
- [women cheering]
- [hip-hop music continues]
2004
01:42:50,873 --> 01:42:52,249
Oh, my God!
2005
01:42:52,332 --> 01:42:53,333
Come on!
2006
01:42:53,417 --> 01:42:55,377
[audience applauding]
2007
01:42:56,253 --> 01:42:58,630
[Evelyn] Today, I feel hopeful
2008
01:42:58,714 --> 01:43:01,758
I'm going to meet someone again
and fall in love.
2009
01:43:01,842 --> 01:43:03,760
[gentle music playing]
2010
01:43:03,844 --> 01:43:05,220
[Evelyn] It's gonna be hard.
2011
01:43:05,721 --> 01:43:08,849
[cries] I'm afraid…
what if I give my all to someone again,
2012
01:43:08,932 --> 01:43:10,976
and then he just dies on me?
2013
01:43:11,059 --> 01:43:13,353
But I know that's part of life.
2014
01:43:13,937 --> 01:43:16,648
[audience cheering]
2015
01:43:16,732 --> 01:43:18,859
[Evelyn] I just gotta learn to embrace it.
2016
01:43:20,736 --> 01:43:23,572
And then if it does
get a little too crazy, I'll just…
2017
01:43:23,655 --> 01:43:24,907
[inhales deeply]
2018
01:43:24,990 --> 01:43:26,408
…breathe. [exhales]
2019
01:43:28,744 --> 01:43:29,995
I didn't do that before.
2020
01:43:30,078 --> 01:43:32,497
[instrumental hip-hop music playing]
2021
01:43:47,638 --> 01:43:49,973
[hip-hop music continues]
2022
01:44:09,076 --> 01:44:12,704
[Jaimee] I've been sick for
five years now. I felt the best I've felt.
2023
01:44:12,788 --> 01:44:14,081
I'm doing really well.
2024
01:44:14,873 --> 01:44:16,750
I know this has something to do with it.
2025
01:44:16,833 --> 01:44:18,877
I wanna experience more.
2026
01:44:18,961 --> 01:44:21,380
[hip-hop music continues]
2027
01:44:24,549 --> 01:44:27,261
[Megan] There's been changes
large and small.
2028
01:44:27,344 --> 01:44:29,596
There's been changes sexually.
2029
01:44:29,680 --> 01:44:31,723
Things that we just numb out.
2030
01:44:34,226 --> 01:44:37,145
You feel a side of yourself
you've never felt,
2031
01:44:37,229 --> 01:44:38,981
and it can just conquer the world.
2032
01:44:39,064 --> 01:44:42,359
- [audience applauds]
- [Megan] I have developed real awareness.
2033
01:44:43,068 --> 01:44:45,070
Now, my body's always telling the truth,
2034
01:44:45,153 --> 01:44:46,613
and I need to let that out.
2035
01:44:47,948 --> 01:44:49,116
I'm sexy!
2036
01:44:49,199 --> 01:44:51,243
[women cheering]
2037
01:44:56,331 --> 01:44:59,960
I feel like I've gotten to a place
where I don't have to pretend
2038
01:45:00,043 --> 01:45:03,880
that I didn't do the things
that existed in my past
2039
01:45:03,964 --> 01:45:06,300
in order to be accepted by this world.
2040
01:45:07,050 --> 01:45:08,885
I think, very subconsciously,
2041
01:45:08,969 --> 01:45:12,014
part of the reason it was so important
to me to build this space
2042
01:45:12,097 --> 01:45:15,559
is because I was so fearful
of the world for so long.
2043
01:45:16,810 --> 01:45:19,563
Instead of living in the larger worlds,
2044
01:45:19,646 --> 01:45:22,274
I just decided to create my own.
2045
01:45:22,357 --> 01:45:25,610
The worlds where we all come together
as misfits.
2046
01:45:26,111 --> 01:45:28,947
People who have been ostracized
and sexually shamed,
2047
01:45:29,031 --> 01:45:30,741
and let's dance our hearts out.
2048
01:45:30,824 --> 01:45:33,660
And while those people
are over there judging us,
2049
01:45:33,744 --> 01:45:36,747
because they think
pole dancing is this terrible thing,
2050
01:45:36,830 --> 01:45:38,332
we're gonna be over here,
2051
01:45:38,415 --> 01:45:40,876
fucking bouncing our asses on the ground,
2052
01:45:40,959 --> 01:45:43,337
hair-tossing and twerking,
2053
01:45:43,420 --> 01:45:45,088
having the time of our lives.
2054
01:45:45,172 --> 01:45:48,133
[audience cheering]
2055
01:45:51,261 --> 01:45:54,348
[Sheila] Are these the same people
we had that opening circle with?
2056
01:45:54,431 --> 01:45:56,308
What? Do you feel it?
2057
01:45:57,309 --> 01:45:59,603
The bravery that it took to come
2058
01:45:59,686 --> 01:46:02,397
and take this journey is beautiful.
2059
01:46:03,565 --> 01:46:07,986
I am overwhelmed with love for you.
2060
01:46:08,070 --> 01:46:10,072
[women cheering]
2061
01:46:14,826 --> 01:46:18,830
- [uplifting music playing]
- [women cheering]
2062
01:46:25,754 --> 01:46:27,756
- [music continues]
- [cheering continues]
2063
01:46:43,230 --> 01:46:44,950
[Amy] Right now
we're seeing this resurgence
2064
01:46:45,023 --> 01:46:46,566
of women supporting women.
2065
01:46:46,650 --> 01:46:49,736
Pole dancing has stood for that
for over ten years.
2066
01:46:50,654 --> 01:46:53,031
What if we just didn't carry around shame
2067
01:46:53,115 --> 01:46:54,282
about our bodies?
2068
01:46:54,825 --> 01:46:56,743
I think the world would be a better place,
2069
01:46:56,827 --> 01:46:58,662
and we'd be able to direct that energy
2070
01:46:58,745 --> 01:47:02,124
into helping each other and doing things
that matter more than that.
2071
01:47:02,624 --> 01:47:05,043
That's the hard work
that needs to be done.
2072
01:47:06,503 --> 01:47:08,713
[gentle music playing]
2073
01:47:10,924 --> 01:47:15,095
[Sheila] Every woman has to take a journey
into reclaiming herself…
2074
01:47:17,264 --> 01:47:20,350
and take back what is rightfully hers.
2075
01:47:25,063 --> 01:47:27,816
The biggest obstacle is the male gaze.
2076
01:47:28,984 --> 01:47:30,235
How do you change it?
2077
01:47:31,987 --> 01:47:35,407
It's a battle.
It is a fight for the feminine body.
2078
01:47:40,579 --> 01:47:42,622
This is the only body we're gonna get.
2079
01:47:44,249 --> 01:47:46,042
We're not gonna let them own it.
2080
01:47:46,793 --> 01:47:48,837
We're not gonna be silent anymore.
2081
01:47:49,921 --> 01:47:51,506
That's what I help women do.
2082
01:47:52,340 --> 01:47:54,342
[gentle music continues]
2083
01:48:08,356 --> 01:48:10,567
[judge] It is my honor and privilege
2084
01:48:11,109 --> 01:48:14,654
to sentence you to 175 years.
2085
01:48:16,448 --> 01:48:18,742
I just signed your death warrant.
2086
01:48:18,825 --> 01:48:19,910
[bailiff] All rise.
2087
01:48:19,993 --> 01:48:22,120
[gentle music continues]
2088
01:48:25,832 --> 01:48:27,334
[audience applauding]
2089
01:48:34,132 --> 01:48:36,301
- [Sheila] You're, like, melting.
- Isn't it amazing?
2090
01:48:36,384 --> 01:48:37,594
So what are you at now?
2091
01:48:38,094 --> 01:48:40,138
Oh, my gosh. I've lost 35 pounds.
2092
01:48:40,222 --> 01:48:42,098
- [Sheila screams]
- [laughs]
2093
01:48:42,182 --> 01:48:43,517
[Sheila] Get the fuck out!
2094
01:48:44,184 --> 01:48:46,228
[gentle music continues]
2095
01:49:08,625 --> 01:49:10,627
What needs to stretch?
2096
01:49:10,710 --> 01:49:12,629
What needs to grow?
2097
01:49:16,132 --> 01:49:17,801
[all shouting] Whoo!
2098
01:49:25,308 --> 01:49:27,310
[gentle music continues]
2099
01:49:46,871 --> 01:49:48,873
["Everyday Life" by Coldplay plays]
2100
01:49:50,000 --> 01:49:53,837
♪ What in the world are we going to do? ♪
2101
01:49:55,880 --> 01:50:00,218
♪ Look at what everybody's going through ♪
2102
01:50:05,515 --> 01:50:09,185
♪ What kind of world
Do you want it to be? ♪
2103
01:50:11,313 --> 01:50:15,692
♪ Am I the future or the history? ♪
2104
01:50:20,780 --> 01:50:22,866
♪ 'Cause everyone hurts ♪
2105
01:50:22,949 --> 01:50:24,951
♪ Everyone cries ♪
2106
01:50:28,788 --> 01:50:34,294
♪ Everyone tells each other
All kinds of lies ♪
2107
01:50:36,504 --> 01:50:38,340
♪ Everyone falls ♪
2108
01:50:38,423 --> 01:50:42,218
♪ Everybody dreams and doubts ♪
2109
01:50:42,302 --> 01:50:46,973
♪ Got to keep dancing
When the lights go out ♪
2110
01:50:51,978 --> 01:50:55,565
♪ How in the world I am going to see? ♪
2111
01:50:57,776 --> 01:51:02,238
♪ You as my brother, not my enemy? ♪
2112
01:51:07,243 --> 01:51:09,287
♪ 'Cause everyone hurts ♪
2113
01:51:09,371 --> 01:51:11,414
♪ Everyone cries ♪
2114
01:51:15,210 --> 01:51:21,091
♪ Everyone sees the color
In each other's eyes ♪
2115
01:51:22,967 --> 01:51:24,469
♪ Everyone loves ♪
2116
01:51:24,552 --> 01:51:28,223
♪ Everybody gets their hearts ripped out ♪
2117
01:51:28,765 --> 01:51:33,395
♪ Got to keep dancing
When the lights go out ♪
164204
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