Abstract:
This research analyses the constructs of the female body, pole dancing, and the symbol of a cross, examining the question: “How might deconstructing pole dance with the symbol of a cross reshape my body image?” A practice-based methodology investigates this enquiry and articulates my personal ineffable liquid knowledge. My practice developed through regular studio time where a specifically designed steel-pole/wooden-cross construct supported movement analyses and development. In this research I draw from the philosophical framework of third-wave feminism and theories of deconstruction and difference, referencing Judith Butler (2006; 2015), Hélène Cixous (2001), Jacques Derrida (1978), and Luce Irigaray (1985; 2000). The interrelationship of a female, a pole, and a cross within my practice and performance highlights social conventions and provides a platform to subvert cultural and social associations of existing gender stereotypes, Catholic icons, and pole dance. Through pole dance the strong, self-harming, objectified, and sexualised female body has the opportunity to reflect its status. The emerging feminine feminine is elaborated and visualised within the performance through specific movements, props, and sounds. The symbol of the cross emphasises how one can bear their gender and how attributes of the meaning of the cross impact my research. The findings of my research have been presented through a performance and an exegesis. This research challenges cultural and social paradigms by offering a dance on a spectrum of rigidity and multiplicity towards the unfamiliar.
