Ask a room full of pole dancers why they keep coming back and you’ll probably hear about confidence long before you hear about abs. Researchers have started testing the mental health benefits of pole dancing, and the early results are encouraging, with some honest caveats.
This article walks through what the studies on pole, body image and well-being actually found, why dancers say pole makes them feel better, and where the debate gets more complicated. We’ve stuck to published research and linked every study, so you can read them for yourself.
You will learn:
- What trials and interviews have found about pole, mood and body image
- The reasons dancers give for feeling better after class
- Both sides of the empowerment versus objectification debate
- What the research can’t tell us yet
- Where pole fits if you’re having a hard time
What the research says about the mental health benefits of pole dancing
Until recently, most of what we knew came from interviews. That’s started to change, and two small trials now give us some numbers.
The first is a pilot randomized controlled trial from Berlin. Fifty women were randomly assigned either to eight weeks of pole dancing or to a waitlist. Compared with the waitlist group, the pole group showed a rise in mental well-being and improvements in body appreciation, sexual self-esteem and sexual self-efficacy, plus lower sexual anxiety. Global self-esteem didn’t change. Because of COVID-19 rules, the “classes” were weekly private sessions with a certified instructor (one person or household at a time) rather than group classes, and there was no follow-up after the eight weeks.1
The second is an Australian feasibility study of beginner classes. Of 76 women recruited, 68 (aged 19 to 60) completed a typical eight-week term of two 60-minute classes a week at eight local studios. Attendance was impressive at 93.8%, or 15 of 16 classes on average. Body appreciation improved with a moderate effect, alongside improvements in how participants rated their own strength, coordination and overall physical self-worth. Their bone mineral density didn’t change. The study tracked one group over time rather than comparing it with women who didn’t take classes, so it’s a starting point for bigger trials, not proof.2
A recent Polish survey of 263 women, 153 of them pole dancers, found that the pole dancers scored higher on self-efficacy (belief in your own ability to handle things) and on overall interoceptive awareness, which is how well you notice and read signals from your own body. The two groups also differed on a measure of not worrying about uncomfortable body sensations. It’s a snapshot, so it can’t show whether pole caused those differences.3
Can pole dancing improve body confidence?
Most of the research on pole and well-being so far has focused on body image, and it’s where the findings are most consistent.
In 2015, Ariel Dimler wrote a master’s thesis at the University of Alberta based on in-depth interviews with seven women, aged 20 to 36, who did pole fitness. Five themes came out of their stories: accepting their bodies as they are, inner confidence, comfort with sexual expression, a supportive environment, and appreciating what their bodies could do.4 The work was later published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology under the title “I Kinda Feel Like Wonder Woman,” which tells you something about the mood in those interviews.5
A 2023 interview study of recreational pole dancers in South Korea found something similar. The women described pole as a creative outlet that encouraged body appreciation and self-acceptance, gave them confidence and enjoyment, and connected them with other people.6
Survey data points the same way. An Australian study compared 71 recreational pole dancers with 91 university students who didn’t pole dance. The pole dancers scored higher on positive body image and on embodiment (feeling at home in your body and connected to it).7
If body confidence is something you’re working on, our 10 ways to improve your body confidence are a good next read. And if you’ve been wondering whether pole is “for” your body, Plus Size Pole Dancing: All You Need To Know will put your mind at rest.
Why dancers say pole makes them feel better
The studies keep landing on the same handful of reasons. None of them are magic, which is part of why they ring true.
You see what your body can do
Pole puts your attention on function. Can you hold a climb? Lift your legs? Hang upside down without flinching? A study of 20 competitive pole dancers in Australia found that seeing their bodies mainly in terms of what they could do was what helped them feel good about their bodies, both in and out of competition.8 That can be a welcome change if you’ve spent years judging your body only by how it looks.
Across these studies, confidence grows from what the body can do, not from how it looks.
The wins are small, frequent and obvious
Your first fireman spin, your first climb, the week your bruises finally fade. Pole gives you a steady drip of clear, visible progress, and you can film it to prove it happened. In the Australian beginner study, the biggest change in physical self-concept was in how strong the women felt.2 You’ll probably notice that feeling travels with you out of the studio, too. Carrying the groceries up three flights of stairs is less dramatic, but it counts.
The community holds you up
“Unconditional community support” was one of the themes in Dimler’s interviews, and friendship between women comes up again and again in pole research.5 Pole classes tend to be small, people cheer when you nail something, and everybody has been the one stuck halfway up the pole. If you train at home, the online community can fill some of that gap; we’ve rounded up 6 ways to get involved in the pole dance community.
Flow and music
The South Korean study framed pole through the idea of “flow,” the state of being so absorbed in something that everything else drops away.6 It makes sense. It’s very hard to replay a bad meeting in your head while you’re working out which hand goes where, eight feet up. Add a song you love, a dim studio and a routine you’ve practiced, and an hour can disappear.
Empowerment or objectification? The debate
It would be dishonest to talk about pole and body image without mentioning the other side. Because of pole’s history in strip clubs, what recreational pole means for women has been debated ever since it moved into fitness studios.
A 2009 study of 25 participants (instructors, students, one-off dancers and university students) looked at how people talked about empowerment, control and the male gaze in pole. The authors argued that the way pole was framed could end up repeating traditional ideas about female sexuality rather than challenging them.9 A follow-up analysis of 15 major Australian studio websites found that studios traded on pole’s erotic associations while also selling it as a fun, slightly ironic workout, and questioned how secure the “empowerment” on offer really was.10
Researcher Samantha Holland took a different approach in her 2010 book Pole Dancing, Empowerment and Embodiment. Her research drew on 135 questionnaires, 37 interviews and long-term observation of pole classes, and she took women’s own sense of empowerment seriously: strength, confidence and friendship. She also noted its limits, since that empowerment is mostly personal rather than collective.11
Other research shows the picture can be mixed even within one group of dancers. In the Australian comparison study, pole dancers who enjoyed being seen as sexy tended to score higher on embodiment (good for body image) but also higher on self-objectification (bad for body image).7 A 2026 survey of 207 Polish pole dancers and 180 non-dancers found pole dancers rated their physical condition more highly but had also absorbed appearance pressures more strongly.12 The competitive dancers mentioned earlier also described comparison and insecurity at competitions.8
Our take: both things can be true. Pole can help you feel at home in your body, and a studio culture that’s all about looks can undo that. A studio that celebrates strength, progress and every kind of body makes a difference. We’ve written more about the stigma side in A Woman’s Right to Pole Dance.
Does pole dancing help anxiety?
We couldn’t find any study that has tested pole dancing as a treatment for anxiety disorders. The Berlin trial did find lower sexual anxiety after eight weeks, but that’s a specific measure, not general anxiety.1
What we do know is that exercise in general helps. A large 2023 review of 97 systematic reviews, covering 1,039 trials and more than 128,000 people, found physical activity had a medium effect on symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress compared with usual care.13 Pole is physical activity, so it’s reasonable to expect some of that benefit. For more on the physical side, see 12 Amazing Health Benefits Of Pole Dancing.
What these studies can’t tell us yet
Pole research is young, and it shows. The two trials together recruited about 125 women and only measured changes over eight weeks. Most of the other studies are interviews or one-off surveys, which can’t show cause and effect. Almost all the participants were women, and the people who sign up for a pole study are probably people who already like the idea of pole.
Researchers know this. A team in China registered a systematic review and meta-analysis in 2024 to pull together the trials on pole, mental well-being and sexual self-concept.14 Expect a clearer picture over the next few years.
Pole is great, but it isn’t therapy
Pole can lift your mood, give you a community and help you like your body more. It can’t replace proper support when you’re really struggling. If you’re dealing with low mood, anxiety, disordered eating or anything that’s making daily life hard, please talk to your doctor or a licensed therapist. Pole can sit alongside that help, never instead of it.
Pro tip
If mirrors or comparison start to sour your sessions, try a class or two facing away from the mirror, and judge yourself on what you did rather than how it looked. Then wind down properly afterward; here are 7 ways to relax after a pole fitness workout.
Frequently asked questions
Is pole dancing good for your mental health?
Early evidence suggests it can help. One small randomized trial found higher mental well-being after eight weeks of pole, and interview studies describe more confidence and body appreciation. The studies are small, so treat pole as a positive habit, not a treatment.
Can pole dancing help with body confidence?
Body appreciation improved in both the Berlin and the Australian trials, and interview studies from Canada, South Korea and Australia point the same way. The common thread is focusing on what your body can do.
Does pole dancing help anxiety?
There’s no pole-specific research on anxiety disorders yet. Exercise in general is well supported for easing anxiety symptoms, and pole counts as exercise. If anxiety is affecting your life, speak to your doctor or a licensed therapist.
Is pole dancing empowering or objectifying?
Researchers disagree, and the honest answer is that it depends on the dancer and the setting. Many dancers report feeling stronger and more confident, while critics argue pole can reinforce narrow ideas about women’s bodies. Both views are in the research.
Do I need to be fit or a certain size to start?
No. The Australian study put beginners aged 19 to 60 through a standard term of classes. Beginner classes are built to grow your strength from where it is now. Our guide to pole dancing for beginners covers what to expect.
Where to go from here
If you’re curious, book a beginner class and go for a few weeks before you decide how you feel; both trials ran for eight. Pay attention to what changes. It might be your grip strength, or it might be how you talk about your body when you get home. And if you’d like to read one dancer’s story of what pole did for her, start with How Pole Dancing Changed My Life.
Sources
- Pfeiffer JL, Sowitzki SK, Schäfer T, Euteneuer F. Effects of pole dance on mental wellbeing and the sexual self-concept: a pilot randomized-controlled trial. BMC Psychology, 2023;11:274. Full text (PubMed ID 37710349) ↩︎
- Nicholas J, Dimmock JA, Alderson JA, Donnelly CJ, Jackson B. Exploring the psychological and physiological outcomes of recreational pole dancing: a non-randomised pilot study. Circus: Arts, Life, and Sciences, 2024;2(2). Full text ↩︎
- Rogowska AM, Mikłuszka M, Błońska K. Relationships between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and interoceptive awareness among pole dancers: a network analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 2025 (vol. 16, article 1716671; published online January 2026). PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1716671) ↩︎
- Dimler AJ. Pole Fitness and Positive Body Image: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Master of Arts thesis, University of Alberta, 2015. University of Alberta repository ↩︎
- Dimler AJ, McFadden K, McHugh TF. “I kinda feel like Wonder Woman”: an interpretative phenomenological analysis of pole fitness and positive body image. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2017;39(5):339-351. PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.1123/jsep.2017-0028) ↩︎
- Kim J, Im S, Lee RS, Heo J. Body positivity through creative immersion: a qualitative study of women’s pole dancing experiences. Health Care for Women International, 2023;44(6):764-781. PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.1080/07399332.2022.2132252) ↩︎
- Pellizzer M, Tiggemann M, Clark L. Enjoyment of sexualisation and positive body image in recreational pole dancers and university students. Sex Roles, 2016;74(1-2):35-45. Publisher abstract ↩︎
- Ahadi ND, Harris EA, Walton CC. A qualitative study of body image among competitive women pole dancers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2025;80:102920. PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102920) ↩︎
- Whitehead K, Kurz T. ‘Empowerment’ and the pole: a discursive investigation of the reinvention of pole dancing as a recreational activity. Feminism & Psychology, 2009;19(2):224-244. Publisher abstract ↩︎
- Donaghue N, Kurz T, Whitehead K. Spinning the pole: a discursive analysis of the websites of recreational pole dancing studios. Feminism & Psychology, 2011;21(4):443-457. Publisher abstract ↩︎
- Holland S. Pole Dancing, Empowerment and Embodiment. Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. Publisher page. Research details (135 questionnaires, 37 interviews) from Elke Weissmann’s review in Participations, 2011;8(2). Review (PDF) ↩︎
- Staśkiewicz-Bartecka W, Lubojańska J, Kołodziejczyk A, Kiciak A, Białek-Dratwa A, Kardas M. Body image evaluation and sociocultural attitudes toward one’s own body among women practicing pole dance. Nutrients, 2026;18(5):814. PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.3390/nu18050814) ↩︎
- Singh B, Olds T, Curtis R, et al. Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2023;57(18):1203-1209. PubMed abstract (DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-106195) ↩︎
- Li X, Shen J, Cui K, Wang Y. Impact of pole dancing on mental wellbeing and sexual self-concept: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One, 2024;19(7):e0307182. Full text ↩︎
Want more articles like this?
Join our mailing list to be the first to know about the latest pole dancing news and products.
We only include the best content in our newsletter, which includes marketing material. Privacy Policy
NO SPAM – EVER. YOU CAN UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.
