Think of pole-dancing and all sorts of things come to mind. It’s sexy, or demeaning, or awesome, or whatever. At any rate, you probably didn’t think about what a great aerobic activity it is.

If you’re reading this in China, however, you might have. As the New York Times reports, pole-dancing is becoming all the rage in a different venue than you might imagine: the fitness club. The funny thing is, despite China’s super-conservative cultural values, pole-dancing seems to have found more success as a legitimate, respectable aerobic activity than it has at fitness clubs here in the states. Unknown in China in its more sexual (read: naked) form, it was able to fairly gracefully emerge as a strengthening, cardiovascular health-promoting aerobic activity.

Of course, it’s not wholly free of controversy, but compared to, say, Bikram yoga it’s not doing so bad. 

What I’m wondering is, if this really starts catching on, does it mean that I’ll be able to find a pair of knee-high pleather boots alongside the tennis balls, T-shirts, and pilates mats sold at my local gym?