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I could have sworn you could make your profile picture viewable to friends only. I guess not–obviously someone is flagging that one then. I wouldn’t have made a pole pic my profile picture except that pole pictures are the only ones I have up on Facebook–actually the whole reason for making the account in the first place was for a friend who wanted to see some pictures and video of me pole dancing, so I decided to make my Facebook account a kind of showcase for my pole progress. I’ve seen lots of other pole dancing profiles on Facebook, many with pole pictures as their profile shots and never anticipated such a problem.

Hopefully they’ll re-activate my account soon so I can upload some non-pole shots to use as a different profile picture, provided I can catch it before someone complains again. You’d think they’d have something better to do than to sit and watch my profile and make sure that a picture of me doing a CKR is removed. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif

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So far I haven’t heard anything from Facebook. I am considering e-mailing them about the situation and seeing if there is some way they can mark my account as already having been reviewed so that my current photos can’t just keep getting flagged over and over again, but the last time I e-mailed them all I got back was a typical form letter, and they never even responded to the part where I pointed out why I didn’t believe my photos to be in violation and asked them to reconsider. The only part of the e-mail they apparently paid any attention to was where I mentioned that they had not actually re-activated my account the way they said they had, so I’m not sure it’s even worth it.

I think what I am going to do is keep checking periodically and just try and pounce on it as soon as I can when it’s re-activated so that it doesn’t get flagged yet again and I have to go through this whole process for a third time. I will double check all my settings, plus I was going to upload some vacation photos and change my profile picture, even though supposedly that is supposed to only be viewable by my friends. However, Facebook’s privacy settings are a bit convoluted, so I may have not checked/unchecked something I was supposed to. I suspect that my profile pic is viewable but that my others are probably not, and I sort of have the suspicion that the complainer might be on my friend Heidi’s friends list judging by the timing of this last de-activation. She has a lot of very religious people on her list, which usually isn’t a bad thing, but several of them are definitely the uptight religious sort that would look on something like pole dancing as a sin. She posted on my wall right after Facebook finally re-activated my account, just saying something to the effect that ‘hey, I see you finally got your profile back up again’ and it wasn’t long after that that it was disabled again. Her having posted on my wall would have been listed in her activities, and anyone on her friends list would have been able to see that, and if they can see my profile picture, then obviously they would have realized it was not taken down and so they probably just re-flagged it.

Very, very frustrating. I hope you get your own situation sorted out soon, sosagely.

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don’t let’em win I’ll be a fellow poler and FB friend !!!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_thumleft.gif

That’s why even though I’ve been thinking of possibly just deleting my account, part of me really doesn’t want to. For one, there are several people on there who I mostly keep in touch with through Facebook, and for another, whoever this is, I don’t want them to win, like you said. They shouldn’t be able to essentially force me off Facebook because they are narrow-minded enough to be offended by me hanging upside down from a metal pole, fully clothed.

nyterayn, I’ll gladly add you if I can ever get them to reactivate the damn thing long enough for me to do so! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_evil.gif

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I’m sure it is not Facebook (unless it was some kind of glitch,) but someone, probably a friend of a friend, who is anally retentive enough to sit there and make sure my photos were removed, and when they noticed they were all still up, they flagged them again. The problem is, while Facebook responds to their protests in about a day and a half or two, it takes me a week to get my account up and running again. If I’m not able to log in and remove the pictures or change my settings in time, once they reactivate it someone could easily flag them yet again and then the whole process starts over, which is starting to get extremely frustrating.

I know they have a lot of people on there–I did not know the exact amount, but I knew it was some ridiculously high number of users. What ticks me off is not so much that they disable the account–I would expect that if someone flags you for violation, they disable your account and check into it. However, I would expect that once they review the situation, which they supposedly do, then they should acknowledge that the pictures are not in violation of anything and tell the whiner that they reviewed the situation and the pictures/video/whatever were not in violation of their user rules.

I’m just really tired of this politically correct attitude that not just Facebook, but the whole world seems to have adopted. If someone finds it offensive, then we cannot say/do it, even if it’s not wrong or against any laws or rules.

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So guess what? My account was disabled AGAIN. I logged on Monday at lunch to look at something, and it informed me that my account was once again disabled. Facebook JUST friggin’ reactivated it Saturday night. I barely had time to even realize it was reactivated before they disabled it again. I didn’t take any of my photos down, because I didn’t really have the chance to get on it for long and do much, not to mention I was still deciding what exactly to do. I don’t know when it was disabled again, but it had to have been either sometime Sunday night or Monday morning.

I think this is absolutely ridiculous. I don’t know if someone is just so concerned with getting my pictures taken down that they keep checking, and when they saw that they hadn’t been removed, they reported my profile again, or if Facebook made an error, considering the fact that it took them two tries to actually reactivate my account.

I am really, really getting sick of this. I’m still debating whether or not to delete my account, but I can’t even do that if they keep preventing me from logging in!!!

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Me and Qulia violeated the terms by being too hot for photobucket!

Ha ha, I believe it! It just seriously irritates me that I had to go through this hassle because I put up pictures of me on a pole in just a normal bathing suit doing poses that are much, much less overtly sexual than tons of other pictures on Facebook. I guess they are not wanton sinners though, since there was no pole involved. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif I am of the mindset that if you don’t like it, DON’T LOOK AT IT! No one forced whoever complained to view my photos, I’m sure. If they’re actually in violation, sure, flag them, but until you’re seeing enough of me that you might as well consider yourself my gynecologist, get over it.

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Well, two people on a pole is the kind of evil that hasn’t been seen since the Holocaust, you know. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif I’m tired of this. I know there will always be lots of people that don’t understand, but until I’m NAKED on my pole and posting pictures of it on a site that doesn’t allow nudity, then I fail to see how I am violating their terms.

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I actually have photobucket, but I’m not sure if I can set them for friends to look at them either, or if I just have to post links to the photos.

Anyway, an update: Facebook finally reactivated my account, after about a week of me not being able to access it. They said they removed the offending photo content, but none of my pictures have been taken down, so I don’t know if they decided to put it back up after I complained or what. I’m still worried this could happen again, since I have no clue who complained–it was probably a third party, and I can’t control if friends of my friends see my pictures. I’m not sure if I’m going to keep the account, but if I do, I’m thinking of taking the photos down just so I don’t have to go through all this hassle again. Who knows how long it’ll take for me to get back in my account again next time? The same person could just keep reporting my photos, whoever it was.

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Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll look into that.

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Go to your privacy settings and be 100% positive you don’t have "friend of friend" checked for any reason. Moreover you cannot put anything like that as your profile pic because you can’t control who sees that. I don’t disagree with you, I just want to point out that facebook now considers a lot of your info, pics included, to be public information and you can no longer control who sees it. So if some under 18 out there sees it and gets offended, there’s not much you can do. You can’t even post pics of yourself breast feeding your baby on fb. Personally, I deleted my facbook because of how scary their privacy settings are now. They give you the illusion of control, but really you have virtually none. In fact if you log into your facebook account and then go other places on line, facebook records where you go for advertising purposes. As in, let’s say you log your fb and then go listen to something on pandora. Facebook will know what songs you listened to. Or if you went to a news website, they would know what stories you read. And they allow third parties, like advertisers or those hiring job applicants, to search everything on your profile totally unfiltered. So it really does NOT matter what your settings are. Everything you post is ultimately fully public. And PLEASE do not post any professional pole pics to facebook. All pictures you upload become the sole property of facebook. I shoud post some info on facebook since I know a lot of people here use it. They are very deceptive about the service they offer.

That’s ridiculous; I knew Facebook was kind of stalkerish, but I did not realize it was THAT bad. I was considering deleting my account a while back, and after reading this I’m going to seriously re-consider it. I would normally not have put a pole dancing pic as my profile picture, but I didn’t have any others uploaded to Facebook and there is actually a setting (supposedly, although now I’m in doubt of it,) to make it so only friends can view your profile picture.

I also had NO clue that Facebook considers any photos you upload to be their property. That is some really, really scary information. I bet a lot of people don’t know any of this. I think you should definitely post some Facebook info, because I’m sure there are a lot of people like me who didn’t know most of the stuff you just posted.

Sounds like there’s a lot of BS going on with them. I’m not sure where to post my pole stuff now (except here, obviously,) for friends that aren’t a part of this community to check out. I don’t want to use Myspace because one of my friends on there actually works with my dad, who does not know that I dance. I wouldn’t lie to him about it if he found out somehow, but I’m also not going to mention it to him because there is a good chance he might freak out and I don’t see the point of unnecessarily adding drama. She might mention something in passing to him without thinking about it.

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Nope. Everyone on my friends list is at least 21 or over. I suppose that could have happened–obviously I don’t know everyone who is friends with those on my friends list and whether or not they would be offended. It just really annoys me that Facebook would review the situation and find the photos to be offensive, since they’re not actually violating any rules. If they are going to have rules, than they need to follow them–which would mean NOT removing photos if they’re not actually violating the policy, regardless of whether someone didn’t like them. I saw a picture of a very unattractive baby on there the other day–should I be able to flag that and make them take it down because I find it ‘offensive’ even though it’s not violating anything?

I can’t control who walks into a room at the same time one of my friends is looking at my account. How am I supposed to be able to put up videos and pictures now without worrying that my account is going to be shut down for who knows how long? I don’t want to put the pictures of on Myspace–the whole reason I made the Facebook account in the first place was so that I could share my poling progress with friends who were interested.

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I’m sure if something is flagged they probably just automatically lock the account–but what is the point in even reviewing the situation if they are just going to remove the content even when it doesn’t violate their rules? Now I’m not sure what I can even put up on my account without getting it disabled again and not being able to use it for at least a week, possibly more depending on how long it takes for them to actually reactivate it again. I’ll check my privacy settings when I can log back in, but I really thought that everything was set properly so that all the pictures were private. On the very small chance someone on my friends list reported them, I have no way of knowing who did it, because I’m not on bad terms with anyone and like I said, it’s a very small list, and most of the people on there are interested in pole dancing themselves–several encouraged me to put up pictures and video so they could see them. I think one of my friends was more pissed than I was when Facebook took them down. It would be very strange for any of them to report the photos.

It just seems to me that if you are going to have guidelines, if someone flags pictures for being in violation, sure, temporarily lock the account until you can make sure review it. (Although letting me know what’s going on would be nice.) But then once you review the situation and find that they are NOT actually in violation, why then would you go ahead and delete them anyway? What’s the point of even having rules then, if you’re not going to follow them yourselves? I could go around and flag any pictures I want; it doesn’t mean they are actually in violation.

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The thing is that my photos ARE supposed to be viewable by friends only. I made all of them private so no one could see them who wasn’t on my friends list. I’ve only got about a dozen people on my friends list, and all of them either already knew about my pole dancing and are fine about it or even dance themselves, so I highly, highly doubt it was someone on my friends list. The only thing I can think of is that I missed a setting and someone who wasn’t supposed to was able to see my profile picture and complained; other than that, I’m not sure.

What ticks me off is that if they’ve reviewed it, then they should have seen that the material fell well within their guidelines. It’s not like I’m uploading pornographic material, for God’s sake.

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To me I really do not understand why some choose to judge exotic dances. The whole reason I bought this up today was one, I really wanted to know if I was safe talking about it. (I practice mostly at the club I dance at, and it is also where I met my husband (He was the DJ I was the dancer https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif ) But another "pole dancer" came into the club last night and proceeded to try and humiliate me in my own club. Granted I put her in her place when I got on stage and busted out with some of my best tricks and then told her to step up or shut up, but it still really aggravated me. I hate nothing more then when a fellow pole dancer comes into the club with her man, or a male friend and just snubs me. Sadly, it happens more then it should.
Yes I dance on a stage, and dance in nothing but a thong at work. That does not make me any less skilled. In a way I have found that dancing topless has actually helped with precision when it comes to poling. (There is nothing worse then getting pole burn on your girls). Honestly, I think dancing in front of a crowd night after night has really helped me as a pole dancer because it helps me gauge what works and what doesn’t. (Not to mention most clubs have more then a pole to dance on, so I have learned some other acrobatic things as well.) The club I work at now actually has an I beam on the second stage that I have recently figured out how to do the splits on and I can swing from it. Another club had a stationary trapeze bar that with my husbands help, I was able to do cordovas on among other tricks.

Re: pole burn on the girls: yikes!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif I didn’t even think about that–I strip down topless for my boyfriend when I dance for him, and that honestly just hasn’t occured to me. I’ll make sure to keep a close eye on the ladies next time and make sure I’m not endangering them. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

I haven’t been subjected to it personally since I’m not a stripper, but there does seem to be a certain contempt from some pole dancers toward strippers. Like I said, I don’t know why because the art of pole dancing came straight from the gentleman’s clubs, so if you have a love for pole dance, why would you basically dump all over its history? It wasn’t a couple of housewives that got together while their kids were playing on the playground and went ‘Hmmm, you know, it would be really cool if we hung upside down by just our legs from one of these poles. While taking off our shirts.’

I’ve never been into a strip club before, but would be interested in going some time to maybe pick up some ideas–unfortunately I’m at least an hour and a half away from the nearest one, so it’s not just a quick trip after work for me. But if I ever finally get the opportunity to visit one, there is no way in hell I would go in there trying to show up the dancers. That’s just idiotic. In the club, they are the dancer and I’m just another customer. I might be different in a certain respect because I have this odd fascination with strippers, though. I don’t know why–maybe it’s just that I’ve always done office work and cannot imagine doing the stuff I do at home half-naked in front of a roomful of strangers and getting paid for it. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

Anyway, being a dancer, I don’t have to tell you there’s a certain stigma attached to stripping, and just because someone is a pole dancer does not automatically exclude them from the masses of people who are judgemental about it. They separate stripping from pole dancing because they enjoy dancing, but don’t want to be labeled a stripper because people make a lot of unjust assumptions about strippers. They are morally bankrupt, sleazy, drugged-up, etc. in a lot of people’s minds. I think they just can’t fathom that there are actually some perfectly normal, well-adjusted people out there who just happen to take their clothes off for money. There are plenty of people who aren’t strippers who are morally bankrupt, sleazy, drugged-up etc. etc.–are they better simply because they don’t wear a thong to work? Some people would say yes. It’s just the kind of crap you will always have to put up with as long as you dance, from all walks of life, and that will probably always include some people who do the same thing in the privacy of their own home.

And I agree with the floor work vids!! Get ’em up pronto, woman.

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Welcome to SV!

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Nope. Actually, if I had a pole buddy who was also an exotic dancer, like Dayanara, I’d be bugging her constantly for some floor work tips. I do striptease pretty often when I pole, either for my boyfriend or just for myself, so it’s not like I think the two should be kept separate or anything. (But if you want to separate them and just concentrate on the artistic side of pole, that’s great too. It can be about the gymnastics, or it can be about sensual dance, or a combo of the two, and that’s what I love about it.)

It actually kind of irritates me when I see people in the pole dancing industry copping this snotty attitude toward dancers (I haven’t seen that here, though, and I’d be surprised if I did, as I think a couple of the girls dance,) because hello?! Where do you think we got it from in the first place? Strippers are the ones who brought us this art–why should we snub them?

Anyway, I don’t think you’ll have any problems fitting in here. From what I’ve seen most, if not pretty much all of the regular posters don’t have a problem with dancers.

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lol Me too. I am left side retarded at everything I do, not just pole. It would be horrendous to watch. Like the train wreck with bodies hanging out the windows, you don’t want to look, but you just can’t take your eyes off it.

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P.S – Real women terrify insecure men. Never forget that! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif

That’s a good point. Also, strong, independent women tend to intimidate men, and they have to cover that up with insults. I’d say a woman showing off some pretty damn impressive tricks that he could never even hope to imitate was a tad intimidating for his little pea brain. And I still don’t get where he got ‘fat’ from, except that it’s an obvious female insecurity to pick at, because honestly, I don’t even see any jiggly bits in your pics. You just look really strong and athletic. He was probably afraid you could beat him up and had to make himself feel more like a man by making fun of you.

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Yep. It’s not the screen–that’s at 100% brightness. It’s some kind of setting on my computer that is screwed up. I messed with something one time because I occasionally play games on my computer, and the game I was playing was so dark I couldn’t see most of it, so I went in and fiddled with a bunch of stuff. Unfortunately, I have no clue what I messed with so I can’t go back and change it. I’m not super tech-savvy either, so I’m afraid to screw around too much. Technology really, really hates me–somehow I would manage to blow the computer up or something. lol

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Welcome to the boards! Jamilla is very well known in pole dancing circles–she has a DVD series that is a favorite of pretty much everyone that owns pole dancing DVD’s; you’re really lucky to have done a workshop with her. She’s a beautiful dancer, isn’t she?

Pole dancing is an amazing, challenging sport. I’m glad you found your way into it.

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Liquid chalk works really well for holds, but don’t expect to spin with it on. Also, my problem with liquid chalk is that I sweat through it really fast. If your problem is more nerves and not because you’re an excessively heavy sweater, than you might do ok with it, but just be aware that though it is very helpful, it can come off pretty quickly. It seems like most people use it when they are learning a new move that they are not quite confident with yet and want the added grip.

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Happy birthday, jennasmom! My birthday is January 29th. I’ll be 24 next year.

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Actually…… I just finished recording 24 lessons on Transitions and floorwork. Many of them are new and a few are just updated. I’ll add even more at a later date! I am also in the process of re doing all of the spins as well. I’ll be add a few new lessons here and there, but the focus for now is to updated all the old lessons that are left…..as soon as that is done I have a big surprise for everyone!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cheers.gif

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to hear that you all are enjoying the lessons!!! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif

*Squeals like a schoolgirl* A surprise? You friggin’ tease! I can’t wait to see the new lessons. I’m glad to hear you’re re-doing the old vids, too–not that they are bad, but they’re quite a bit darker than the new ones, which are really nicely lit. (Plus I love the slide-outs.) My video settings are screwed up and I’m not sure what to change to fix them, so any videos that are a little on the darker side are sometimes really hard for me to see. (I can see the old vids, though. It’s just a little harder to make out some details, especially when I’m standing a little ways away at my pole.)

Can’t wait!

And can I say I love the lap dance vids? You guys are so funny together. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif I think I’m going to try the chair invert on my boyfriend the next time I give him a lap dance. I just hope I don’t somehow bonk him with my lady bits or something. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_lol.gif

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I love the lessons as well. I was just taking another look at them today, actually. They are so well laid out–very helpful. Big thanks to Veena for such a valuable resource! One questions though–are we going to be seeing some more floorwork and transition videos? I love floorwork.

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I love burlesque! It looks like so much fun. I know there are a few instructional DVD’s on Amazon, if you do a search on burlesque in the movies section. I can’t remember what they’re called, but if I recall correctly, they got pretty good reviews. I am thinking of maybe eventually picking one up.