Students shed their fall flannels for fitness gear on Thursday afternoon as the Flash Pole Fairies and Kent Interhall Council led students in discussion and movement.

Sam Smith’s newest hit, “Unholy,” played in the background as students mirrored the dance moves of Hailey Barnett, president of Flash Pole Fairies and senior communications major. The class taught attendees how to dance with a chair.

“It’s unfamiliar to a lot of people to use their body in this sort of way,” Barnett said. “In a sense, it’s training for body awareness.”

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Asha Blake

The attendees and the Flash Pole Fairies dance together. As the event continued, everyone was excited to complete the dance.

From fuzzy cat ears to fishnet stockings, the Flash Pole Fairies officers were dressed to celebrate the upcoming Halloween weekend. The Fairies also presented slides with discussion questions such as “What are some tips to feeling sexy off the pole?” and “How did movement rewire your body image?”

Barnett emphasized the importance of healthy body image, even if one feels neutral about their body. She understood that students could possibly feel nervous about learning a new routine and talking about their bodies.

“It’s important for us to acknowledge it’s okay to feel neutral about yourself in your body because neutrality doesn’t mean negative and neutrality can be gratitude towards the body,” Barnett said. “It can just be okay. I’m not feeling how I feel right now, but hey, my legs helped me walk to class, my arms gave somebody a hug and that made me feel good.”

The event brought in many new faces to Sex Week, including Isabella Hinz, a freshman aviation major as well as a KIC member.

“I feel like a lot of people don’t get enough sex education,” Hinz said. “This has really pushed me outside of my boundaries to learn a bunch of new things.”

As early as fifth grade, Hinz struggled with body image issues. Media such as the internet, TV and diet culture were outside influences that affected the way she looked at herself in the mirror.

“I was very self-conscious and very self-aware about the way that I looked and I wasn’t able to have any like body positivity conversations with any of my friends or my parents,” Hinz said. “When I was able to talk to some people about it, I really started to heal on my own and work on my own body positivity.”

Mirrors were a big topic of conversation. Students weighed in on the discussion portion of the event, giving advice to one another by sharing tips they do when looking in the mirror. Some have sticky notes with words of affirmation lining the frame, while others stand in front of the mirror naked and point out to themselves things they love.

The combination of empowering dance and positive self talk helped create a safe atmosphere for the first Sex Week event of this nature.