A mother who provoked online outrage after sharing a video of herself pole dancing with her little girl strapped to her back, has defended her controversial dance.
In the footage Ashley Wright, 29, can be seen dancing to The Circle of Life, a popular Disney song from the Lion King film, while two-year-old Shannon is secured to her back in a material sling.
Decided we should do a routine together... And so thankful others could help assist me in capturing and choreographing this moment/experience, she captioned the 90 second video.
But while some viewers might have been impressed by her dancing skills, many accused her of being a bad mother and putting her young child in danger.
Even the most experienced pole dancers can slip and fall off. If she falls backwards, all of her weight is going to crush the baby. Not to mention how awful of a role model shes being for her daughter, one critic said.
Another commenter said they feared she would fall and kill the baby.
In the wake of the uproar, Wright, who is an advocate for attachment parenting, insisted that dance is an organic communication tool for expressing love with her daughter.
Ive been called names like stripper and bad parent and while I understand, remarks like these are sometimes from people who were taught to shame their bodies, Wright told Yahoo Parenting. People are mostly supportive, though, and say that Im teaching my daughter how to love herself unconditionally.
She added that while her daughter was never in any danger, it would be the duos final performance on a pole.
Shannon isnt heavy, and although I have years of strength training in order to pole dance while wearing her, that dance was exhausting, says Wright.
Wright first made headlines in February when she posted a video of herself pole dancing in her living room with Shannon afoot. She face widespread criticism then too.
