ACLU takes case of woman who wants to offer pole-dancing class

PITTSBURGH -- Stephanie Babines is trying to open a pole-dancing studio. It's the first thing a visitor will see on her Web site.Babines, in a black tube top with long, blond hair caressing her shoulders, is grasping a gleaming stripper pole.Her shirt is just high enough -- and her black pants just low enough -- to reveal a large tattoo on her lower back.She looks sultry, seductive. She is advertising pole-dancing and fitness classes.Though there is no nudity -- and no spectators -- she wants the women who take her class to embrace their sexuality."This is about bringing out the power that women have," Babines said. "That comes out of being more confident and more sexy."Officials in Adams, Pa., where Babines planned to open the dance studio, have forbidden it, claiming that she wants to run an adult business.Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania filed a federal lawsuit on her behalf, claiming violations to her First Amendment right to freedom of expression, among other charges."The activities deemed too provocative by Adams Township have become an increasingly popular form of exercise for women around the country, and even in China, a country not known for freedom," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the ACLF of Pennsylvania and one of the woman's attorneys.Representatives from Adams did not return phone calls seeking comment.The classes taught by Babines, 30, of Cranberry, include striptease, hoop aerobics, power lap dance, Stiletto Strut, belly and salsa dancing, SeXXXercise -- an ab and core workout -- and pole dancing.She immersed herself in pole dancing and fitness three years ago, reshaping her body from a size 14/16 to a 4/6, she said.Babines, who has a master's degree in project management and works a day job in information technology, leased space zoned commercial/industrial in February to open her studio. She spent about $10,000 renovating the former children's clothing store into a dance and fitness center, installing flooring and mirrors, poles, a dressing room and light fixtures.But when she applied for an occupancy permit from the township, she received a letter on March 28 from code-enforcement officer Gary Peaco denying it.She appealed to the township zoning and hearing board, and hearings were held May 20 and June 24.At the first hearing, the people speaking on Babines' behalf included a self-described "Christian grandmother" who said she'd taken the pole-dancing and Stiletto Strut classes, and that Barbines had "never offered for sale any sexually explicit material or sex toys during her classes," the lawsuit said.No residents spoke out against the proposed business, but Peaco did. He said he never interviewed Babines regarding her intentions for the property because her Web site spoke for itself.The board rejected Babines' appeal, saying that her studio would be considered an "adult business" and would be illegally located within 1,000 feet of a residential district and within 1,000 feet of a bar.The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti.(E-mail Paula Reed Ward at pward(at)post-gazette.com.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)