PoleCon moves 2024 convention away from Florida, citing drag ban and anti-LGBTQ+ laws

• PoleCon, a pole dancing convention, is moving its 2024 event out of Florida over anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
• CEO Colleen Jolly said the law prevented minors from attending the con, which includes drag performers.

A popular pole dancing convention has decided to move its 2024 convention out of Florida, citing the state's anti-LGBTQ+ laws and its ban on drag.

In an interview with Insider, Colleen Jolly, the CEO and owner of PoleCon, said that though she had hoped to hold the convention in Orlando due to the size of the pole community there, keeping the convention inclusive for LGBTQ+ attendees meant moving it, she said.

"Unfortunately, a growing number of states are making these really broad laws in the name of protecting children, but they're not protecting children at all," Jolly said. "They're just about controlling and harming trans and queer folks."

Jolly told Insider the convention also needed to be moved because a small contingent of its attendees are under 18 years old.

The 1,300-person event typically sells less than 10 tickets to minors accompanied by their parents, Jolly said. Despite that, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's law prohibits children from attending "adult live performances," which includes drag shows — and some pole dancers perform in clothing that does not match their gender assigned at birth, Jolly said.

Jolly said hotels she spoke to in Orlando were unwilling to risk legal repercussions to host the event.

In the past, the convention has never run into issues over minor attendees, Jolly added. Minors and their parents must be together at all times during PoleCon, and parents can ask organizers which showcases or workshops are more suitable for their children.

"PoleCon maintains that parents should make the decisions for their children for which showcases and workshops to attend during PoleCon," Jolly wrote in a blog post discussing the decision to move the convention. "This is not about drag; it never was."

Jolly said the convention is meant to showcase a range of identities and experiences in the pole community. Some performances highlight Black and Latine performers, while others have performers from the LGBTQ+ community. Other showcases are specifically for younger attendees to perform at.

For Jolly, part of the convention's goal is growing the pole community and adding additional events along with the annual PoleCon.

Ultimately, Jolly said, she hopes that people pay attention to laws restricting the LGBTQ+ community, even if they think the law has nothing to do with them.

"If you're a cisgender straight person, you're probably not paying attention to these laws because you don't think they could impact you in any way, which, while shitty, is human nature," Jolly said.

"I'm hoping we can draw more attention to these laws so people realize, number one, real people are being hurt by these," Jolly continued: "And number two, you might lose out on your fun hobby because of this law. So maybe if you care about your fun hobby, you'll actually start to care about these real humans too."

Representatives for DeSantis did not respond to Insider's request for comment.