The New York Times today reports that pole dancing exercise classes have become a hit with young women in metropolitan areas of China, with the most successful studio planning to expand to 11 locations by the end of next year.

Unfortunately, this new craze comes too late to be included as one of China’s native sports for the Olympics.

Joking aside, this trend is emblematic of how urban women in China are changing. Not only are women in the cities beginning to have greater purchasing power, but images like this suggest that they are beginning to take ownership of their sexuality, too, instead of merely being sex objects. Given the enormous popularity of Sex and the City with younger Chinese women over the last five years, I’d say that this development has been building for some time.