Work colleagues found photos from when I used to do pole fitness and are mocking me

Can you inform company HR about this bullying?

I think you should try to be proud over your pole competence and ignore the twats. It wasn't nice trying to embarrass you but it only works if you get embarrassed. Tbh I wouldn't have been. I would have asked on of the girls who found the picture if she's got form for stalking collegues on the internet.

I probably wouldn’t report it if it were me ( kind of a last resort in my mind ) but if I was embarrassed I would shut the conversation down ( as soon as you felt uncomfortable) “ In what world is this an appropriate conversation?” And then silence… give it a bit of a sharp tone. Don’t let knob heads like this make you feel lesser OP. Sadly it is almost 100% guaranteed that if you mention a class like this that some idiot will make a case joke. You’ve got to stomp on it and shut down the conversation.

It’s still a work environment. I wouldn’t report to HR though..yet. I would tell them personally that I wasn’t comfortable. If it happened again I would report them.

This

It wasn't a one-off stupid comment, it was pre-meditated to search for the photos, share them and do it in a humiliating way. It is bullying.

There's nothing wrong or seedy about pole fitness (kudos to women having the strength to do it; it's hard!) They've exposed themselves as ignorant, unpleasant idiots.

Awful post. Abysmal advice (re. obvious sexual harrassment) and extremely and unduly judgmental. In no way should participating in pole fitness bring a business into disrepute.

It's sexual harassment you'd be well within your rights to report.

On the one hand, on the face of it, I don't think you that you should feel embarrassed (but that doesnt mean you are being unreasonable to feel as you do, by any stretch).

On the other...they have clearly tried to embarrass you. They must have expended a fair bit of effort to track down the photo, have shared it, and confronted you with it in the workplace. Even if you'd otherwise have been comfortable sharing the pictures on your own terms, I can certainly understand you thinking it was mean spirited and intended to be demeaning. The stripper comment is obviously demeaning, too (although not as vindictive as the finding and sharing).

All to say, you've plainly been the victim of sexual harrassment and you should raise with HR.

I don’t know where you work but where I work this would absolutely not be tolerated by HR.

I would have turned it back on them with ‘oh god what a sad life you have to go looking back 6 years!’

You have done nothing wrong. Pole fitness is exactly that, fitness. There are plenty of other sports and activities that involve skimpy outfits (swimming. Gymnastics, skating etc), why is this any different? It has nothing to do with your work, even if you are open with your colleagues about it. You did nothing wrong by telling them about it. There’s nothing wrong with the picture being online. Any comments saying “what did you expect” are victim blaming and I’m actually amazed at the number of people who have voted for YABU. These people are the ones in the wrong, for searching for pictures from 6 years ago (which is just strange why would they), for the comments, and for making you feel like you have done something wrong. I think I would have been completely blindsided too and wouldn’t have known what on earth to say. What has happened to you is completely wrong and I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I think you should take it to your HR team, I hope they take it seriously, and I hope it doesn’t make going to work too uncomfortable for you in the meantime. But hold your head high - I’ll say it again though just in case - you have done nothing wrong.

Give over they are calling her a stripper.

Sign them up for a class as a work event with real task master for a teacher, it will soon wipe the smile off of their faces

No. Just, no. No way someone should go digging for pictures of someone doing pole dancing for fitness. Is an exercise, just like dancing. Is not normal.

It should be no surprise they went looking for photos?? Really?? What sort of people do you hang about with? I don't know a single person who would behave like this.

The only reason HR are likely to be interested is if they think these images of an employee are likely to bring the company into disrepute.
OP not only did you do this, you told colleagues. Given the connotations of pole dancing it should be no surprise that they went looking for photos.
Hold your head up high, say nothing and hope they quickly move on to some other gossip.

She is pleased she did it but the colleagues made her feel embarrassed. What is so hard to understand?

I’d report it and HR should come down hard on the person who sourced and shared the pic

It sounds like sexual harassment to me OP.
Totally inappropriate. Yes I would report it

I don't know whether I would just leave it now having gone home and (presumably) not said anything at the time. I suspect I would simply drop it and not expect to hear it mentioned again by anyone..

However, if it were brought up again at work with any kind of similar comment I would say calmly, 'That's extremely offensive and inappropriate in a work setting. I expect you to apologise immediately otherwise I shall raise it with HR as a complaint. It's unprofessional to make that kind of remark to coworkers'.

They sound like dickheads OP, and childish ones at that. I also used to do pole fitness and I do have some pictures on my own social media and people at work know, just as I know that a colleague does boxing, and one plays tennis. If anyone I work with felt the need to bring it up in a derogatory way they’d get the sharp end of my tongue at the very least.

It’s really strange that they have found photos of you from years ago but I don’t think they said anything bad/ mean, they are implying you look good.

Totally disagree. I hate that attitude of 'what did you expect'?

I, personally, expect people to behave like grownups, not nasty schoolchildren.

Going home in tears is not going to help.
Why are you not giving as good as you got back.
The 'stripper' comment you should have replied ' mate, you are talking out of your arse if you think that's stripping, jeez wise up!
I dont know your do but in my team it would be perfectly acceptable to tell them ' to get to fuck, you dickhead! But I appreciate every work place is different.
( I may have said this once or twice to the clowns I work with! )

It's not bantering back, it's about not being intimated by their shit talk and holding your head high.

Maybe they are jealous? Quite a sexy thing to do and is actually very hard physically. Just own it x