The oriented polyfluorene 1 is a promising candidate for a blue polarized emitter in organic optoelectronic devices. By examination of the anisotropic luminescence of thin films of 1, polarization-dependent spectral narrowing was found at high excitation densities, which is of particular interest in reducing the threshold for optically pumped polymer lasers. Femtosecond pump–probe experiments show optical gain at this spectral position.