Schools should focus on academics, not miniskirts and low-cut shirts.
I really don’t see the point of cheerleading. How does our school benefit from girls running around doing flips? It’s mind-numbing. The only thing the cheerleaders actually do is inject their stupid cheers into my head. During two hours of JV football, the last thing I need is to hear is, “Let’s get a little bit rowdy, R-O-W a D-Y!” a hundred times. It makes me not even want to go to the football games, which is quite scary considering I live for football.…
Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Mary
Whoever you are, you need to back off cheerleaders. I am a cheerleader and I totally understand football. People automatically stereotype cheerleaders as brainless girls who are only good for jumping around when your team is winning. That is wrong so go find something better to do with your life
27 - Cindy
I agree with Maddy. I think cheerleading is sexist and degrading.
People automatically stereotype cheerleaders as brainless girls who are only good for jumping around when your team is winning.
Yes, I can see that cheerleaders are more than that. But it is cheerleading itself that stereotypes girls.
I remember trying out for cheerleader in 6th grade. How shocked I was that I made substitute cheerleader. I actually think I must have looked so utterly pitiful that the judges sensed they'd better give me a token placing. I never actually got to do any cheerleading, as they never needed a substitute. But, that was okay, as somehow I finally felt like an acceptable human being because I wasn't laughed out of the whole business entirely.
Cheerleading promotes a focus on superficial self-image. It should G-O A-W-A-Y.
28 - Dee
Look up the fucking defintion of cheerleading!
29 - kkz
Hmm, Well i think cheerleading is a sport and is really fun! I agree with almost everyone. My school doesnt pick our uniforms the coaches and assistant coaches do. I don't think the students have ever designed or chosen there own uniforms. I really can not wai to try out again. And if we wanna do cheerleading we should be able to do it. You don't see us telling you, you can't play sports or be in after school activities- just saying. Cheerleading is NOT about mini skirts. Its quite fun and exciting at the games to cheer for the football players/basketball. But i do respect all of your opinions. Also at my school if we do not get a certain GPA average we are kicked out so we can focus on our work.
30 - yea
HAHAHA, you argument is for JV football.... my man it is just as much as a sport as anything else.
31 - kiki
first off cheerleading if deff. a sport. its prob the most advance and extremly hard type of sports out there. you compete all over the world, if a sport is on tv and you can win awards its deff a sport. yes i get very mad when people dont call it a sport like honestly iv been cheering for about 18 years now and its makes me so mad. i love cheering. cheering at football games giving all the spirtit in the world. or just going all over and competeting at competition and wining, just having the feeling of winning first place, its just like any other sport around. cheerleading is not always little prissy girls who cant do anything, your think completly wrong! cheerleading is very challenging. from working out getting muscluar for lifting up girls, and gymnastics is in cheerleading to doing round off back handspring back tuck, its just as hard as any other sport and i cant stress over that enough!
32 - Rebekah
Most of what you said is true. But everyone is made to do something. Cheerleading can be a life filled with excitement and commitment. If cheerleading wasn't ever introduced I would hate every other sport!
33 - sunshine
cheerleading is fun and a sport so mind your own bussiness because just because u dont like sumthing dosent mean that other people cant got good bye
34 - Feminism
Cheerleading can be a degrading sport as with many others. It seems that girls in sports do less and just have to look pretty. Most of the cheerleaders in high school or middle school are not very spirited and just do it to be popular and look pretty in front of a crowd. I hope that one day girls will understand we don't have to stand on the sidelines and look like dolls and do little cheers for the boys playing in the field, and that we can be the ones out there playing and nobody will be on the sidelines. Its about time we relaxed on the couch while the husband cleaned and cooked in the kitchen. Now who's with me?
35 - shauna
ok i am a cheerleader and ive done it for all my lif and i love it.I do competion and sideline. I agree sideline is not a sport but i dont agree that we should not cheer at the games because we do help our team. But i do say that competion cheer is a sport because it takes lots of practice and dedication. and i do not do cheer to be popular or cool or anything like that i cheer because it is my life i would not be me without cheer and cheer would not be cheer without me!!! HAHA!!!!
36 - shauna
ALSO i understand football perfect and i am a cheer captain so this article means alot to me.
37 - Stacey
I couldn't agree more. I am a mother of 2 girls that would NEVER let either of them join in that ridiculous "sport". I have always told my girls not to stand on the sidelines and cheer for someone else, have enough courage and desire to be the one they are cheering for. If I would let my daughters cheer I feel I would be telling them they aren't as good as the people actually out there playing. I do think some cheerleaders are very athletic, which is even sadder to me because they could be gymnists or anything else they put there mind to do but instead they dress up like paper dolls and run around jumping up down worrying about their makeup running.. Exactly what does cheerleading teach that any other legit sport couldn't?????? One last thing for you mothers that think this is such a great activity for you daughters..... What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear a girl is a cheerleader?? You can think all the positive things you like, but 99% of the boys and men are thinking she is a dumb, piece of a$$.
38 - Marci
TRY it. & then tell me its not a sport. it's not as easy as it looks.
39 - Rokku
God i hate feminists,they fight for so long to get equal rights but if you take one for dinner and dont pay the tab like a "gentleman" is supposed to do they get mad.They say they can do any sport a man can,but when they manage to conquer a certain sport it becomes sexist.Some women dont work so they can take care of the house,but if a man does that he is called a lazy ass.Women wear mini skirts and tops whit a low neckline,but they get mad when men look at their legs or chests;do they care that its something men do by instict?No of course not!But we are supposed to let their badd mood because of the TPM because its something natural.Frankly ballet is pretty much a all women thing too why i dont see anyone trashing it?It does a horrible damage to their legs yet no one says it should spot because of it.Well thats all have a good day/night.
40 - destiny
maybe ur just mad cuz u werent one nd let me tell u somethin just cuz u want cheerleading to go away doesnt mean it will nd believe me i am not gonna push cheerleading to the side just cuz u said it needs to be end of discussion
41 - ManicPixieDreamGirl
I think the idea of raising spirits with dancing and chanting is nice, but sexed up girls doing backflips on the sideline is not that appealing to me. It's kind of degrading for those women. I have respect for the competitive cheerleaders, who do wear skirts, but the outfits have little to do with their goal; winning.
42 - Shannon
Wow, I can't believe you're sitting here talking crap about cheerleaders. Just because you sit down and watch football while you "r-o-o-t" from your couch on weekends, you think you have the right to say women (or men) can't cheer their team on from the sidelines? You're probably too lazy to get up and do something so instead you waste your time bashing cheerleaders, Jealous Bitch. Get a life, you sound like a bitter old lady who has a house full of cats.
43 - dymnd
i dont agree with any thing about this article cheerleading is a sport monday to friday 24-7 when you get home you go to the mirror and work on your routine constantly so we wont look like fools reping our team so what if the uniforms are a little skimpy somtimes get over it i dont hear you saying football players pants are to tight when they bend down i get it its your opinion but i feel like it an insult to me when you say all cheerleaders when youve probly only saw the ones in your hometown and ok so lots of injuries happen in cheerleading but people die in car crashes every day yet you have the time to sit and type an article ridiculing cheerleaders how dare you
44 - Nicole
Ok cheerleading is DEFINITLY! a sport! if u dont think it is u go try being lifted up about 15 ft in the air on one leg or doing backhandspring tucks or our conditioning. ITs hard work. I kno the CT legaled it not a sport but it should be. We practice like a team, compete like a team and get injured like other sports over 81 high school cheerleader died or severly hurt in 2007 and the amounts r rising so. And Im not saying this to offend anyone and yes i do respect yuor alls opinion. and no we r not sluts either like Fallon said we dont choice our uniforms and yes again i do respect yuor alls opinions
45 - Fen
This article almost exactly sums up my view of cheerleading in high school. While some of our cheerleaders were fairly intelligent and rational people, most of them succumbed to this idea that they were better than every other girl at the school because they could do a backflip. I like a lot of the actual gymnastics that some cheerleaders can do, and I agree with the idea that COMPETITIVE cheerleading is kinda a sport. But the football cheers and stuff are straight-up annoying, and the whole cheerleader "subculture" of sorts is just sexist and brainless.
I do have to admit that I almost like the cheerleaders at Ohio State, where I am now, mainly because A) they do cheer at girls' volleyball games and bring male cheerleaders with them, and B) they do these quasi-sophisticated dances to our fight songs and don't just wave pom-poms around like they're five years old. I realize that most colleges probably aren't like this though, mainly because they're not as big and therefore can't justify sending cheerleaders to women's sports.
Also, I find it hilarious that almost every pro-cheerleader comment on here ("OMG ur wrong!!11") has multiple spelling errors, which kinda proves our point - except in the case of people who are typing from their iPods (ie, Fallon), which I kinda understand, ha ha.
46 - uzeb
Competitive cheer is just a really bad version of Cirque du Soleil® with rules that are governed by the United States All Star Federation with support from local & regional cheer associations. Any sport that supports cosmetics and ridiculous costumes that don’t enhance either safety or performance is performance art, not sport. Further, U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled, "Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX, today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students." QED (I don’t expect any cheerleaders to understand what QED means, as some stereotypes exist for a reason; they’re an accurate reflection of reality).
47 - sarah
i find it exteremely wrong that you would write this article i am a cheerleader and our uniforms follow the school dresscode completly
48 - kayla
why would you write this article cheerleaders work ten times harder than football player do i have been in for six years now and not once have I had a uniform that wasn't appropriate you need to realize how amazing cheerleaders are how dare you say cheerleading should G-O-A-W-A-Y you honestly dont know how hard we practice
49 - lisa
I would like to see one of you peole who think cheerleagind is a sport to go try it. If you can get throught it for a month then i give you props. But most of us " nonn- athletes" are very angry when people tell us what we are doing is not a sport. 16,000 people get hurt every year and that number is increasing every year becasue teams get more up to date on new technic and how they want their team name known.
50 - SERIOUSLY
Wow, dude. Just, wow.
I'm not even a cheerleader, but this whole article is ridiculous. I don't care for NFL cheerleading, that's just dancing basically, but have you ever seen... VARSITY HIGH SCHOOL CHEERLEADING? Or COLLEGIATE CHEERLEADING?
Many varsity cheerleaders compete more than they sideline cheer. They follow the same, if not more, rules as the soccer players, the volleyball players, the softball players, and the basketball players. They have to have a GPA over 3.0, and some teams, like at my school, don't even allow girls to date so they have a good reputation.
JV cheerleading? Are you kidding me?
Cheerleading has changed since before the 2000's. Now, they do tumbling, stunting, cheering, chanting, dances, motions, jumps, and much more.
Maybe it's just your school.
But using JV as an example is really dumb.
51 - Orlando
You are soooo right. Cheerleading is very stupid and should just go away. Football, however is even more stupid and it should go first!
52 - Lone Ranger
If Suzie goes to school in a short skirt and Jared places his hand up her skirt during English class, he gets slapped by Suzie and expelled by the school. Now, if Suzie is on the sidelines of a football game and is cheerleading and Jared puts his outstretched hand in the air, Suzie will not only let him put his hand up her skirt, but she will willingly jump unpon it after spreading her legs for all to see.
Many social stigmas and rules of conduct in our society are illogical and insane. At the end of the day, Jared is going to be feeling Suzie's nether-region up under her skirt, and whether or not he gets slapped, expelled, jailed, or hailed depends on where he does it.
The bottom line is cheerleading is about promoting sex...like it or not. And, I do not believe it is young women being exploited, but rather young women trying to steal glory away from the boys. You can see this throughout our sex-driven society. If women want your attention, they seem to always go into their playbook and call their favorite play...sexploitation!
And aren't young women taught that their primary export is sex. Think about it. When the US economy hit the skids 3 years ago, women flooded the skin industry to make more money. Sorry girls, you are taught young to promote sex and use sex to manipulate your way through life. Please put down the pom poms and go home and while you're there, why don't you work harder at character development and less on spreading your thighs.
53 - Lone Ranger
I can see where cheerleading may have had a purpose 120 years ago, when people did not know the rules of the game or what was going on back then, let alone if they should be excited by something happening on the field. But, things have changed and sports and all forms of state-sanctioned amusements have been readily accepted by society. Sports are now so ingrained in our minds and the rules that govern these sports, that cheerleading is no longer relevent, except to keep young, scantily clad women in focus on the sidelines, while the young men compete on the field of glory.
54 - Lone Ranger
Now, if Suzie showed up to school wearing a short skirt and began kicking up her naked leg in the air in front of 30 students and striking a pose with said leg next to her ear during English class, then demonstrates to the class how far she can spread her legs during a jump, but not before doing a little bump and grind dance, she would be asked to leave class due to lude and crude behavior unbecoming of a young lady.
However, if Suzie were to do the same motions on the sidelines of a football game, while wearing her sexy little skirt in front of 3,000 people of all ages, or at half court during a basketball game, she would be applauded for strutting her "stuff".
Seems like our public school system is guilty of promoting conflicting values outside the classroom. But, then again, over the years our public school system has become more of a whore house than a school house, so the antics of cheerleaders should come as no surprise.
55 - Lone Ranger
The last thing I will say on this matter is that cheerleading is not a sport...it's an activity. I know over the past few years it has become more competitive and I have even watched the talented young women and men performing their dynamic routines on ESPN 2 and I dare say they are amazing. Now, I know they work hard and of course they are talented, but this, in and of itself, does not warrant our attention. Shoot, even porn stars have talent and work hard at their craft, but that doesn't make what they do a sport anymore than the exotic dancer or the local city sanitation engineer.
The bottom line is I don't believe cheerleading is a decent way to express school spirit and it promotes the wrong values. How many worthy young women have complexes because they weren't "sexy" enough to make the cheerleading squad? How many young men in the stands have indecent thoughts about these cheerleaders as they prance around in their short skirts? How many young women look at these cheerleaders and think this is what society values, so this is what they must become if they want to be popular and successful in school? How many cheerleaders receive preferential treatment from the school and peers alike because they had what it took, when all the other girls did not? How many cheerleaders begin to believe that all they need to do in life to get what they want is shake their booty, show some skin and prance around like a show pony? How many young men can see past all the sexy gyrations, skin, tight outfits, glamour and glitter and can focus on her inner beauty, virtue and value? Not one! So cheerleaders become sex objects to the opposite gender and objects of scorn within their own.
And, there is a special place in Hell for those mothers especially, who force their daughters into this sex racket, hence trying to live vicariously though them in order to relive their own glory days or to gain some kind of social honor for giving birth to a CHEERLEADER! Don't even get me started on those sick mothers who push their little girls into modeling at 2 years of age. And don't get me started on those mothers who have killed, beaten, or put a hit out on another girl, so her daughter has a better chance of making the cheerleading squad.
Perhaps cheerleading should go off on its own and see if it can sink or swim based on its own merits, without forcing fans of other "sports" to be their captive audience. But, if I were king, I'd make it go away.
56 - Christopher Rose
The Lone Ranger? More like tonto if you ask me...
57 - Lone Ranger
Very clever, Christopher! But, I do not think Tonto had a firm grasp of the white man's language and I don't think I ever saw an episode where Tonto wrote the white man's language. In addition, I believe it is highly unlikely that he was ever invited to an event where the Americanized squaw was featured prancing around like a harlot showing off her goods in front of a crowd. Peace out. :0)
58 - kori
I think people need to spell words out instead of using "u, or r."
Anyways, I agree. Cheerleading is overrated, whether cheerleaders agree or not. It may be fun, until someone gets hurt and then what you send them a card and keep on cheering? Also there's plenty of ways too stay fit..I personally do yoga and gymastics. But I do not try to "pep" people up with short skirts and horribly enormous tits. Excuse the profanity. But its..horrible. instead of giving are school funds too sports and cheerleading we should be putting the funds towards libraries, special classes, and things that will help everyone in the long run.
59 - cheer leading is better than U
cheerleading is the tuffest sport. it takes effort to practce 3 hours EVERY night. cheerleading, u have compatition, games u have to practice for.cheerleading may sound stupid but we support the team ulnlikeu losers on the bench getting no exersize. its called work, bach hand springs, dance moves, stunts lip take practice. i sure u would die on the first day sweating soooolong in a gym
60 - cheer leading is better than U
the only reason u call it bout sex is false. actully cheerleading u have a under armor shirt, ur half shirt for bottoms u have these under shortts to secure u when ur jumping.and the mini skirt.cheerleading is tuff out their for sooo long cheering hallf the teams competing in compatition 5 diffrent ones with a new5 minute rutin, jumps,stunts,soooo much more it takes dedication to be their every game, every practice, and actully it is hard work
61 - Kaylyn Sparks
I was captain of JV my freshman year. I am a senior now and I have not done cheer since, nor have i gone to any games since. I see everyones points, but cheer is hard and somewhat rewarding. Cheerleaders dont lift balls, they lift people. I have seen girls noses get broken, fall, get knocked out, and pass out while stunting! We learned like 50 cheers and i had to know every one of them perfect so i could call them. Plus i had to learn all of varsitys dances plus jvs dances and i still never got any credit! i practiced dances while girls did makeup and messed around and i still got yelled at for something because on cheer if your not preppy and a suck up to the bit... coaches :] they tear you apart! I would say cheer is for people that like getting their ego ripped to shreds and gossip gossip pmsing! maybe that is just in a small town though 2a school. Cheer itself is sooo much fun so let the girls who like it enjoy it! let them have fun too dont be rude. But if you do decide to be a cheerleader just take my advice.
1- get on the coaches daughters good side.
2- never argue with anyone because you will regret it when they start doing personal attacks.
3- never think that if you start on varsity that that is where you stay. I started on varsity, got brought down to jv, back up to varsity, down to jv, and then put as captain of jv. And this was all BEFORE camp! It was torture because everytime its like being slapped.
4- Dont care about what the amazing cheerleaders say to you if your not as good... chances are that is the only thing they are good at lol
and lastly, come on guys the uniforms are a lot more modest than volleyball or track or gymnastics or wrestling! If you saw the girls downstairs then she probably got in soooooo much trouble for not wearing spankies (the only thing volleyball wears for pants btw) she probably got kicked off and eaten alive by people cause people take any chance they can to hurt cheerleaders. Just remember these are teen girls with feelings they are not objects to critisize and eventually they will become wives, mothers, doctors, hairstylists, ect. Cheer is painful on your ego and self esteem enough just from the coaches and girls, they dont need everyone attacking them, give them a break they are probably starving and in pain.
62 - Anna
All the girls who are saying it is hard... have you seen gymnastics? 10x better, and they are actually getting a workout. you should try it if you think Cheerleading is hard.
As for uniforms, they are racy, weather they are "classy" or not...
Another thing, cheeleading is NOT about popularity, half the girls i know that are cheeleaders, are quirky girls who dont give a crap about what they look like and who they are friends with.
As for football, its a distraction, and its unnecessary considering 1 the football players cant hear and dont give a shit about them. 2 it annoys the fans. and 3 whats the point of standing in the cold/hot to "cheer" when nobody enjoys it anyways...
63 - karesha
I agree. Although high school cheerleading is not the major problem. cheerleaders at pro sporting events, should be changed. Not only is it demeaning to women all around but it is also far from family friendly. They do not bring sprit, they dance around in sexual moves and change mens tempers. They make it hard for women to gain respect. The worst part about all of this is our kids outlook. I took my 5 year old to a basketball game the other day. when the dancers came out in their Belly shirts and underwear shorts my daughter said, ”mommy why are their bellys showing? by having cheerleaders at family friendly events wearing less than must west to bed or to swim in is causing a downward fall in socitiy in many ways. My daughter wanted to be able to dance like them at the end of the night. I had to teach her that those women do not respect their own bodies like God wants us to. Then we are teaching our sons to want those women. Next we are causing our husbands to sin. We are allowing our own sex to hold us from having more power in this world. We are promoting sex and an image that most women could never have back after child birth. We are hurting every one around with this so called sport. And yes I guess it is a sport to pratice flaunting your body in a sexual way. That takes a lot of hard work. If you high school girls want to go pro just remember there is a corner at every street. And you won't always have the body you do now, so don't come crying to us when you cant make money off being sexual anymore. Use your brain now and realize all you are is a sexual image. Throgh your.couch a playboy and put on some clothes. There are perverts in this world. Sorry for the typos im on my phone internet.
64 - Dr Dreadful
Karesha, your caricature of men as being unable to control themselves at the mere sight of a woman's belly button is just about as offensive as the mysogynistic opinion of your fellow women that you clearly hold. Do you actually understand anything at all about human nature?
65 - karesha
Also if it were a sport and if it was not demeaning than why do our pro football players make millions while our pro Dallas cowboy cheerleaders not even make enough to live on their income.
66 - karesha
Dreadful, do you understand anything about respect, and gaining it as a humman being and not a sex object? And its clearly not just belly buttons, they are dancing in sex positions. Have you ever sat front role on the court and watched the maverics dance team? When you do so, then ill hear you out.
67 - Dr Dreadful
Karesha, I'm not disqualified from having an opinion just because I've never sat in the front row at a Mavericks game. (I actually think cheerleading, along with basketball, is rather tedious.)
As far as respect is concerned, I found none whatsoever in your comment 63. Your implication that men cannot control their sexual urges, and your conflation of cheerleading with prostitution, are crass, ignorant and, frankly, vile.
68 - karesha
Dreadful, you took everything I said out of context. Ur points your trying to make against me have nothing to do wIth the overall meaning I am trying to get across. As long as we.women use our bodies to reach an over all goal, we will always have a cap on how far we rise. To most men not All we are sex objects. Thanks to the good moms out there that we do have some good men. Now us women really have a chance to change the future. How we raise our kids really matters. Raise your daughters and sons the way you would want ur son and daughter in laws or your husbands to be. Think smart.
69 - emily
Um...not to burst your bubble or anything (the article was really well written) but cheerleading is totally a sport, and takes a ton of dedication and hard work. It's not just jumping around and screaming,it's carefully coordinated movement and takes a lot of teamwork to pull off. To say that it is demeaning to women is I think a misprepresentation of what it is cosnidered nowadays. I personally find it very empowering, and it's also a lot of fun! You should all check out the professional cheerleading videos out there-now that's amazing!
70 - giovanni
so... i like football im 9 me and my cousin have fun im not being offensive but football may be fun and all but u need offense and defense cheerleaders are grat cus they give spirit and dont think im a girl im a guy andu do need offense and a bit of defense they show spirit byo my peeps and was up
71 - giovanni
u women are gettinng a bit over dramatic
72 - giovanni
for reals u may be 13 trough 17 year old women but even though im i aint afraid too speak okay its time for me to be nice and pure good again like im always and to be the top of my school lke always and wobbly wobble wobble
73 - giovanni
awww typo i put trough instead of through
74 - Amber
I'm sorry, but can you lift people? Toss them? Tumble? Get up at ten to six every morning for practice? Competitive cheering is HARD (and also tons of fun, but currently that's beside the point), and takes a lot of dedication and trust between team-mates (this is coming from a flyer-the one they toss in the air, for the cheer-illiterate.). Many people here don't seem to actually know what competitive cheerleading is, and the stereotype that cheerleaders are dumb and slutty is certainly more demeaning and altogether hurtful than the sport itself, especially when the cheerleader in question is actually planning on becoming a particle physicist. I shouldn't be judged for the sport that I participate in, I should be judged for the kind of person that I am.
Well, that's my two cents. People should REALLY do their research before writing/posting coments about things they know absolutely nothing about.
75 - louis lefrou
you're crazy. i've had many injuries from cheerleading, i.e. knee dislocation, broken/sprained ankles, twisted thumbs, broken back vertebrae. we are never respected for what we do in our school and it makes us angry. i do not like your opinion, i think you change it because apparently, you have never been to the World All Star Competition held in Florida, where they defy gravity and are for sure a sport.