Around the same time, I read this line in a blog about why your kid should join the marching band (full article here)
While the cheerleaders are making sure their high ponytails are just so, the girls in the band are simply stuffing their hair into their shakos (yes, the dorky hats have a special name) and forgetting about it.
What bothered me about this show, and this blog's statement is what bothers me anytime cheerleaders are portrayed in the popular culture. In short, cheerleaders are easy targets. They are most often depicted as vain, vapid, snobby, stupid, slutty, Mean Girls.
In case you hadn't guessed, I was a cheerleader. I cheered every year from grades 7-12. And let me tell you, cheerleaders are just like the girls in the band, on the basketball team, in student government, in the swing choir, and in the church youth group: whimsical, finicky, funny, hormonal, catty, superficial, sweet, moody, insecure, stubborn, romantic, shallow, educated, confused, ignorant, joyful, tearful, secretive, difficult, gullible, afraid, needy, eager, rebellious, courageous, imperfect, curious, impressionable, womanly, girlish, energetic, dramatic, fretful, helpful, naive, observant, sassy, feminine, clever, and, last but not least, stereotyped.
In addition to the negative stereotypes that permeate our culture, I also had a conversation with a few friends who were doubtful over whether they would ever let their daughters try out for cheerleading, if they so desired. Throughout our conversation they voiced several worries, including stunt men, the short skirts, and the whole gender thing, the idea of girls "cheering" rather than "participating." So...In Defense of Cheerleading, here is this former cheerleader's thoughts.
Stunt Men
The idea that teenage boys will put their hands on the teenage girls' bottoms was NOT something my friends approved of. We didn't have stunt men in my high school, so I can't really speak to this issue much. What I can say is that I WISHED we would have. If I had tried out in college for cheerleading (I didn't) I would have been sorely disadvantaged because I didn't have experience doing partner stunts. However, my explanation to my friends is that doing any kind of stunt work in cheerleading is always all business. Doing stunts is serious, it's work, and requires strength, precision, and concentration. Plus, it's supervised; any cheer coach that lets hanky panky happen while stunting is not doing his/her job. You're better off worrying about your daughter's boyfriend or the guy she meets at a random party than her stunt partner.
Short Skirts
Short Skirts
I think if you're going to make a fuss about cheerleading skirts then let's make a fuss about leotards worn by gymnasts and swimsuits worn by the swim team. After all, those certainly show more skin.And what about tennis skirts? How come they never catch any flak? Are cheerleading skirts more sexual? Maybe? But even if you could prove somehow that they are that doesn't mean the person wearing one is any more sexual, or sexually active, than someone who is not wearing one.
In fact, I think you could make the argument that wearing a cheerleading outfit is a pretty tame way for a young woman to make a statement about her femininity and, yes, burgeoning sexuality. And perhaps that last piece right there is what parents struggle with, and understandably so. Girls make these statements in a thousand different ways, through makeup, dress, speech, and so on. I know I did, and I'm not going to lie, there is power in that cheerleading skirt. You have to possess a certain amount of confidence to don a short skirt and jump, tumble, dance, climb, and flip in front of large crowd of people. But whether or not this sexualizes someone is a up for debate, at least in my book.
I can already hear people saying, "You should have seen the slutty outfits the cheerleaders at my school wore!" So I will say that I think most high schools (by and large) have fairly modest cheerleading uniforms. I know mine were. I'm all for age appropriateness here. I wouldn't like my teenager wearing anything midriff-bearing and, to be honest, there would be a lot of girls who wouldn't be comfortable wearing those anyway. And for the gymnasts who tumble and stunt (which is most) the skirts are safer than say, a snow suit.
Gender Stuff
I get this objection, I really do. Girls cheering on the sidelines while boys perform for glory and acclaim smacks of an androcentric worldview that, in my experience anyway, speaks to a different time in history. All I can say is that what cheerleading is (or has become), in general terms, is a performance. Cheerleaders are a part of "the show." And cheerleading, with its blend of athleticism, gymnastics, dance, and high flying stunts, is nothing if not entertaining. No different than the band, the color guard, the choir, the drama club, etc. And cheerleading gave me an opportunity to travel to London to perform in a New Year's Day parade my senior year, and bigger universities even offer scholarships for cheerleading.
My Experience
I was a gymnast growing up, and happily forsook a lot of sports and other activities early in life because of it. But around junior high I reached a crossroads: my skills had plateaued, my body had developed enough so that I was a little less aerodynamic, and my gym closed down; simultaneously, my interests started shifting more to my social life, friends, boys, clothes, makeup, etc. Cheerleading was a natural segue for way me into teenage life. Just like any other kind of team it helped shape my identity -- it gave me a sense of belonging and a group of girls with which to laugh, argue, hang out, and work towards a common goal. I also had friends (including my best friend) who weren't cheerleaders. This may not be the same at all schools, but I do think in my experience cheerleading gave you some amount of status, but status didn't necessarily give you popularity. Make sense?
The girls I cheered with possessed all the traits that I mentioned above and then some. The girls on my squad were almost all what I would term honor-roll, good kid, student leaders. Did we have a some drama? Yes. Some scandals? Yes. Did we go through all the other stuff teenage girls go through? Absolutely. Were we occasionally Mean Girls? Snobby? Brainless? Loose-Moralled? Yes. But so were a few girls I could mention (but I won't) that sang in the choir, played basketball and volleyball and softball. These things are not exclusive to cheerleading. These little dramas play themselves out all over America, in high schools, on sports teams, in youth groups alike.
When I was being interviewed to get into my Master's Program for a degree in Conflict Resolution the interviewer asked me what experience I had with resolving conflicts. The first thing that popped out of my mouth were my years of being a cheerleader. Cheerleading requires cooperation, creativity, collaboration, diligence, practice, sacrifice, and a teachable spirit. We had summer practices at 6:00 a.m. so you also had to be an early riser! Admitting (if only to yourself) that someone else can do something better than you (and that's OK), finding your place on the team, developing mastery over something-- these are all things I learned from cheerleading. Is it for everyone? No. But it was great for me and it gave me insights into human nature I'm not sure I could have gotten anywhere else.
In Conclusion
Sometimes, when it comes up in conversation, I tell people that I was a cheerleader, and they get a certain look in their eye and say, "Oohhh..." I can tell immediately they've gotten an image of me in their head that's probably only partially true. No, I didn't hide in the library (that's where my mother worked!) nor did I lack friends or things to do on the weekend. But I want to stop them right there and let them know I wasn't some snort of snotty Teen Queen. I do sort of wish I could go back and redo some parts of high school. To be more inclusive, to be less concerned with status, to be kind instead of merely nice. We all have moments we aren't proud of. But I never regret being a cheerleader or feel like it somehow hampered my moral/social development. In fact, I'd say that it did the opposite.
Just like so many people have a problem with Christianity because of a Christian they once knew, if your view of cheerleaders is tainted because someone who was a cheerleader once upon a time treated you unkindly, have a "come to Jesus" talk with the teenager you once were and the adult that you now are. And I also wouldn't say there aren't cheerleaders who perpetuate all the negative stereotypes, perhaps even on purpose. But, as an adult, I can see that sometimes we use negative stereotypes as a sort of shield, an armor so no one sees the insecurity, the vulnerability, the eating disorder, the bad home life, the depression, the fear of failure...the list goes on. Re-read the list of above attributes I used to describe teenagers and be honest with yourself. See that cheerleader as the girl she was, just trying to figure out life. Not to get all Paula Deen on you, but if you've never said or done anything you regret, go ahead and pick up that stone.
So, let's all agree to stop hating on the cheerleaders. Whatever your hangups, stereotypes, or misconceptions. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and prepare to let go...Ready? Ok.
