Since when Did Cheerleading Steer Away from Cheer Leading?

Annie Frey
Annie Frey, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 1, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."
I should preface this article with disclosing that in high school I was a four sport athlete--volleyball, basketball, softball, and track. Most people who know me may feel that I have a growing chip on my shoulder for cheerleading. I have to say that, while it may seem that I am naturally put off by the idea of cheerleading, I don't have a personal problem with it. What has put me off a bit over the years is the mentality and subculture that follows cheerleading. Much to many people's chagrin, I will not refer to cheerleading as a sport. I believe that a sport must at least include some kind of defense. The only defense I can come up with for cheerleading is gravity, and I don't believe that is a qualifier. I will grant that cheerleading has evolved into a competition. That is a phenomenon that I both respect, yet do not understand. My purpose here is not to discuss the relevance of the existence of cheerleading in and of itself, but rather to explain my distaste for what it has become.

As an avid sports fan, I find myself spending most of my free time patronizing local sporting events or watching them on my television. At most sporting events, there is some posse of attractive women, or girls, that provide downtime entertainment for fans. These women can vary from "fan-girls," cheerleaders, dancers, or poms depending on the location. I can only assume that the originators of cheerleaders made it their job to, brace yourself, lead cheers. You know the drill. "De! Fense! De! Fense!" And, "Let's Go, Tigers!" Cute girls stand on the sideline and try to get the crowd jazzed up for their team. This is a good thing.

However, at some point in time, cheerleading diverted away from leading cheers and focused more on the entertainment aspect. This, too, is not a bad thing. But the path that cheerleading has been on is leading young girls to dangerous territory.

I was at a local high school game earlier this season in my home town. Once half-time arrived, the dance team took the floor. I was amazed at what I saw. My first thought was to cover the eyes of the 8 year old boy sitting a few seats away from me. Then I thought to myself, "How can these girls do those moves when their dads are sitting up in the bleachers?" And how can the dads sit in the bleachers when their girls are doing those moves in front of teenage boys! The sexually suggestive moves that the dancers displayed made me blush and I wasn't even down there. Who is allowing these underage girls to perform in this manner and why isn't anyone else concerned about this?

I got my answer the next Sunday. My dad has season tickets to the St. Louis Rams football games. My brother went off to college at the University of Illinois so I get to go to most of the games with my dad. Several times throughout the game, the cheerleaders would take over the end zones and do their little numbers for the crowd. I was surprised that none of them used the uprights for pole dancing. Seriously, every move they used was a graphic depiction of sexual nature. One may ask, isn't all dancing in some way sexually driven? I suppose the answer is to an extent, yes. But where is the line drawn on pelvic thrusting? Is there a line?

Aside from the movements of dancers and cheerleaders as of late, the uniforms have drastically changed...or should I say, decreased. I can understand those on the big stage, NBA and NFL games, but what about the sixteen year old in front of hundreds of people on a Friday night wearing the equivalent to a halter top and a skirt that is so short it shows her butt cheeks? Isn't there something wrong with that?

I am glad that girls are given the opportunity to participate in extra-curricular activities. Whether it is a sport, drama club, math team, or cheerleading, involvement in out of school activities has proven time and time again to support positive lifestyles. I'm just saying, let's keep it clean. Let's not subject these young girls so eagerly to the plastic, Hollywood misrepresentation of reality. Let's get back to leading cheers and supporting the team.

Published by Annie Frey

I graduated college with a Bachelors of Science in Mass Communications. I spent three years in sports broadcasting doing an array of jobs, and now I am a digital branding manager for 971talk.com. I enjoy s...  View profile

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  • lil12/20/2010

    if you havent actually done cheerleading then you dont really understand what all really has to be put into it. you have to practice just like every other sport, compete against other people that want to win, cheerleaders have to have flexibility and stregnth. CHEERLEADING IS A SPORT

  • Sarah6/19/2010

    That was probably the worst and stupidest article I have ever read. Obviously you have never seen or been to a cheerleading competition. Yes sideline cheerleading is not a sport but if you think competition cheerleading is not a sport your crazy.

  • Sports Coach2/4/2010

    None of my sports have a defense and they are considered sports. Tell the Olympic committee that swimming, gymnastics, skiing, bowling, track and field even are a not a sport because these sports are merely competition based and require only a good offense and no defense (other than gravity, speed, velocity, wind, and other natural elements which by your standards do not count).

  • Annie11/17/2009

    Rachel, my point was the sexual nature that has consumed cheerleading in this day and age. Your opinion is duly noted, but it misses the point of the article. Thank you for reading.

  • Rachel11/14/2009

    Thank you Amy & Claudia. Anyone who hasn't been a cheerleader on a competitive squad, or doesn't have full knowledge of the competitive cheerleading sport shouldn't have the right to put their opinion out there. I understand your beleif if all you've ever seen in cheerleaders cheering on a sideline. That's a different style of cheerleading than competitive. And since you don't know that, I don't think you have much right to express an opinion on a topic you don't have much knowledge of. Take a look at a competitive squad then come back and complete an article. Try to tell Maryland Twisters that they're not doing a sport. Maybe if you got knocked by one of them you'd wonder if something that's not a sport could give you those guns.

  • firepoint5259/4/2008

    http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2170/2477833999_c5c8c435af.jpg?v=0

    Check out the girls in this link. Their skirts are as short or shorter than you might see now, and this was 40 years ago!

  • Amy3/17/2008

    Honestly mister, don't let the bad apple ruin the bunch. I cheered for 7 seven years and I could careless whether or not you think it's a sport. It DOES however require the physical capabilities and endurance of every other athlete and it does take skill, not just ANYONE can do it.

    As for the dances, sorry some teams do distasteful moves and the "cheerleaders" for NFL and NBA are not actual cheerleaders. Next time a cheerleading competition is on your BELOVED ESPN try watching it. It's incredible to watch how much cheerleading has evolved. Maybe you don't understand the nature of change, or maybe you're just altogether uneducated about the whole thing. WOW, you went to a couple of games and watched a team pelvic thrust. That is not cheerleading. Better yet, instead of watching a competiton on ESPN go to a practice for cheerleaders where they practice their routine and work on new stunts, tumbling sequences, motions, techniques, etc. etc. Maybe you will be enlightened instead of so

  • claudia robles12/8/2007

    Having cheered for several years I know I am a good judge of tasteful "cheerleading". Cheerleaders who dance in a "sexually suggestive" way are simply tacky, there is no other explanation. In addition, they get points deducted in cheerleading competition for vulgarity. Yes, cheerleading has evolved into a competitive sport take a look at ESPN. These girls have the coordination and agility of a dancer, the strength of a football player the flexibility of a gymnast and can do it all gracefully in a routine of only two minutes and thirty seconds!!

  • Brian Joura2/2/2007

    Good article. While I am very concerned about the sexual nature of high school "cheerleaders" I am even more worried about the routines where cheerleaders regularly go up in the air, hoping other cheerleaders will catch them before they hit the bare gym floor. Don't schools have mats? This is a lawsuit waiting to happen. I go to a fair number of games and I hold my breath every time a cheerleader springs into the air.

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