There is a channel on youtube I follow called the Shaytards who post daily video blogs of their life. They have five kids, three boys and two girls, and their two girls, ages 7 and 8 participate in cheerleading. They posted a video the other day when they went to their girls cheer performance that really got me thinking. Both of their girls had to get dressed in their uniform, which was black and sparkly pink, a long sleeve top, and a skirt, and curl their hair into a pony tail and wear a matching pink bow in it, and then wear eyeliner and mascara with sparkly stickers placed near the eyes. I will post a link to video if you want to go see what I am talking about. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2K0mFQbZXY) But after watching this, it really made me think about cheerleading as a sport. Now I never did cheerleading growing up. I never had an interest in it, and I am pretty sure if I would have had an interest in it my mom wouldn't have let me do it because she hated the stereotypes associated with it and she didn't like anything that made girls question their beauty. My mom was the mother who refused to buy me any Barbies because they sent a bad message to little girls like me. The only barbies I ever owned were ones that had been given to me as gifts, and my mom had to explain to me that I could keep them because they were gifts, but that I needed to understand that they were nothing more then a person I could play make believe with, and they didn't represent anything. And so growing up I learned that just because something is popular, or other girls in my grade are doing it, or have it, doesn't mean it is right or good. The stereotypes around cheerleading became clear to me at an early age. Many of the girls were bratty and stuck up, and only cared about their looks. It was true. That was how cheerleaders were viewed back then, and still are today. I don't think it has gone away. My mom was a youth minister, and I remember her telling me stories from her youth that had been on cheerleading teams and how mean all the other girls were. She said she never wanted me to be a part of it. Now stereotypes aside, I think that cheerleading is a fine sport. I think that it is admirable that those girls and boys lift other people into the air and throw them in baskets. I think it is really cool to watch cheerleaders do their tricks, because I definitely could not do any of it. But after watching that Youtube video, it got me thinking, why does cheerleading have to have all this "show" with it. Can't it just be a sport about learning the skills? Why do the girls have to wear makeup and sparkly uniforms, and curl their hair. To me, when you make that a requirement, or part of the sport, then you really take away from the sport itself. It then just becomes a beauty pageant as far as I am concerned. Girls become more concerned with looking pretty, then knowing how to do the trick.
After thinking about this, I decided to post a comment on this youtube video, and as expected, I got several responses. This is what I originally posted:
"I don't hate cheer, but Why do they have to dress in sparkly pink and wear bows and makeup? Can they not compete without all of that. That is where I start to have a problem with it. I feel like girls should be able to do the tricks and flips an everything without all of the "show." If I had a daughter I would refuse to put them in a cheer group where that was the norm."
And these are some of the responses I received
"i do dance, and they always tell us to put on heavy makeup when we're on stage because the bright lights wash out our features and so putting on heavy makeup allows the audience to see us better :)"
"Why not? ITS ALL FOR FUN, so what if they wear sparkly pink bows. They are little girls who most likely enjoy getting all dressed up"
"I am a competitive all star cheerleader and it's to add to the show.
Cheering is a show and you are performing and it adds to the performance"
Now I understand needing to wear make up as a dancer up on a stage, because the lights wash out your face. But the only place I have ever seen cheer performances have been in a gym, with no lights. And I am not discounting the fact that it is fun, because I have no doubt that most of the girls in cheerleading love it. But that's not the point. The point is that the sport is so focused on the "show" aspect of it, looking pretty, that it teaches young girls that that is what is important and valuable. And I don't like that. Cheerleading should not be a show. It is a sport. It is learning how to do back hand springs and cartwheels and throw people in the air and catch them in a basket. Those are the skills taught and learned within the sport of cheerleading. It should not be a show at all.
I feel that if the "show" aspect of cheerleading was taken away and there were no fancy uniforms or makeup involved in it, then it would be a whole lot better. Our young girls would learn that it is about talent and skill and not just looking pretty. Because looks are a superficial thing that in the end, don't really matter much at all. We are only perpetuating the body image issues that many young girls today deal with.
What are your thoughts on this topic? I would love to hear in the comments below