Cheerleading. The image that comes to mind is a group of highly flexible teenage girls clad in brightly colored uniforms performing stunts that many could only do in a dream.
At the professional level, it’s not exactly the same picture.
Cheerleaders like those for the 49ers or Raiders probably have more in common with women who work at a strip club that intends to attract male customers.
The key difference is in that one serves as a sport, while the other is a form of scandalous entertainment.
The evolution of cheerleading is dramatic and controversial. If the women who cheer at professional football games are supposedly the more professional and intensified versions of high school cheer teams, teenagers are making a huge mistake if they try to emulate them.
In all honesty, the two different levels of cheer are almost total opposites. For one, the intentions for each are very different.
For high school girls, joining the cheer team is an opportunity to be a part of a team and to be an athlete. The type of cheer that is practiced by these girls is by all means a sport.
For the cheerleaders at the professional level, cheering is an occupation and a primary source of income and, many hope, a launching pad for careers in modeling or acting.
According to Megan McArdle, a writer for Bloomberg News, many cheerleaders also pursue this career for the glamour. They enjoy the status and the joy of being able to dance in front of thousands of people, and most importantly they take pride in ogling eyes that watch their low-flying routines.
In contrast, high school cheerleaders are part of a community and are not a spectacle appreciated for their looks alone. They are lauded for raising school spirit and being involved.
High school cheerleaders should not attempt to imitate their professional counterparts. The teenagers should take pride in the conservatism and professionalism that exists on the high school level.
At the professional level, cheerleaders are forced to stay at a certain weight, to do their hair and makeup in a certain way and to dress provocatively. At a high school level, girls are embraced for whatever form of beauty they have.
Sadly, many parents and others look down at cheerleading in any form.
Because of this, cheerleading has sometimes had a bad reputation, and its true values can be buried. If outsiders don’t know better, they can miss the cohesiveness of a cheer team, the amount of strength it takes to hoist teammates into pyramids, and the time management skills that come from balancing schoolwork with rigorous cheer schedules.
Cheerleading at the school level is something that is appreciated and respected as a sport. Along with the new reforms made to NFL in terms of domestic violence, maybe NFL officials should work to also change the objectified status of cheerleaders at the pro level. Then maybe they would be deserving of the same respect as high school cheerleaders.
