Becoming A Cheerleader: Article Analysis

About four paragraphs down he also says “ I don’t hate cheerleading just because it’s about as safe as porcupine juggling. I also hate it because it’s dumb.” This is not something that I would have expected to see in an article that was written by somebody. He is telling us his own opinion. It has nothing to do with his central claim that he is making. The fact that he said, “it’s dumb”, just sounds silly in his article and probably throws off the audience from the claim that he is really trying to make. I also think it’s interesting that he asks the audience “Exactly what does a girl get out of cheerleading, anyway, besides a circle skirt and a tight sweater? Why do we encourage girls to cheer the boys, to idolize the boys? This question that he asks really can be targeted in a couple different ways. First of all, cheerleading is a very tough sport with all the flexibility that you need to have. A cheerleader must be able to do flips, and all other kinds of stunts. Secondly, he says, “why do we encourage girls to cheer the boys?” this statement is very stereotypical because there are male cheerleaders out there too. Especially today it seems to be more and more common and I don’t think we really see it as a big deal to notice a male cheerleader. If you go to a lot of colleges and universities, you will notice that one of the core parts of a cheerleading squad is the male cheerleader. It is not uncommon what so ever. So, for Reilly to make

A sport is an organized association that provides regulated activities to individuals. In most cases these individuals are composed into teams with an identity, mission statement, and goal. Competitive cheerleading is association, and just like the definition of a sport, competitive cheerleading is organized and acknowledge under specific associations, (ISHAA,NCCA,etc.). Those associations regulates the activities of each participant. Every participant is classified by their team name and mascot. With pride each participant and team identify themselves and motivate themselves through their mission statement and goal. Considering, these relative factors, it is evident that competitive cheerleading is a sport. Competitive cheerleading is being

The Atlantic article, “High-School Sports Aren’t Killing Academics,” by Daniel H. Bowen and Colin Hitt make a statement on the sports programs in schools. They oppose the thought that participating in sports programs results in a student’s academics suffering, but instead believe sports programs provide academic benefits. Their article targets the article, “The Case Against High-School Sports”, by Amanda Ripley who argues that participation in sports at school cost students’ academic success. The duo constructs their argument around Ripley’s claims and counter her points to strengthen their own. Their argument has a mix of supporting information and points that weakened Bowen and Hitt’s claim. This is due to the methods and evidence they provided which didn’t appear as convincing when trying to persuade readers.

The next seven minutes could determine what my 7th grade year will look like. 11 other girls, competing for seven spots on the JAJH Cheer Team. My hands were shaking, and I was so nervous inside. What if I don’t make it? What if I make myself look like a complete fool? Falling on my face, tripping, doing the wrong cheer, all of these factors were racing through my mind. But I had to plaster that smile on my face, black shorts, white shirt, bow, tennis shoes, I was ready. Routines rushing through my head, one after the other, over and over. Five, six, seven, eight, one… Three days of practicing and learning the material for those next seven minutes.

Male cheerleaders continuously get gender stigma which means a negative trait or set of traits attached to a social group, due to cheerleading being labeled as a 'feminine sport'. There are some male who become hesitant when wanting to be a cheerleader due to them being labeled as ‘Gay’. One of the female who participated in the study said “cheerleading started with men. I think the media has turned it into a sexualized female sport”. But, they believed this occur because women are helping men protect and maintain their masculine guise. However, the construction of masculinity is achieved through sexual objectification by men who cheer, because society focuses on labeling male cheerleaders homosexual, when in reality they have the advantage

Many people have written articles about their experience with athletics, especially with high school and college-level athletics. Because athletics are so often intertwined with these formative moments in one’s life, as well as with normative ideals of masculinity, they are ideal contexts in which to write about gender identity. Thomas Rogers’ essay “The College Hazing that Changed My Life,” originally published on Salon.com in 2011, and Joe Mackall’s essay “Words of my Youth” both deal with athletics as a way into discussing gender identity. Although the essays are very different, they both deal with a very similar theme: how difficult it is to develop a masculine identity, particularly within a sporting context, in a world that is increasingly accepting of different gender identities.

In 1975, Robert Lipsyte wrote “Jock Culture” which was in “The Sportsmaster.” It didn’t appear in “The Nation” until 2011. Analysis will examine the credibility of the examples used by the author to stage his claims.

In the article “THE SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEERLEADER AND RITUALIZED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION,” I learned many things. The first surprising thing was the cheerleading started off as mainly a boy sport and now you don’t see nearly as many boys as you do girls involved with cheerleading and I think that is partly because in today’s society boys get made fun of for being a cheerleader. (Bennett) Another major thing that bothers me about cheerleading is that many girls get into cheering for the wrong reason, let’s just say that a lot of it is popularity. All in all there is so much you can argue on either side for cheerleading and hopefully schools are starting to see how cheerleading has changed into something other than rooting on your team, or competing for a national title.

From an outsiders perspective one may see brainless and beautiful robots, which scream and perform neat tricks. This is not the case from the inside; cheerleading is so much more than that. Many people are under the impression that cheerleading is not a sport. I am the voice of reasoning that will let you in, and I will show you that cheerleading, in fact, is a sport. Cheerleading requires much physical demand from the body just as any other sport would. Cheerleading, in general, is a team effort. There are many sides to cheerleading, which make it a versatile sport. When it comes to cheerleading there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

In this article the author took what I felt was a very passive, non-threatening tone with the topic, making you feel more relaxed and more prone to listen to his argument. Mr. Graff chose to use a first-person plural tone in his article, this in my opinion makes it more relatable to all people, but I feel is more specifically aimed at educators and intellectual teachers. He related his argument to his own childhood which again endeared me to the author and the argument. He used personal references along with topical references from the era of his childhood, making his argument more personal. The author was able to make his argument using his love of sports and the magazines from his time that allowed him to analyze those sports and create far more compelling arguments than that of the tried and true “intellectual” literature of old.

“I always set my expectations high because it pushes the cheerleaders to reach goals they thought they couldn’t.” Lisa Quaresma, cheer coach.

Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.

When I was a kid in kindergarten, my parents and I used to watch the Olympics every year. Most memories about watching the games are blurred now, but I clearly remember the gymnasts flipping and twirling in the air. I was enraptured by how they achieved such complex movements as if they can fly while controlling their bodies. I loved watching gymnastics and always wanted to try the sport. However, when I saw the passage “Is Watching Gymnastics Worse than Being an NFL Fan?” written by O’Rourke, I was astonished by the author’s doubts to the sport. In the article, the author talks about the development of gymnastics and emphasizes its sexual and emotionally abusive history. In her opinion, gymnastics is bad for female athletes and she doesn’t enjoy watching the sport as she used to. However, I don’t think she justifies her doubts toward the sport, nor does she explain the specific reasons she doesn’t enjoy the sport as much.

The NYC Radical Cheerleaders describe their activity as, “[A]ctivism with pomp poms and middle fingers extended. It’s screaming F*CK CAPITALISM while doing the splits” (qtd. in Adams and Bettis 36). Since their inception in the mid-1990s, the feminist Radical Cheerleaders have given women a stronger voice in the activist sphere while they scream, shout, and protest against a myriad of social issues. These range from the patriarchy, LBGTQ discrimination, and beauty standards, to police brutality, sexual assault, and capitalism, but they are all linked to the fight for human rights. In their protest, they subvert the stereotypical image of the white, blonde, thin cheerleader, looking to incite public interest and engagement. Ultimately, radical cheerleaders channel the theatricality and obscenity of the women’s liberation movement to reclaim their rights in the public sphere with curses, vulgarity, and action.

Cheerleading isn't just a hobby, but a full time career for some, devoting their entire life wanting to make it big and cheer in front of millions. Taking their personal time and devoting it to constant practice, day and night, wanting to be the best. It's sounds like a similar career that many young athletes wish they had. The NFL, NBA, NHL, all big name sport associations where gifted, hard working, talented athletes can show everyone why they were given a chance to be in the big leagues. They work day in and day out, practicing to get better, just like any cheerleader on those teams. The only difference between those sport athletes and the cheerleaders is the wages they are earning. Why should cheerleaders who devoted their life, physically