Male Cheerleading is a Sport! Essay

Cheerleading started as a male endeavor in 1898, when a University of Minnesota football fan led the crowd in verse in support of their team. It was not until World War II, when men shipped out to war, that women took over. Then cheerleaders came to represent the American ideal of femininity: wholesome apple pie with washboard stomachs, perfect teeth, and flawless complexions. Stereotypes cast them as blond, petite, and impossibly perky. “From its humble beginning cheerleading has blossomed into a competitive athletic activity with a serious image problem” (Forman 52). But today’s post-feminist youth have put a new, diverse face on cheerleading. Cheerleading in America is no longer a matter of waving pom-poms, a cute smile and being overly

Being able jump in the air, kick up your leg, or even having a strong voice is what most people assume is needed to make the cheer squad in today’s society. These beliefs and depictions of today’s cheerleaders are strongly influenced by today’s media. For example, the hit television show “Glee” depicts one of its main characters, a cheerleader named Brittney, as an airhead. This blond hair, blue-eyed girl is reflected as the “typical cheerleader”, with statements that include the following, ' 'I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist ' ' (Murphy). The show also depicts the other cheerleaders as stuck up, promiscuous, irresponsible and cliquey. From wearing the cheerleading outfits everyday to sleeping around with the football team,

The media has created a stereotype for cheerleaders. The way that cheerleaders have been portrayed in the media has made cheerleading one of the most disrespected and underrated sports in the industry. The media has made cheerleaders out to be the unintelligent, mean girls, that no one likes. It has portrayed cheerleading itself to not even look the slightest bit like a sport. Most movies make it look like cheerleading is just jumping around and yelling at other sporting events. A good description of this stereotype is explained in an article from TVTropes as “From evil to slutty to dumb, any cheerleader in North American media can be expected to be portrayed as shallow and superficial, because popularity is her first and only concern.”. As a cheerleader, this is extremely frustrating. The growing cheerleading industry has been working hard to show the world what cheerleading really is about. Bring It On: In It to Win It is an interesting movie that actually portrays some of the real aspects of cheerleading.

When most people think of cheerleading, they think of the spirit squads that attempt to pump up the local crowd at high school basketball and football games. People are not aware of what these athletes are doing when they are not in front of these crowds. Strangers to cheerleaders who do not follow the sport extensively do not know the exact involvement of the athletes in this sport, at all ages. Cheerleading requires athleticism like all other sports as you must be in shape and at a great fitness level to be involved in most circumstances. Cheerleaders have to know what they’re doing at all times; while knowing what everyone else on the team is doing as well, which involves a high level of mental preparation. Cheerleading, high school or

While there are some aspects of dancing and gymnastics involved, the purpose is to cheer at sporting events, not to be an event itself. Although it is not a sport, it is worthy of praise on its merits as entertainment. Much thanks to cheerleaders, fans come to support their friends and school in the event of competitions.

The sport of cheerleading has been around for a long time; since 1884 in fact! In the beginning, cheer was a sport dominated by college men. Since, women have taken over, and in 1967 the first ranked college cheer competition was held. Both school and competitive cheerleading offer many rewarding opportunities. Though they are a part of the same sport, the two types of squads are actually quite diverse. School cheer is undeniably a worthwhile and respectable sport, but competitive teams often provide a more challenging approach, and are more suited to experienced cheerleaders.

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 say cheerleading isn't a sport. They feel that if you don't have a ball in your hand then you are not an athlete.Also people feel that cheer isn't a sport because they think cheer does"t compete against other teams and having a goal.There is many reasons to why cheer is a sport .

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.

People usually see cheerleaders at football and basketball games. They see them shake their pom-poms and yell chants to get the team and crowd excited and involved. But there is much more to cheerleading than that.

Training for cheer is not just a one time or a once a week thing it is a constant practice to maintain those abilities (Selke). Abilities that are needed for cheerleading are stunting, tumbling, and dancing so cheerleaders need to weight lift and work out multiple times a week. They work just as hard as any other athletes. Cheerleaders must be able to work together to create pyramids, basket tosses, and stunts in a routine. All of these require timing, teamwork, balance, strength, and stamina which are all clear athlete standards needed to perform in sports(Selke). Most people do not see inside the practices and competitions they just see the cheerleaders on the sideline at a game who entertain the crowd (Bonesteel). Initially they think that it is not a sport because of how easy that looks. Sideline cheering is

As the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders became more popular, more little girls and boys looked up to them as idols. Many of the cheerleaders cherished this and acted, as role models for the little girls who would one day want to also cheer on the Cowboys. The cheerleaders tried to be more than just a girl in a revealing uniform, but an inspiration to them as well. Aron (2010) noted that little girls could now aim to be a Dallas Cheerleader instead of Miss America (p. 71). Over the years, the appearance of the cheerleader’s began to take precedence over their hard work and talent. This conveys a strong message to impressionable children that appearance is more important than hard work. For many young girls and boys, cheerleading has been their escape

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.

Sports become stereotyped as gender-neutral, feminine, or masculine based on conceptions regarding gender, gender differences, and beliefs about the appropriateness of participation due to gender (Colley et al., 1987; Csizma, Wittig, & Schurr, 1988; Koivula, 1995; Matteo, 1986). Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards). A sport is labeled as masculine if it involves the following: 1) attempts to physically overpower the opponent(s) by bodily contact; 2) a direct use of bodily force to a heavy object; 3) a