The Cheerleaders

Ever since I was young, I have always loved to be active both in my community and physically. These two loves have really shone through in my choice of activities. In the spring I had tried out to be a cheerleader because I thought it would be fun and a great way to be active and meet new people. I made it on the team to my surprise and found that it was a truly, amazing experience. We had practices from the middle of July to the end of October. The practices were for four days a week and 2

the morning on April 10th and we had been in the car for twenty-seven hours when we finally pulled up to the “Welcome to Disney World” sign. Coincidentally that song just happened to be on the radio, the perfect song for the occasion. The song “Cheerleader” by Omi relates to cheerleading tryouts at the end of 8th grade. Walking up to the small gym here at Eastern I’ve never been more

Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to be able to participate in many different leadership positions. As a ninth grade cheerleader we decided to do something a little bit different with our position. Instead of it just being 14 girls, we wanted to incorporate the special needs students at our school. We got to include four amazing down syndrome students on our squad and gain four new friends. Whenever we were frustrated when our stunts weren't hitting or we couldn't pick up on choreography

lights. The nights that everyone looks forward to. The nights that everyone spends hanging out with their friends. The nights that everyone comes to root for our team whether we're winning or losing. Or if you're me, you spend your night as a JV cheerleader. Not on the field cheering for the War Eagles, but walking up and down the stadiums screaming, "SNOWCONES!! ONE DOLLAR!" It isn't what I'd prefer to do but it's better than spending those few hours being at home. The place where I'm being yelled

There was exactly two weeks until state football. It was an exciting time for our school going undefeated through the whole season. The cheerleaders were ecstatic, we hadn’t been to state for a decade! The following Monday after another win for the football team the school hallways were buzzing. Hannah was a junior and the captain of the cheer squad. Hannah was 5’7 and 125 pounds, with a mix of blonde hair and brown hair. On top of that she had the most beautiful eyes anyone could imagine, ice blue

Ward’s, a former gymnast, initial reactions to becoming a cheerleader. Ward’s responses were derogatory and stereotypical; she even stated at the end of the introduction, “I’ll want to kill them all” at the idea of becoming a cheerleader. She uses common stereotypes against cheerleaders such as “jumping around” and “uneducated.” All of the sudden, the article’s tone changes to a positive voice. The author is now praising cheerleading and cheerleaders for what they must endure. A couple sentences of ago

high school cheerleaders are being thrown in the face of danger on the sidelines under the Friday night lights. But at what cost? The sideline heroes experience the same head traumas and lifelong disabilities as those who are playing on the gridiron. The recent skyrocketing trend of cheerleading head injuries is alarming and leads into the discussion question that every athletic director in every school in America should be asking, how can we protect our athletes. High school cheerleaders should have

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,

impact I made on the young girls watching me from the stands. Throughout my time as a cheerleader at Dakota, I have had the privilege of being a Mini Cheer Camp leader 5 times. During my time as a leader, I was able to not only help the young girls learn more about the sport I love so much, but also teach them to be confident young women. As a young girl, I attended the Mini Cheer Camps put on by the varsity cheerleaders. I remember looking up to these girls and wanting to grow up to be just like them

and cheerleaders. There is controversy whether cheerleading is a sport or not. Stereotypes seem to overwhelm the purpose of cheerleading. Stereotypes are hard to overcome once started. I have my own opinion and do not stand by these stereotypes. There are plenty of stereotypes and opinions about cheerleading and if cheerleaders athletes are not. Males were the founders of cheerleading in the 1890’s. One stereotype is that all male cheerleaders like the same sex. Not all males that cheer like the