Cheerleading began in 1898 and was initially dominated by men; however, as men were drafted into the military during the 1940s , women began to take over the role. From that point on cheerleading became predominantly female. Over the years, the sport has evolved and grown significantly more intense, yet it is still burdened by outdated traditions and negative stereotypes.
Appearance plays a large role in cheerleading and influences many parts of the sport. Uniforms are designed to be revealing, focusing more on aesthetics than functionality or safety. The design of the uniforms dates back to when cheerleading focused on drawing attention and boosting morale. Today, the uniforms overshadow the athletic prowess and hard work cheerleading requires.
The hierarchical structure of cheerleading can be considered outdated as well. Many teams still adhere to a rigid system where seniority dictates roles and responsibilities, sometimes at the expense of talent or skill. This stifles the growth of younger cheerleaders whose potential to excel could be suppressed.
The media has portrayed cheerleaders as superficial or lacking intelligence, which created a harmful stereotype. Many films reduce cheerleaders to mere eye candy or sidekicks to male athletes. Such views devalue the hard work and seriousness of the sport and contribute to a culture of disrespect and trivialization.
The movie “Bring It On” depicts cheerleaders as mean, simple-minded girls who care solely about their appearance, boys and popularity. “Please stop teaching her these big words before she chokes on one,” said LaFred, cheerleader from Bring It On.
Oftentimes students base their viewpoints on cheerleaders from these demeaning movies. “When I think of a cheerleader I picture the girls from the movies who are the ‘it girls’. I envision a group of three girls who have a ‘leader’ who is the captain of the cheer team. The cheerleaders in the movies are always mean girls so I guess I would associate that with cheerleaders. However, when I think of PV cheerleaders I envision nice girls who are very supportive of their teammates,” said senior Dana Ballenger.
Another tradition that distracts from the purpose of cheerleading is buying football players candy and making them locker signs. Many cheer teams partake in this tradition where they make posters and purchase goodies for football players each Friday before a game. Spending countless hours making posters for male athletes and receiving nothing in return can be extremely frustrating.
Although celebrating and encouraging the football players can be fun in small increments, many cheerleaders resent the tradition. “Every week we are expected to make locker signs which can be very time consuming and especially frustrating when the players don’t appreciate them and make mean comments towards us. This is quite annoying considering we have to buy them candy and other snacks with our own money,” said cheerleader Briellah Cox.
Cheerleading has evolved from simple chants to complex stunting and tumbling. To keep up with the progressing sport, it is critical for cheerleading traditions to modernize. Rather than providing unreciprocated support to male athletes, cheerleaders should spend their time supporting their teammates and fellow female athletes. This would not only create better athletes, but it would also eliminate the stereotypical “mean girl” persona.
