Fourteen years of my life have been spent on a cheerleading squad. As a child I cheered for a recreational football squad, in high school I cheered for our varsity football squad and multiple competition teams, and after graduation I cheered for a NAFL team. My high school did not recognize cheerleading as a sport until my senior year. Our squad attended every game, had a minimum of two-hour practices five times a week, and was even on the same weight room regimen as the football team. We competed with other squads in our district, region, and state; placing high in our district and regional divisions, and yet were only considered an “activity”. Gendered norms have socialized Americans to value sports traditionally dominated by males, and usually of an aggressive nature, over those dominated by females. For this reason, activities such as cheerleading and dance do not receive full recognition as sports.

In my fourteen years as a cheerleader I have never been involved with a squad that included males. Over 3.5 million individuals in the United States are currently cheerleaders. Ninety seven percent of these cheerleaders are female (Adams and Bettis, 2005). This statistic alone proves that the organization of cheerleading is clearly gendered. While cheerleading is currently dominated by female athletes, this was not always the norm. Cheerleading originally developed as a male sport. During the 1870s cheerleading began at Princeton University. Women did not become active in cheerleading until the 1920s (“History of Cheerleading,” n.d.) While I could not find any evidence to suggest why cheerleading shifted from a male orientation to a female orientation, I suggest that it could be a result of an increased popularity in highly aggressive male sports such as football. Cheerleading mirrored the gender norms of society. Cheerleaders remained in the supportive roles of males who participated on more popularized teams.

Today a number of squads have both male and female participants, though the male members are usually not required to have the same level of skill as females, or even participate in all activities such as dancing or tumbling. Many squads use their male members only as the “muscle” of the squad during stunting. For years in my competitive cheerleading division, those teams who had male squad members were not required to have males participate in the dance or cheer portion of competition routines. These members could simply step in during stunting. My senior year of high school, however, the competition guidelines changed, requiring all members, male and female, to participate in all cheers, dances, and jumps, as well as stunting.

The first male that I witnessed to enthusiastically participate in dance routines with his squad at the competitive level was ridiculed and mocked by spectators and even other cheerleaders. This male was performing at the same level of spirit and animation that his female counterparts would be praised for, but since he was male, his performance was deemed comical, or at the very least a novelty. At this time male cheerleaders had gained gradual acceptance as being the power behind highflying stunts and lifts within my district. Male cheerleaders were not known as being star dancers, or for entertaining the crowd with their animated facial expressions. The fact that males for some time were only used as muscle power during competitive cheerleading only further enhances gender expectations found in society for males to be strong, powerful, and in control.

Females and males involved in cheerleading are treated differently in other ways. Young girls are encouraged to become cheerleaders at young ages. I have never witnessed parents encouraging their young male children to become involved in the sport. This lack of male participation can be explained by the stigma attached to male cheerleaders. Males who choose to partake in the activity are subject to having their sexual orientation and masculinity questioned. Females too, are often giving labels such as

"prissy,” “ditzy,” and “easy.”

Females involved in cheerleading are also expected to live up to social gender expectations for women. Cheerleading uniforms almost always consist of short skirts and a body-hugging top, clothing considered to be feminine and sexualized. On my competition squad all cheerleaders were even required to wear makeup. Not only were we required to wear makeup, but each participant’s makeup had to be identical to all other members. This not only mirrors society’s expectations involving women appearing “feminine”, but also takes away the individuality of each cheerleader to the extreme.

Female cheerleaders are also faced with many body image issues that are factors of gender expectations in society. Cheerleaders are often pressured to loose weight to add ease in stunting, or maintain a slim appearance. My cheerleading squad used a strict weight lifting routine developed by our school’s athletic trainer. As previously mentioned, it was an identical program as the one designed for the football players. I often heard concern of my fellow squad members about the prospect of “bulking up” or appearing masculine. In Harrison and Lynch’s 2005 study on gender in athletics, they commented that female athletes often are reluctant to embrace their muscular bodies (Harrison and Lynch, 2005). Small feminine bodies are considered to be the cultural ideal. These ideals on femininity clash with the characteristics of aggression and competitiveness that help female athletes excel in sport (Harrison and Lynch, 2005). Cheerleading, though not recognized as such, is a competitive and aggressive sport. Cheerleaders, however, are taught not to embrace their competitive edge and aggression, and are instead encouraged to offer support to other competing squads under the guise of “sportsmanship.”

Since cheerleading continues to be a female dominated sport, there are always going to be issues concerning gender associated with the activity. Cheerleading is consistently failing to receive recognition as a sport, arguably due to society’s reluctance to embrace sports that are not deemed masculine. Males are not encouraged to become involved in cheerleading because of pressure placed on them by society to participate in such sports as football, hockey, and soccer. Females and males alike are subject to negative stereotypes and labels associated with the sport. These stereotypes frequently reflect societies’ gender roles. Finally, body image issues are often found in cheerleading, as women are encouraged to remain feminine and not embrace the muscular bodies which would provide the ability to jump higher, and provide more power for stunting. Until it is equally acceptable for males to enter cheerleading as it is for females, and male cheerleaders are expected to maintain the same level of skill and participation as their female counterparts there will be no gender equality within cheerleading.

Reference

Adams, Natalie and Pamela Bettis. (2003). Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood. Gender & Society. v17 i1 p73(19)
Harrison, Lisa A. and Amanda B. Lynch. (2005). Social Role Theory and the Perceived Gender Role Orientation of Athletes. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research. v52 i3-4 p227(10)
The History of Cheerleading. (Retrieved April 25th 2005.) Reprinted from Cheerleader Magazine. cheerleading.org.uk
Note: pictures taken from my personal collection