I should state for the record that I think cheer is ridiculous and sexist in general. However, I can understand that there is a certain look that the school wants for its cheer squad. I'm sure they like their male cheer leaders to be tall, muscular, clean shaven, no earrings and visible tattoos, short cropped hair and so on.

And what's wrong with pony tails?

And on a serious note, I have never condoned cheer leading at any point in my life...even when I was a kid. Rather then midriffs, the men are probably supposed to have sleeveless spandex shirts with big muscular arms I'm guessing.

Why must one be forced to wear lipstick and glue crap to their eyes and could dislodge during tumbling? Heck, I make my own lip balm, and have almost given up on lipstick all together. It dries you out. Blargh.


Some things are totally acceptable to request. Black sportswear of a certain type especially. I get that if lifting is involved. Last thing they want is someone getting their hand caught in a t-shirt and injured. Hair not so much, but I guess it's a style thing. Ugh. Whatever.

Simplify and take out the ridiculousness.

Yes, they had stringent dress and behavior codes.

Flattering eye shadow, false lashes and girl about town lipstick.

My daughter is a figure skater and she is required to wear a certain costume, makeup and a specified hairstyle while competing and performing.

Wrestling (men or women) doesn't require these things. Maybe people who are offended at this should focus on the school wrestling team instead. It might lower their blood pressure.

I guess spelling isn't a requirement for being a cheergirl:

"Gimme a 'T', gimme an 'E', gimme an 'E', gimme an 'M.' What's that spell? I dont' know!"

My daughter has been in competitive cheer for 5 years. Its actually more tumbling and gymnastics than cheer. They don't even cheer. The look they require is part of their costume like cirque du soleil.
I do sometimes take offense at the constant jabs at her because she happens to like this sport. Yes it is a sport go watch them perform stunts, flips and sometime.

I can't even fathom how one can bring their body to do that crazy stuff. I can barely walk without tripping over my stupid feet.

How much time does your daughter put into training? Does she do the same sort of stuff as in that first video?

with petty?

Some of these girls are so flexible they can touch their butt to their back. Makes me hurt just watching them!

She trains 3 hours on Tuesdays and Sundays year round and then extra practices toward competition. She is in awesome shape!
I wish I was in that good of shape ever in my life.
She didnt need tumbling lessons because our neighbor just happens to be a gymnast and our kids played together and they learned hand springs etc.
Yes she does that exact stuff. They are at Summit in Orlando competing this weekend. Worlds and Summit are like the Super bowls of cheer.
cheers!

Of course, the woman pulling up her top at :09 was a hoot...

a cutie pie for the football players. That's how I was at first when she asked me if she could try out.
My mind was changed quickly when I went and watched a showcase. It was fantastic!

i.e., the most dangerous sport of them all.

"Do's and don'ts", Associated Press will back you up. Don't listen to pop grammarians. Oh, wait ... That makes me one!
https://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wc/dos-and-donts-or-dos-and-donts/

Washington State University

nt

I went to Wazzu on the 5 year plan and believe me, there was all sorts of bullshit going on

in the SEC.

it's the main thing the women in my life complain about when I watch sports. IDGAF about it, I don't even see it anymore. I just want to watch the game and think about concussions. In fact I've already had to hear about this poster from my stepdaughter.

Any men willing to raise their hand and argue for the importance of cheerleading to football and basketball?

practicing, especially as they were working up for tryouts, I was always willing to visit their homes to help, I just always liked helping people.

Not all cheeerleading is on the side of a football game. Some of it is competitions that takes increadible skill.

I also dont think cheerleading takes away from the game, so why stop people who want to do it.

I imagine because it's a sexist remnant of a time before Title 9?

There are men and women who cheer. If they don't want to do it, then don't signup to be a cheerleader. But there are thousands who do it because they enjoy it, and if they are happy, who am I to stop them.

did you read my post that you are replying to?

I'm speculating on why the women in my life, all feminists, don't like this graphic. I didn't say no one should be ALLOWED to do it, rather that it is not integral to the sports of football or basketball where it is seen by the majority of the public.

you haven't made the case that it is.

people can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

and since there are many Allstar gym kids trying our for school cheer for the first time, they might not realize the Uber bronzed w/ glitter eyelids look is out of step. Half up-half down hairstyle is standard in collegiate cheer. It looks nice and all, but as a cheer coach I can tell you it is less safe than a pony. Putting all the cheerleaders in a single color helps to evaluate them as they try out in groups. You aren't distracted by by pops of color and teensy booty shorts as they execute their routines. (But yes, I believe there are still programs that probably evaluate personal appearance and bodies to some degree, so I have somewhat mixed feelings on this. I am also adamantly against weight checks, but I hear they still do them sometimes.)

Here in Maine, tho, we aren't doing weight checks to the best of my knowledge.

They're used to recruit the best high school players. Also, they make the alumi associations proud because they go on to be highly paid pharmaceutical reps.

Sad, but true.

No alerts will be made from me, I will just retort. It is true cheerleaders are put on display (the skimpy uniforms are a simple example). But I disagree with this generalization you made. I begrudgingly drove my younger sister to cheerleading practice, gymnastics gyms, football games, etc for 4 years. When I finally attended a game and watched her do flips, get thrown 15 feet in the air while spinning and stick the landing, I realized it is a sport. She graduated with a degree in business, she does not work as a pharma rep. She has a nice life which any big brother would be proud of. Hate on the school if you want, but don't belittle/hate the girls.

Here's the article referenced:

http://college.usatoday.com/2016/04/28/cheerleader-tryout-poster-offers-appearance-advice-school-pressured-to-pull/

n/t

prostitute in attire and make-up, wear that college-girl prostitute look? I could have saved them a lot of ink.
I'd like to see the poster for the guys trying out for Washington's football and basketball teams . . . In the interest of gender equality.

Really, I think we lose a little focus. I do think a lot of things in the list are bullshit. Looks like sorority crap to me. False eyelashes? FFS!

But two important notes. They need clothing that clings/doesn't get in the way when they are stunting. They run a lot of injury risk on a good day, without adding someone's hand getting tangled in a loose shirt. Your stunting partner is someone you have to practice hours with to build that trust. My friend's daughter ended up with major back surgery over a cheer accident, (she used to be a gymnast as well). Fortunately she went on to cheer and compete in college after taking a year off to recover. But shit happens.

I played Vball for years, and in my day, we had one peice and two peice with rider/cheer shorts. Much like underwear. Many practiced in sports bras, I opted for fitted tanks. But look at what men wear for wrestling. Look at swimming. Why dig at what girls wear for cheer. I'm not jumping on slut shaming. They are far more athletic than many give them credit for. What passes me off is the superficial crap. Lipstick, eyelashes - who the fuck cares? That doesn't impact your sport.

wear makeup, heels, short skirts and pushup bras to work? While shopping?

Like it or not, there's this general thing about women looking good, and looking good also seems to be a requirement for cheer. Not quite as much as it's a requirement for beauty pageants, but maybe just a little more than for female newscasters.

With the almost infinite amount of "looks" out there, it seems reasonable to set a few standards for the look for this job.

How about those that don't want to do cheer...just not apply.

I was a college mascot in the '70s...we only had 5 female and 4 males, doing all sports for the whole year (my grades sucked that year)...all dressed very conservative as compared to these days.

But the general amount of gymnastics and physicality required these days would have eliminated our whole squad.

If those that don't want the squads of today to appear as they do, then change the system and become someone with enough power to do it.

And I doubt there will be any shortage of women and men that will be trying out.

...devil's advocate.

I think pony tails are attractive, and it also helps manage long hair when you are doing athletic things like back flips... you know, things cheerleaders would do at a tryout. F these people.

Us a sports bra and mid rise shorts, ie belly button showing. They say high waisted shorts and tops covering the midriff are specific "don'ts". WTF?

And short haired people? Screwn.

... to be the same race. Is that normal?

... "natural" tan or spray tan

It doesn't cover much of spectrum ethnically.

Honestly, I think you're trying to find offense where there isn't any.

real or fake

Dangerous sports. You can see why.

Also, some cheerleaders just were making a huge fuss about the low pay. I think they were making $10 an hour. I think those were for professional teams.

I always thought the cheerleaders for teams seemed really sexist. All those skimpy outfits and boobs hanging out. But the kind of cheerleaders that is really gymnastics is pretty awesome.

The manufacturer calls it a "bright blue fuchsia." IOW, it's a pink you can see from the upper deck.

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/13854/310/Products/Makeup/Lips/Lipstick/Lipstick#/shade/Girl_About_Town

It seems the Huskies cheerleaders are trying to look like the Seahawks cheerleaders, who also use it.

your desired goal is this:

not that surprising.

To be completely flat-chested. No sexist comment here, I just thought it was rather amazing (coincidental?) that virtually every the women had zero bust. I guess that makes it easier to do the catching and tumbling stuff. I just wonder if it was an unwritten requirement.

with your girls flopping.

And if you're an athlete on par with competitive cheerleaders which involves tumbling and gymnastics you're most likely to be thin.

It's in the video.

and the no jewelry, body art= neutral and not distracting.

The attire… looks like what many, many women wear to the gym. Should they try out in burkas?

the only two things that had me ? is false eyelashes and ponytails.

When you are flipping in the air, having your hair tied back sounds like a good idea.

It's classy, stylish and acheivable. I approve this message.

Clay Thompson is the person whose Facebook page is quoted. He is white as, it seems, are all of the people who commented on his Facebook post, expressing agreement with this sentiment.

And the person on Twitter quoted in the article as saying that this ad is what is wrong with America is also a white guy.

... to the point where they have to go looking for something offensive.

not just the emphasis on appearance, which seems wrong in itself, but on a very particular type of appearance.
False eyelashes?
And you can't be pretty in a goth way?
And what if you're black and your hair is frizzy?
And how much money are you supposed to spend buying exactly the right clothes – for a try out (i.e., your investment might be completely wasted)!

The only good I can say about it is, at least they're up front about their criteria!

But I would not want to send my child (of any "race," gender, etc.) to a school that condoned such practices.