Thursday, January 31, 2019
LA Rams Cheerleading Squad to Feature Men at the Super Bowl
jezebel.com: For the first time in the history of the Super Bowl, men will be not only be destroying each other’s bodies on the field in order to make their billionaire owners even more wealthy, but dancing as part of one team’s (poorly compensated) cheerleading squad.
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I think this article brings up some really good points about what actually counts as gender equality. I think if the heads of this cheerleading team are going to have two different outfit options they need to allow the girls to wear the slacks if they want and to allow the men to wear the shorts if they want to. Although the team is being inclusive for allowing male cheerleaders on their team they are still doing it in such a way that continues to put the female cheerleaders in small “sexy” costumes while keeping the men in outfits that show off their athleticism. The football industry is still, regardless of the new addition of male cheerleaders, painting the picture that women look good and men are athletic, this is not gender equality. Also, I have to say that I know nothing about football really but I was very surprised to learn that there have never been male cheerleaders in the NFL before.
I wish this decision had been made in a much more inclusive and equal way. It seems so backhanded to put male cheerleaders onto the Ram’s squad, claim progressiveness, and then take away part of their job simply because of they are the only men participating in what the NFL views as a traditionally feminine part of football. They obviously are good at what they do, so why are they being prevented from doing it? The author puts it plainly: give them their pompoms and let them dance to Beyonce. The NFL is too worried about appealing to the male gaze to stop sexualizing their female cheerleaders and to allow their male ones to perform their job the same way as everyone else. Annika’s point in her comment about the differences in even their uniforms not representing gender equality is completely true, and so surface level that it is honestly surprising the NFL doesn’t see the hypocrisy behind it.
There were a few guys on my school’s cheerleading team in high school, and they never gave them pom poms either. I never understood that. What do poms poms have to do with gender? They are just a fun and festive thing to wave around while dancing. I dunno, if I joined I cheerleading team I’d want some pom poms. Honestly, probably the main reason I’d do it is for the pom poms. Also, while I totally respect that they might not have wanted to wear the skirts or crop tops, it should be an option for them to wear the same uniforms. Additionally, I remember the boys on my high school’s cheer team had comparatively boring uniforms to the girls. Even if it is going to be more “masculine” that doesn’t mean it has to be solid black. But of course, they’d never put men in uniforms as sexualized as the ones the women wear. Because that would be considered inappropriate and make people uncomfortable. That is a double standard that exists in far more than just cheerleading, and is something we as a society need to work on.
I guess. Whenever I went to a college football game there were always male cheerleaders as well and neither the girls or the guys wore objectifying clothing so it was all equal. I also never think of NFL cheerleaders as such I think of them more like Hooters-the dance team. I always found them more irritating than entertaining because they are, as if they collected all the worst contestants from the Bachelor and grouped them into an orgy of hair extensions and injections, the Rockette rejects. Do they even fulfill the job title? Have they ever actually improved the team spirit, or have they just improved male ogling? I am glad the Bears do not have cheerleaders. I think the athleticism and acrobatics of collegiate cheerleading is wear it should end with football sidelines. I am a NFL purist as in its all about the game. But yeah I guess it’s cool that guys are cheerleading, I guess.
I think most of what needs to be said has been said by the commenters above me. This is certainly a step towards progress, and I hope that more teams (and more men) will follow suit. That said, it raises some questions. It may be that the men that joined are perfectly comfortable in the roles and outfits they’ve now been given. It doesn’t change the fact that cheerleading outfits are extremely sexualized and objectifying. And by creating new roles for the men rather than integrating them into the existing ones, they haven’t *really* changed anything or opened very many doors. It is still a step though. It’s hard to start a conversation about what roles men should play in cheerleading when there aren’t any in the first place. My hope is that this is the start of a wider change that allows more men to join cheer squads, and then begins to ask what might change to make things more equal and fair for both the men and the women. Besides, who knows? Maybe with men on the team they’ll have to start paying cheerleaders living wages.
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