As we all know, I am not a fan of cheerleading. I am a fan of McKenna, however, so when she asked me to sign her up for Pop Warner cheerleading, I obliged.
PROBLEM 1: Cheer: "We're gonna' pick up the pace, so put your foot on the gas, cause we're gonna' kick you in the _____." (rhymes with gas).
Yes, I have a problem with teaching that to 6-year olds, and yes, I said something to the commisioner of the Pop Warner league. Her response: "Oh, the Rockets are doing that? They're not supposed to do it this year. It's for next year." Right, teaching that to 7-year olds is much better...
PROBLEM 2: One of the football coaches is a complete asshole. He yells in the kids' faces at point blank range. Oh, did I mention that the kids are 6 years old? Recently, he was yelling at his son for not paying attention to what he was saying. He then took a swing at the boy as if to kick him, but the kid ran away (Dad ran a few steps after him, but realized it probably wasn't a good idea to do in public). You should know that I'm not sitting by and doing nothing about it. I just need to calm down before I talk to the president of league. As long as Pop Warner accepts the behaviors of that man, they will never get a dime out of me and I will make sure everyone I talk to knows what type of organization Washington Rock Pop Warner is.
PROBLEM 3: McKenna got her cheerleading pics taken. We decided to order just her picture with her on the cover of a magazine (a pretend magazine). The article titles were "Interview with McKenna Moore", "Name Her Moves", "Find Out How She Does It" and "#1 Squad in the State". Very cute. I then read the last title: "Check Out Page 41! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there that don't see this as a problem (my guess is that you're a man...). This, however, is a blatant sexualization of girls. Why not something like, "Learn Her Workout Habits" or "Check Out Her Reading List"? I know, some of you are thinking what a prude I've become and have possibly laughed out loud when reading the previous sentence. My question to you would be why is it funny to you? Why do you think I might be unrealistic? Just because "it's everywhere" doesn't mean we have to just stand by and let it be. I called the photography studio and asked for that particular headline to be removed. "Why? What does it say?" When I informed them of their own product and what was written on the magazine cover, the response was, "Really? That's odd? It is obviously referring to her.* Can we get you something else?"
This desensitization to how we treat young girls angers me to no end!!! After a brief verbal kick in the ass to the WOMAN on the other end of the phone, she finally said, "You know, you're right. Maybe we should order a new template." I doubt that will happen.
I think I'm going to start a campaign to call for an end to this type of marketing. Maybe there's already an organization out there. I'll have to check into it and post it on the site. Meanwhile, I look forward to receiving a free 8x10 of McKenna without her being referred to as "Hot! Hot! Hot!"
* Rob, I told you so ;-)
Showing posts with label cheerleading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheerleading. Show all posts
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Confessions of a Cheerless Mom
McKenna has begun cheerleading this week and I hope she hates it. I highly doubt that will happen since she is naturally loud and energetic, but it’s a wish.
Oh...in case you were concerned, this entry is not about post-partum depression.
I know…I’m a terrible mom. It’s not that I want her to be miserable. I just dislike almost everything that cheerleading stands for. Why does she have to be one of the robots, yes robots, which have to support the boys on the field? Don’t we get enough messages that women are not free to find joy from within themselves, but that joy comes from the men in their lives? As a middle-school teacher, I see evidence of that everyday. Girls will say and do blatantly mean things to each other and to their peers to create a social hierarchy that is centered upon how boys perceive them. The more a girl can do to have boys notice her, the more popular she is amongst the girls. If someone else comes along, a threat is felt and the nastiness begins.
Cheerleading, in my mind, is a (semi-)subtle way of sending that message yet again. “Cheer those boys on girls! It’s very important that we do our best to support those boys out there on the field.” These girls are trained from a very early age to fit a certain mold. “Smile!” “Keep your arms straight!” “Jazz hands!” Individuality is simply out of the question. “Hair must be decided upon by the coaches and team moms. All girls must then wear their hair in the agreed upon fashion (ex: braids, ponytails, etc).” While some may argue that it’s creating a sense of team work, I would argue that it creates a sense of communism. With the 2008 Olympics beginning this week in China, I’ve realized that it’s not that far of a stretch. Yes, I believe cheerleading is a “sport” and I understand the trust that gets developed between the team, but I’ve also seen how it can turn girls against each other. Case in point…this year, a bunch of my students were on the Pop-Warner cheerleading team which just so happen to place first at the national competition at Disney World. Great for them…no easy accomplishment. However, a couple of students confessed to me how they were outcast from the team because they refused to drink and have sex like the rest of “the team” was doing (yes, I’m talking 13-year olds). While I know the argument can be made that this can happen with any sports team, I would beg to differ. As a longtime coach of girls’ basketball, my husband has found that his girls are and have always been, very accepting of the individuality that each player brings to the team on every level. Personality differences, sexual orientation differences, academic differences, etc. It makes sense, considering that basketball is a team sport that thrives on the individual talents of each player. In cheerleading, that’s just not so. The more you are just like everyone else, the better you are. It’s a pack mentality that spills over into the personal lives of these girls.
Why did I sign her up for it then? Well, Rob and I have always encouraged McKenna to have a “polite bite” of everything and that includes activities. She’s tried soccer, swimming, T-ball, dance, gymnastics, and Girl Scouts, all of which she has enjoyed, but has not latched onto. I guess cheerleading is a logical step for an American girl and I’m hoping it will be another stepping stone on the way to something that clearly demonstrates that a girl can do and be whatever she wants and that her sense of self comes from herself, not from what boys say, think or do.
Until then, I will support her enjoyment of cheerleading. I’ll continue to show enthusiasm as she shares with me what new stretches or routines she has learned. But I will do it while reminding her that she brings something unique to the team, that her individual sense of self, her confidence, her humor, her ability to make respectful and responsible decisions is what makes her such an awesome cheerleader, an awesome team player and one amazing little girl.
Oh...in case you were concerned, this entry is not about post-partum depression.
I know…I’m a terrible mom. It’s not that I want her to be miserable. I just dislike almost everything that cheerleading stands for. Why does she have to be one of the robots, yes robots, which have to support the boys on the field? Don’t we get enough messages that women are not free to find joy from within themselves, but that joy comes from the men in their lives? As a middle-school teacher, I see evidence of that everyday. Girls will say and do blatantly mean things to each other and to their peers to create a social hierarchy that is centered upon how boys perceive them. The more a girl can do to have boys notice her, the more popular she is amongst the girls. If someone else comes along, a threat is felt and the nastiness begins.
Cheerleading, in my mind, is a (semi-)subtle way of sending that message yet again. “Cheer those boys on girls! It’s very important that we do our best to support those boys out there on the field.” These girls are trained from a very early age to fit a certain mold. “Smile!” “Keep your arms straight!” “Jazz hands!” Individuality is simply out of the question. “Hair must be decided upon by the coaches and team moms. All girls must then wear their hair in the agreed upon fashion (ex: braids, ponytails, etc).” While some may argue that it’s creating a sense of team work, I would argue that it creates a sense of communism. With the 2008 Olympics beginning this week in China, I’ve realized that it’s not that far of a stretch. Yes, I believe cheerleading is a “sport” and I understand the trust that gets developed between the team, but I’ve also seen how it can turn girls against each other. Case in point…this year, a bunch of my students were on the Pop-Warner cheerleading team which just so happen to place first at the national competition at Disney World. Great for them…no easy accomplishment. However, a couple of students confessed to me how they were outcast from the team because they refused to drink and have sex like the rest of “the team” was doing (yes, I’m talking 13-year olds). While I know the argument can be made that this can happen with any sports team, I would beg to differ. As a longtime coach of girls’ basketball, my husband has found that his girls are and have always been, very accepting of the individuality that each player brings to the team on every level. Personality differences, sexual orientation differences, academic differences, etc. It makes sense, considering that basketball is a team sport that thrives on the individual talents of each player. In cheerleading, that’s just not so. The more you are just like everyone else, the better you are. It’s a pack mentality that spills over into the personal lives of these girls.
Why did I sign her up for it then? Well, Rob and I have always encouraged McKenna to have a “polite bite” of everything and that includes activities. She’s tried soccer, swimming, T-ball, dance, gymnastics, and Girl Scouts, all of which she has enjoyed, but has not latched onto. I guess cheerleading is a logical step for an American girl and I’m hoping it will be another stepping stone on the way to something that clearly demonstrates that a girl can do and be whatever she wants and that her sense of self comes from herself, not from what boys say, think or do.
Until then, I will support her enjoyment of cheerleading. I’ll continue to show enthusiasm as she shares with me what new stretches or routines she has learned. But I will do it while reminding her that she brings something unique to the team, that her individual sense of self, her confidence, her humor, her ability to make respectful and responsible decisions is what makes her such an awesome cheerleader, an awesome team player and one amazing little girl.
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