Would you allow your daughter to be a cheerleader

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Chana Miriam S

Tue, May 24 2016, 1:15 pm

I agree that cheerleading is a sport. I agree that it's athletic. I don't like the message that girls cheer and boys play. I like the idea of your daughter playing football. If needs must be, with boys cheering them. But honestly, cheerleading as s sport by itself, I like. No different Han gymnastics. As a sideline show, not so interested.

amother

Powderblue

Tue, May 24 2016, 1:18 pm

Personally I would not allow my daughter to be cheerleader and I would NOT allow my son to play football with these kids either.

PinkFridge

Tue, May 24 2016, 1:38 pm

3mitzvos wrote:

Oh c'mon, you cannot compare.

If you're looking at it from a frum perspective, then yes, cheerleading is not tznius... the outfits, makeup, boys involved, etc.

But, in the secular world nowadays (unfortunately), I think it's completely normal.

Yeah, I've been to parades with marching bands that would make your eyes shock

. And these are the good, focused kids, presumably. Some of those girls, in costumes and moves, weren't too far from pole dancing.

bluebird

Tue, May 24 2016, 2:07 pm

I definitely agree that teaching girls to cheer on boys is bad; I wouldn't support that. But, I think those of you that are comparing cheerleading to poledancing (seriously?) or saying it's not a sport are off the mark. It's not professional football/basketball eye candy.

Here's a random video of a high school cheering competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vpzifkoZHI

And here's one of a college competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFign23HjLc

And here are some girls in first grade. Smile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ovKtMVMTy0

Cheering is basically chreographed gymnastics and dancing.

Yeah, there's the chanting/cheering on the team aspect. And the outfits aren't tznius, but they are by not really sexualized unless it's the LA Lakers or something. The girls in the videos are doing a lot of physically-demanding gymnastics and dancing. They have to memorize and perform choreography which requires both physical and mental discipline. I think it's only not a sport because it's not an always-competitive activity, but that's the only reason.

So, on to the question: I would personally steer my daughter toward gymnastics, especially at this age. If she has an opportunity to cheer in an all-girls setting later and is still interested she will have an excellent foundation. As for the skirt, I don't see how a knee-length skirt will possibly work for anything but basics because it's just going to get tangled up in the legs when tumbling. Leggings under the standard skirt would be a lot better for tznius.

amother

Ginger

Tue, May 24 2016, 2:44 pm

I don't see how it's really any different from dance or gymnastics or ice skating at this age. If you would be comfortable with any of those sports/activities, I'm not seeing a real distinction. Costumes-wise and depending on the season, the cheer outfits may even provide more coverage.

Also, from my own experience (I did cheer in high school), it has virtually nothing to do actually with the sport it's attached to. It was very much not about "supporting the boys," but instead very focused on putting together and nailing routines. Some of which were very athletic and involved a lot of dancing and gymnastics. There were competitions. Lots of injuries at the high school level (I had one, thankfully not too bad), but with little kids I wouldn't worry about that, as others have said. A final note, even at the high school level (public school), it was really quite respectable (both the routines and the interactions). I am sure this varies by location and time, etc., but I don't think is fair to paint the entire sport (or activity, if you must) in such a negative light. IMO the cheer squads for professional sports teams are a whole different beast.

Volunteer

Tue, May 24 2016, 3:54 pm

What do you think about cheer teams that are not connected to any sports team at all, as in competitive cheer (yes, that's a thing)? It's not all that different from gymnastics or dance, because it's all girls.

PinkFridge

Tue, May 24 2016, 3:56 pm

Volunteer wrote:

Interesting. What's the point?

amother

Lavender

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:04 pm

WhatFor wrote:

I'd be most concerned about the fact that it would teach my daughter that the role of a woman is standing on the sidelines, cheering on a man. I'd sooner send her to proper dance classes/ice skating/gymnastics/ or a girl's football team, if they have one.
Of course I understand why your little girl would want to be a part of it, but I don't understand how, in 2016, "cheerleading" is still a thing.

And what were your daughters doing in shul on simchas torah?

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:05 pm

amother wrote:

And what were your daughters doing in shul on simchas torah?

I took mine to a shul where women dance and sing and kiss the Torah.

tigerwife

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:09 pm

There was a movie about cheer called Bring It On. IIRC, there were both boys and girls on the team and it focused on cheer itself as a competitive sport.

amother

Chocolate

Tue, May 24 2016, 6:28 pm

WhatFor wrote:

I came on here to say that I would allow it, it sounds adorable and fun and she's only seven.
Then I saw this post and I liked it so much I totally changed my mind Very Happy

amother

Cerulean

Tue, May 24 2016, 8:46 pm

I cannot believe people seriously consider cheerleading a sport. Yes, it's athletic, but a sport? That's a stretch.

OP, find her a class where she can do real gymnastics.

Hatemywig

Tue, May 24 2016, 8:59 pm

Never.

boysrus

Tue, May 24 2016, 9:05 pm

No. would not allow it.

3mitzvos

Wed, May 25 2016, 3:13 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Yeah, I've been to parades with marching bands that would make your eyes shock

. And these are the good, focused kids, presumably. Some of those girls, in costumes and moves, weren't too far from pole dancing.

Agreed. But pole dancing's purpose is related to something COMPLETELY different than cheerleading! Pole-dancing's purpose is to get attention from men for the sake of ....
Cheerleading's purpose is to cheer on sports teams and to bring spirit and support into the environment. Nothing wrong with that. If you want to talk about how not-tznius it is, fine. But-- You can't compare the two.

Wed, May 25 2016, 3:18 am

amother wrote:

I cannot believe people seriously consider cheerleading a sport. Yes, it's athletic, but a sport? That's a stretch.

OP, find her a class where she can do real gymnastics.

Are you not familiar with competitive cheer? It exists.

DrMom

Wed, May 25 2016, 3:50 am

cm wrote:

Are you not familiar with competitive cheer? It exists.

How is that relevant? The OP specifically said, "My DD who is 7 wants to cheerlead for a boys football team." This is not a "competitive cheer squad."

I also think that is is natural for a young child involved in a sport to look to professionals who practice that sport as role models, and cheerleaders for professional teams are the most visible examples. I would hardly call their dance moves or outfits appropriately inspiring for a frum girl.

Wed, May 25 2016, 4:48 am

DrMom wrote:

I was responding to a side point which evolved from the original post.

It seems to me to be more likely that a child involved in an entry-level activity would look to more advanced kids in the same activity for inspiration than to professionals, especially when the two are so drastically different. It may depend on whether or not the family/peer group follows pro sports (we don't, which may affect my perspective).

I think many of the responses on this thread have more to do with stereotypes or assumptions than with anything that actually occurs at a youth sports event. IME, cheerleaders are doing their own activity, not "just" supporting the players. I hold by my original response: if the routines are safe and not s*xy, it's fine. (I would say the same for dance, by the way, which is often inappropriate even at a young age). The OP has seen the cheerleaders in action, so she can determine that for herself.

Volunteer

Wed, May 25 2016, 10:06 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Interesting. What's the point?

Cheer has evolved into an art in itself.

Competitive cheer is like acrobatic dance (which is also another type of dance to consider as an alternative).

A beginners acro dance lesson Acro dance with tamra chace

and a performance Acro dance performace Chace dance school

MrsDash

Wed, May 25 2016, 10:12 am

I wouldn't disallow my child from taking cheerleading lessons. I would, however, encourage her to take something more practical like karate or gymnastics, which I believe focuses more on the student rather then a choreographed routine to please a crowd or sport team.

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