Cheerleading for Dummies: Cheer Outfits

by Mak Joy web designer Imagine a sports field. Imagine all that adrenaline pumping. Maybe it’s a brutal game of football. Mostly you’ll be imagining guys decked out in their football gear clashing with each other. Nothing sexist about it, it’s all just about the conditioning. Maybe a coach shouting from the sidelines. A bench of reserves eagerly awaiting their chance. And right next to them, doing their routine, the cheerleaders, in their vibrant cheer outfits. Maybe they’ll have pom-poms. Maybe they’ll be doing an elaborate routine. And yes, again because of conditioning, they’ll almost certainly be females.

As soon as we start picturing these cheerleaders, we picture a bunch of attractive-looking females, dressed in sleeveless tops and skirts, doing elaborate gymnast-like routines. Their cheer dresses would be bright. Maybe yellow. Or a bright red. Or the most royal purple. So much to catch the attention of the spectators. To stand out. Just provide some relief from the rather brutal and altogether more violent game being played out on the actual field. Perhaps their cheer costume is to catch the attention of the players, themselves. Maybe provide some sort of incentive to them. Tap into primitive and primal needs of the body. The Greeks and Romans were allowed a free run with the females of conquered lands. Maybe cheer outfits are sexualized to tap into that very urge.

But cheer dresses need not always be sexualized so blatantly. In this day and age, with so many choices available, a cheerleading outfit can choose to go for something a lot more wholesome. After all, it’s the routine that matters, not how much skin the cheer outfit manages to show, right? Costumes based around slacks or leotards, though not the norm, are still available for consideration. Such costumes, by stripping away any traces of misogynistic sexualization, help emphasis the troupe’s moves and skill. Such conservative costumes, then, are definitely worth the gamble during cheerleading competitions.

These days, cheerleading isn’t the preserve of solely females, either. Some cheerleading teams also choose to include men into the fold. Though not so commonplace, it still remains a possibility. Decked in shorts and sleeveless shirts, men can fit right into a well-oiled and practiced squad. This further leveling of the field and stripping away of the male gaze is being viewed as a refreshing break by several feminist groups who have always cited problems with the male-gaze oriented, sexualized and revealing cheer dresses.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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