A Question for Americans

[~RoadToTrista~]

Being a cheerleader sounds boring, I'd rather play soccer.

[MeghanAndrews]

how badly did you want to be a cheerleader?   Were you on the football team, but sighed and wished to be a cheerleader waving those pom-poms around and chanting 'goooooo TEAM!'

Ummmm, not too, too bad. I did have a little bit of envy about it but I made peace with the life I had kinda. I played lacrosse (which made it funny when someone mentioned they only had a girls lax team) and we had our own cheerleaders, but I didn't really spend my time wishing I was one of them. My problem was more I DIDN'T want to feel like I did, not that I wanted to be a cheerleader, if that makes sense.

[Lily]

If I had been born a woman, I might have gotten into soccer in high school.

Maybe.

[Felix]

Yes, I would have played football.

I looove playing sports.  Wild, fast, physical, rough and tumble, down in the mud, people getting hurt, aahhhh perfect.  I have problems with teammates though.  If you're only together to play the game, you don't talk about anything other than the game (if anything), you don't have to put up with each other longer than the game goes on, or pretend that any of you have lives beyond the game.... don't even have to learn each other's names... then we're good.  But like as not I would have hated my football teammates.  High school footballers have a tendency toward being jackasses.

Me too on all of this.

[bojangles]

FTMs, Were you a cheerleader?   Did you sigh and think why can't I be playing football instead of wearing these goofy outfits?

Very loud no to being a cheerleader. Had crushes on them, though. Still do. 

Yes to part two. Loved playing football. Wanted to be on the school team. Played girl team sports, but always felt out of place.

[Keri Allison]

I never wanted to be a cheerleader lols Just not my thing. My school actually never had cheerleaders so I didnt have anything to be envious about.

I was actually never really into sports, more like music lols. Rock & Roll Ain't Noise Pollution!

- Keri

X8^

[V M]

Well it is actually two questions.   First to mtf's how badly did you want to be a cheerleader?   Were you on the football team, but sighed and wished to be a cheerleader waving those pom-poms around and chanting 'goooooo TEAM!'   Thank goodness we don't have cheerleaders over here.   My dysphoria would have been off-the scale!

FTMs, Were you a cheerleader?   Did you sigh and think why can't I be playing football instead of wearing these goofy outfits?

Are you asking all Americans on both of the American continents?

I was playing music during high school and wasn't interested in being on the team or a cheerleader... But definitely I would rather have a cheerleader as apposed to jeer leader

[Julian]

I'm a genderless person who was a cheerleader, in 4th through 6th grades. My high school didn't have cheerleaders. I spent high school too busy with music and theatre to have any interest in athletics. I never really thought much about cheerleading as a gendered activity, especially at that age. It was just something fun to do.

[eshaver]

As for sports , heck any sport , I wanted to just be a grown woman. Sports never interested me . I wasn't well liked in school, I spent my time learning how to be an artist and I taught myself everything I could in the Graphic Arts processes , ( Printing ). I was into antique cars also. today,I still posses the knowlege to do articles for magazines and to do exibits for shows .................. ellen

[mynhii]

Correct me if I'm wrong.
It seems like American people are very into sport regardless of gender. A student from my home country said that even American females could outrun him in a warm-up exercise.

Personally, I can see that American people look vital inside out. Even though they may not be in shape, they are still fit. During the time I was volunteering in an animal shelter, it took me more time and effort to hold a dog still while my mentor, a white American woman who was older and shorter than I, was able to do it without difficulty.

This is the clip about the topic that the student I mention says. If you understand Vietnamese, you will the understand the clip.

http://ngoisao.net/tin-tuc/24h/2011/12/sau-sex-du-hoc-sinh-my-noi-ve-the-thao-184542/

[Rebekah with a K-A-H]

Cheerleading is very demanding physically.   It requires strength, stamina, flexibility and suppleness.   It is a form of sexism to classify them as bimbos.    I was talking about this with my sister today and she said that she would have loved to try cheerleading.


It wouldn't surprise me if there were cheerleaders here now.   We have adopted the Prom with its stretch limousine, and the concept of 'sweet 16'.

Don't see anyone callin' them bimbos.

Either way, that's not what the inherent sexism of cheerleading's about.  It's the fact that, with little exception, the cheerleaders (almost exclusively women) cheer for almost exclusively male events (like the football and basketball games), and are often put into objectifying outfits and positions.  Sure, you have to be a good athlete to be a cheerleader, but you're also subscribing to a whole host of sexist notions.

[V M]

A friend of mine was a male cheerleader during his college days    I asked him if he felt awkward about about it? He said hecks no, he got to hang out with beautiful, energetic ladies for several hours nearly every day and that's how he met his wife 

Correct me if I'm wrong.
It seems like American people are very into sport regardless of gender. A student from my home country said that even American females could outrun him in a warm-up exercise.

Personally, I can see that American people look vital inside out. Even though they may not be in shape, they are still fit. During the time I was volunteering in an animal shelter, it took me more time and effort to hold a dog still while my mentor, a white American woman who was older and shorter than I, was able to do it without difficulty.

This is the clip about the topic that the student I mention says. If you understand Vietnamese, you will the understand the clip.

http://ngoisao.net/tin-tuc/24h/2011/12/sau-sex-du-hoc-sinh-my-noi-ve-the-thao-184542/

LOL... There may well be some folks who talk about sports after having sex    But for some reason I doubt it would be the most popular after sex talk for the majority of the populous

I could just imagine the conversation...

Him - Oh, you were great honey

Her - So were you dear... How's 'bout them NY Yankees huh!?! Yeah! let's break down today's game!!!

[JenJen2011]

Well it is actually two questions.   First to mtf's how badly did you want to be a cheerleader?   Were you on the football team, but sighed and wished to be a cheerleader waving those pom-poms around and chanting 'goooooo TEAM!'   Thank goodness we don't have cheerleaders over here.   My dysphoria would have been off-the scale!

I didn't want to be a cheerleader. Who the hells wants to yell out letters like a psycho and move around like a robot? LOL. I did, however, join the pom poms dance team. We actually DANCED at every football game, and did no cheering. I was the first and only "boy" on the team at my high school. It was sooo much fun and I loved every minute of it.

[tekla]

Your right about American girls and sport.  Lots of them do it, physical fitness is held in high esteem, and in most places people don't look down on girls doing things that involve an aggressive and competitive nature.

[Jamie D]

No.

I find cheerleading to be one of the most horrifically sexist and misogynist relics of this country's school systems.

Where ever I went to school (high schools and colleges), there were both male and female cheerleaders.  The girls did not always wear skirts (sometimes shorts or trousers), but the boys always wore pants!

[cindianna_jones]

I tried out to be a boy cheerleader. My backflips were off... as in I could only do one out of every two or three.  I did run long distance track.  I was never interested in football. I loved basketball but I was definitely not basketball material.

I din't have an intense desire to be a female cheerleader though.  I could look at any girl and sink into a new level of depression and fantasy.  Since I "grew" up, I've long thought that pushing young girls into cheerleading is a travesty. Wouldn't it be great if girls could have real sports instead of cowing to the boys?

Cindi

[tekla]

Ummm, since Title IX there are exactly as many female scholarship jocks in college as there are male ones.  I'll bet there are almost as many girl's soccer leagues as boy's baseball leagues.  American girls kick ass at the Olympics.

Anyway my school had both male and female.  The males were either that big class-clown guy who everyone liked, and/or, the two super rowdy guys from the Football/Basketball team who were not playing in the opposite sport.  My senior year it was the class clown (oddly enough, not me) and the guy who was the All-League linebacker.  And most of the female cheerleaders did either swimming, volleyball (in California volleyball is considered a real sport) basketball or softball.

[Jamie D]

Ummm, since Title IX there are exactly as many female scholarship jocks in college as there are male ones.  I'll bet there are almost as many girl's soccer leagues as boy's baseball leagues.  American girls kick ass at the Olympics.

Anyway my school had both male and female.  The males were either that big class-clown guy who everyone liked, and/or, the two super rowdy guys from the Football/Basketball team who were not playing in the opposite sport.  My senior year it was the class clown (oddly enough, not me) and the guy who was the All-League linebacker.  And most of the female cheerleaders did either swimming, volleyball (in California volleyball is considered a real sport) basketball or softball.

I'll catch women's beach volleyball on TV and wonder, "Why can't I look like that?"

[ngkhmynh]

Your right about American girls and sport.  Lots of them do it, physical fitness is held in high esteem, and in most places people don't look down on girls doing things that involve an aggressive and competitive nature.

I think so too.

[Tristan]

i did football to make my dad happy for the spring and then went right into cheer after. it took a while for them to figure it out