Rah Rah Rah

Since I was eight years old, holding pom-poms and shouting chants was my life. It started with my friends and me cheering for the local pee-wee squads, then in middle school, and then into high school. Being in a small town was an advantage because we all went to the same schools and stayed on the same squads. Afternoons of practice, game nights, and competitions were what we looked forward to. Spending hours together every day drew us closer, and my squads became more like my family. Cheerleading gave me the best experiences of my life. But it came with a price.

In my first years of cheerleading, name calling and labeling were never an issue. Everyone was there to have fun, whether you were a cheerleader or a football player. I was oblivious to the awaiting mockery and insults of my peers. Middle school was my wake-up call. The whole school was gathered in the small, compact gym for our annual pep rally. I was so excited my whole body was shaking. All eyes were on us as the squad ran into formation for our dance. We had been working on the routine for months; I practiced every day after actual practice to perfect my motions. This was it! The entire school and faculty watched silently as we began the opening dance. I fixated my eyes on familiar faces to ease my nerves. Ten seconds later I heard snickers echoing off the gym walls. Trying to stay focused I kept going but couldn’t ignore the horrible words drowning out the music.

“Stupid sluts! You can’t dance!”

My stomach dropped as I forced my body to keep going with the dance, cheers, and stunts. All of our faces looked like ripe tomatoes. Somehow we managed to get through the routine with strained smiles. As we ran off the floor my head began to hurt from the loud “Boo” that filled the gym. They hated us. I was overwhelmed with confusion; why was our own school against us? I had never heard degrading names towards cheerleaders before. I was humiliated and looked down upon for doing what I love. From that moment on, I had to defend the type of person I am simply because I was a cheerleader.

High school was even worse. People no longer labeled verbally; they demeaned me through interactions. One of my guy friends introduced me to a friend of his from another school. He came to the next home football game and showed interest in me. I excitedly talked with him after the game, and we ended up hanging out. After realizing what he his objective was, I quickly went home. I called my friend, and he could tell how upset I was.

“He wanted to hang out with you because he knew you were a cheerleader. I don’t know why this bothers you so much,” he calmly replied. I wasn’t aware that because I was a cheerleader, I was easy.

Guys loved us because we wore short skirts and danced around. Girls hated us because we were sex objects. Everyone assumed we were dumb, slutty, and useless. This could be said for any group of people. In reality, cheerleading had the strictest rules for GPA minimum and conduct in and out of school, as well as the most obligations. We were expected to be role models for our school and community, yet others treated us as if we were stupid, empty girls.

This made high school complicated for me. I had many friends; however there were also many others who gave me glares of disgust when wearing my uniform. The people who got to know me changed their judgment and expressed this to me. The first football game of my junior year, I came to algebra class dressed in uniform. I talked to my friend (who was a quiet, shy girl) about the past weekend. She kept looking me up and down; her eyes bigger than I had ever seen.

“Oh wow, I didn’t know you were a cheerleader,” she said in amazement.

“Yeah, I’ve been cheering for years”

“But you’re really cool. And smart. I can’t believe you’re a cheerleader!” She looked as if she had seen a ghost.

I will never understand what started the stereotypes about cheerleaders. I put my heart into cheerleading and had to defend myself because of it. Over the years I became extremely close to many girls on the squads. These girls are also the most respectable, genuine, and intelligent group of people I know. Nobody should be judged simply by what they enjoy to do. There has always been much more to me than the ability to yell “Go team, Go!”