Everyone who knows me knows that I am a sports buff. I will watch it all! My favorite sport is football, but I have been known to watch even arm wrestling and competitive darts! I love the competitive nature of sports and the team cohesion. Since I can remember, as much as sports have been about testosterone, team and or individuals effort, it has been about the cheerleaders. Each male sport has a cheerleader, a ring girl, or some sort of female presents; scantily clad eye candy for male viewing pleasure.
These females are very stereotypical. They are attractive women, tall, long hair, flat tummy, bosoms busting out of their blouse, and pants or shorts tightly gripping their posterior. As men we watch for this. Some men actually enjoy this more than the sporting event itself. I was watching Ultimate Fighting and the ring girls look more like model you would see in a Victoria’s Secret print rather than playing eye candy at a sporting event. This stereotype has no grounds for debate. These women are handpicked for this very reason.
I personally find this rather degrading and insensitive as there are attractive women in all shapes and sizes. Though this stereotype is accurate and has long been a sticking point in marketing, that does not make it correct. I feel that all women should have a shot at performing these dudes, but men have thrust themselves into a position where outside opinions from women in particular do not carry much weight.
Television in particular has tainted the view of women to our children and this is one reason why. Recently my six year old daughter got frustrated because her mother wanted her to be a cheerleader and my daughter said that she couldn’t. When asked why, my daughters exact response was “because cheerleaders and white with blond hair”. This is when I realized that what our children were being fed was wrong and a change is necessary as this discrimination cannot continue.
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