Is cheerleading a legitimate sport or not? I think it deserves genuine support

Everything is "allowed to be considered" a sport.

Having considered it, I don't think it is.

Others are free to disagree.

And its all aimed at the male gaze. Only difference is they are not gyrating or twerking.

On footie and rugby you have a ref & linesmen judging if xyz happened.

In gymnastics, diving, Cheer the judges decide how well something is executed. The difficulty of the move has been predetermined. The score sheets are very detailed and precise with points gained, deducted etc. Dance is far more judges opinion than points.

Even in athletics you have the was it a false start, did they go into someone else’s line, were they doping.

Its actually less clear cut than you think of you start digging a bit more.

After all “the hand of god” that was a “judge” decision.

And this is my only issue with the 'sport'. Why does everything how to be, 'sexy?' and young girls picked for being attractive?

Thats very similar to the 'requires judges' only performances require judges.

But it seems wrong for gymnastics, paraellel bars, vault, or beam etc being classed as a performance.

However Ice dance is more like a performance than a sport including the music

But you know what, we want children and adults to be active. How they are active really shouldn't matter. Maybe one of the things that is wrong in the UK is the desire for everything to be competitive.

Recreational dance and sport should be encouraged every bit as much as competitive sport and dance. I know kids who have dropped out of dance and sport because they were getting beat all the time sapping their enjoyment of the activity.

Depends if you can win or lose. If you don't win or lose its a performance. If you can win or lose its a sport.

Where is the line between dance and sport?

Arguably the best definition I've heard is if it requires judges is art if it can be measured or use a score board its sport.

But that puts gymnastics into art along with figure skating.

I hate all of those; but only the first one has become established as a recognised sport - and in fact features in the Olympics, which I can't see bullfighting doing anytime soon.

I suppose the nicest thing you can say about boxing is that at least the participants are all humans who are doing so of their own free will (and very, very rarely end up dying as a result) - and I guess there is an attempt to fairly match opponents as far as possible.

It's still legalised thuggery, though.

Boxing? Not a sport. Legalised thuggery.

I agree that it's legalised thuggery, and I personally hate it; but whether or not something is allowed to be considered a sport is not a moral judgment.

They are already allowed to wear full-length leotards, as the German team did at the last few Olympics.

Competitive cheer is a sport and should be classed as such. I have young family members that compete at all different levels of cheer and none use pom poms or attend football/basketball games.

These girls travel to competitions. The one that is on an elite team trains year-round and has focused lessons a couple of times a week (ex: Monday is flexibility, Wednesday is tumbling, etc.) in addition to the full-team practices. There are specific rules that must be followed at each level and the judging is based on how well each requirement is executed. Figure skating has been considered a sport, aerial skiing is a sport, I can't see why cheer wouldn't be.
Kkimpy outfits and sparkles does not make it any less of a sport! Have you ever seen those silly-looking wrestling uniforms on boys? They are nearly obscene. I'm also really impressed with how many 'larger' girls are out there doing the stunts, the tumbling, the dances...so it's not just a matter of showing off female bodies.

We have so many! It’s like a part time job making them though isn’t it 😂

I agree that young girls are becoming far more interested in skin care etc now. I think that’s an internet thing and it’s hard to escape that, despite restricting kids access, they talk to each other. I think I’m lucky that neither DD or her friends have much interest it that yet so I haven’t had to navigate it but cheer wouldn’t be the catalyst as far as I can foresee. There isn’t the encouragement from that side, I think her school friends would be more of an influence on her.

DD is honestly not a ‘girly girl’ though, she dresses like me, baggy jeans, jumpers and trainers mostly. Won’t wear a dress ever, hates tights. Training is spent in shorts and a tshirt with hair scraped back, like the other girls. The only time she wears her uniform is at a competition and she loves it, she’s dressed like her friends and they’re a team, she’s really proud of it. She had to wear full makeup for her first comp and she hated it. Happily now it’s optional, sometimes there’s a bit of lipstick but it’s the minority. No jewellery or fake nails or you can’t compete.

The pegs! That would always give my dd a little thrill when she got one. It’s a lovely thing to see people from different teams go out of their way to be nice to each other.

O ballet dancer would say it’s a sport. It’s an art, and all the better for it. Sport isn’t code for ‘only physically fit people can do it’.

Absolutely. The range of shapes and sizes and abilities between the teams is huge, it has to be or it wouldn’t work. There’s no body shaming and it’s so positive to see. They all work equally hard and everyone on the team deserves their place. The younger ones at comps decorate pegs with motivational words and give them out to other teams between performing, it’s so inclusive and it’s honestly a lovely sport to be in. Although slightly crazy at times. Compared to gymnastics where it’s everyone for themselves and felt very serious.

Just look beyond the Dallas Cowboy perception. It’s really not that. I wouldn’t have allowed it for DD if it was. It’s absolutely a sport and I hope it gets some real, non reality show, coverage in the future to help put the perceptions to bed.

All Star cheer is a sport. I know as I go to 5-6: different cities in the UK each year to go to competitions! And it's not a cheap sport either, I think last year I spend £5000 roughly on cheer! The athletes are dedicated, my daughter spends 14 hours a week in the gym with training, tumbling and flyer classes. It's way harder than team gym ( which she used to do) Anyone saying it's not a sport is woefully under informed.

I was quoting someone else there.
But to try and answer - from what I can see online, girls as young as 6 and 7 are wearing make up, bows, etc. that is a peer pressure and a received idea of how girls look - and as far as I’m concerned that is not an informed choice. And I think there is a legacy of objectification to cheerleading however it’s argued - and that those young children are not making an informed choice with regards to that either.
But thats just my opinion and I’ve been sucked in a bit because I am interested in the phenomena of so many young girls being so ‘girly’ these days. So quick to be into skin care, beauty, clothes etc at very young ages. But I’ll step away as I’m interested but it’s not my fight (or business!)

Why would you have a problem with it because you are a feminist? A big aspect of cheer is girls working together and supporting each other. Because of the increased popularity of cheer in this country, thousands of girls are being physically active and feeling positive about their bodies.

@Lostuser I don’t think Jesus was keen on cheerleading tbh. Riding on donkeys was more his style.

I really don’t know? I’m not personally involved so completely not my business. I personally have some problems with it but I’m a sneery feminist apparently!

But shouldn't we be challenging perceptions?

Cheer is such a demanding sport and there are loads of competitions for it now. I know if very very few cheer teams that actually support a sports team, most are sports teams in their own rights and exist independently of any other sports teams - this includes my 3 University cheer teams.

Ok love it’s no big deal Jesus 🙄