"the cream of the towns totty"

[people]

I was at the match last night, our town's league football team.

They have some dancers/cheerleaders who perform before the game and at half time. TBH, I'm not entirely happy with young women wiggling their barely covered backsides being considered family entertainment, but appreciate I have a choice about going and about taking my DC.

Last night though, after their performance, the announcer thanked "the cream of [town's name] totty". Is that on? The club goes to great lengths to encourage young fans. I take my two DSs, and I'm doing my best to raise them to respect women.

Football is at great pains to show it's trying to eliminate racism, but sexism is OK?

So, AIBU to complain, or over-reacting? If I should complain can you help me word it to be sensible/quote the law etc, rather than just pious?

Should I complain to the club, FA, local paper...? Or not at all?

I would imagine most cheerleaders would give their right arm to be called the cream of the town's tottie.

I'm not sure how sexism comes into this unless there were also handsome male cheerleaders who were treated differently?

'The cream of the town's tottie' is a non gender descript phrase.

Oh boak! I would feel very uncomfortable in the situation you describe.

Worra is right that "tottie" can mean either sex but obviously this is an unbalanced situation - men doing the action, women being the decorative element (and in a sexual way - bleurgh). The tottie comment just emphasises the awfulness of it all really.

I don't know if you can sensibly make a complaint about the comment in isolation though - because the whole set-up is massively sexist and sends an appalling message to kids (of both sexes). Maybe writing to the paper about the whole scenario might get you somewhere...

FFS - another 'ist' thread.

Which you're at liberty to ignore wiffle

Thank's Worra and Lady, at least I know how to spell tottie now

Oh no, don't take any notice of my spelling.

I felt embarrassed cos I realised we spelled it differently and just assumed I'm wrong

Seriously though, I think focusing on the word 'totty/tottie' is irrelevant in this case.

If you want to focus on anything being 'inappropriate' (if indeed you think it is) then you'd probably be better off complaining about cheerleaders in general who are notorious for being very pretty as well as great gymnasts/dancers.

Personally I don't have a problem but if you do, it might be an idea to focus on that?

I think tottie/totty can be spelt either way!

I know wiffle ? sexism, racism, they're all soo tiresome. Let's ignore them.

Well, I am getting sick of how racism is seen as bad (which obviously it is), but sexism is increasingly okay, and complaining about it is 'boring'.

To me, it's fine to say that you think women are empowered by dancing around mostly naked for men to leer at and objectify, so long as you also think it's okay to dress black people up in 'Sambo' and Golliwog outfits and have them tapdance for the entertainment of white people. Because if we were to pay some black people lots of money for that, it would be empowering, wouldn't it? Not degrading and damaging to society as a whole?

What Diamondback said - and much better than I could've put it.

Plus totty is a horrible word, used by men to reduce women purely to their sexual function, and sexual availability, along with the likes of tail, poontang, clunge, arse etc.

soverylucky The term 'soccer' was first used in Britain, not America.

These women CHOOSE to stand on a pitch and shake their pompoms... I am sure they are fully aware and happy that their backsides are on display.. so why complain?

They are not naked. They are not doing a striptease.

What about Soccer Saturday? The very popular programme on Sky Sports?

It is sexist. A similar example is that television advertisement for We Wanna Buy Your House; We Wanna Buy Your House. The man is fully clothed but the two women 'cheerleaders' behind him are wearing B all.

There is the same example in F1 motor racing. Or car showsd with nearly undressed women draped over the bonnets of the cars. I have never seen a Chippendale type draped over a car.

I can't believe it's 2012 and we still have cheerleaders.

It's got nothing to do with those particular cheerleaders' choices squeaky. It's to do with the message being put out to the children in the crowd - this is what particularly concerned the OP.

YANBU I hate the way barely clothed women are used to titillate the crowd in events that should have nothing to do with sex. Fair enough if you're in a strip club but why the need for it at a sporting event?

This is worse though. My DH did a men only charity sponsored walk last saturday. When the participants were being taken through their official warm up, one of the (female) organisers announced that the "boys were in for a treat". And then introduced a troop of cheerleaders. Who appeared to be aged between ten and fourteen I swear I'm not making this up.

That's how they describe me as well in my dreams

It's a nightmare!

"... I have a choice about going and about taking my DC ..."

Yes.

Yeah, cheerleaders are wrong.

In the states it has developed into a competitive sport in its own right and has male cheerleaders too but knowing the uk it will never progress beyond lewd comments about the bodies of the too young girls who will be wiggling their tits 'butts' rather than performing an artistic, athletic act.

Didn't we do this with Beach Volleyball last year?

Camp A: Shaking your booty in front of Da Menz meanz you iz a handmaiden of the patriarchy, Sistah. Think of the poor wee bairns! Ban it!

Camp B: Shaking your booty is a free choice and you iz imprisoned by your catsbumface ideology, Sistah! If you don't like it don't watch it - now Bugger Off!

Many a post will be written, and never the twain shall meet.....

:o

I have a female American friend who years ago told me that she objects to chearleading in the US. She is no raving feminist 'Sistah' she is just a highly educated woman - Ivy League and Oxford who as she puts it 'just doesn't get it'. My wife feels the same.

As a man I find it insulting and weird. We dont have male cheerleaders at female sports events. Simple as that. I go to watch the sport. Why do we need barely clad women dancing on the touchline?