I wish I had a dollar for every time a student told me that they didn’t think they were the “cheerleading type.”
Let me tell you who some of the most dedicated cheerleaders I’ve met have been- The overweight girl that everyone makes fun of- she was more supportive of others than anyone I know- wishing every player on the buss good luck before they got off.
The foster-kid who’s parents had pretty much abandoned them- no one was more positive and had more perseverance when it came to cheering on the team, even when they were losing or the crowd wasn’t responding.
Rockers and red-necks, brains and nerds, jocks and tom-boys, painfully shy introverts and kids who suffered with depression and anxiety. Rich kids, poor kids, kids in special-ed and kids in NHS and TAG. ALL kinds of kids. Kids with loving families, kids from dysfunctional and broken families. ALL kinds of kids. Oh- and did I mention, GUYS?!
There is no one “cheerleading type.”
Granted, there are stereotypes, arch-types which either in our minds, in popular culture, and unfortunately occasionally in our experience, cheerleaders demonstrate everything WRONG with cheerleaders and teenagers in general. The bubble-head, the mean-girls, the plastics, the control freaks and the just plain freaks.
Here are a few memes I made years ago which demonstrate these negative stereotypes and how to break them. By the way, do us both a favor and be reflective enough that if you begin to embody one of these negative stereotypes- KNOCK IT OFF!
Cheerleading is about building a positive sense of community and identity in your school and supporting their teams. ANYONE can do that. It’s about being positive and positively influencing your school’s community and climate. ANYONE can do that.
In return, cheerleading offers back confidence, poise, leadership skills and collaborative and cooperative- team building skills. ANYONE needs that!
So take a look at these stereotypes & be sure to break them. Then, please pass this post on and help EVERYONE start perceiving cheer for what it can do, not for who people THINK do it!
Who have you known over the years that embodies the positive principles of cheerleading like, scholarship, humble leadership, equality, work ethic and being well grounded- yet totally BROKE the stereotypes; ditzy, bossy, sexy, perfect, phony etc.?
cheer positive 