<p>“Due to the athletics involved, a case certainly can be made that cheerleading is a sport. However, if it’s a sport, it deserves to be treated as a sport instead of as a decorative activity for “real” sports, which happen to be sports with male athletes.”</p>
<p>Amen. I enjoy watching cheer competitions on ESPN. The cheerleaders are the main event there. But there’s still a ridiculous emphasis on appearance that is obvious at every level and makes clear that cheerleading is part of the oversexualization you discuss. Why do all the athletes, including grade schoolers on the all-star squads, have to be heavily and identically made up? Why the impractical hairstyles (often featuring fake curls) and girlish hair ribbons? I understand that skirts are traditional, but why the midriff-baring tops? A soccer team wouldn’t wear wigs, heavy makeup, or skimpy tops during competition, so I don’t understand why cheerleaders must.</p>