All-Star Body Image

[canttouchthis]

i didnt eat much lunch in highschool because i hate eating in front of people. odd i know but i have never liked it

 

[JulieP]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question and I'd love your feedback and perspective. If we lived in a world where all cheerleaders wore full tops with no midriff showing, do you think it could positively affect our athletes currently suffering from body image issues? Also, do you think it could attract other girls to want to join an all star team?

I am a fan of full tops for a ton of reasons. I don't want to ruffle anyone's feathers, but here it is:

1. I think there's more to eating disorders than half tops, but I definitely think half tops can only add to the body image issues a lot of girls have. We are trying to build kids up, and I don't think the half top creates confidence with most athletes.
2. The half top alienates our sport for some people. My parents would have never let me start doing all star if the team would have worn half tops. There are a lot of people who don't want their kids in half tops- it reminds them too much of toddlers and tiaras or the infamous "Single Ladies" dance with those 6 year olds in it.
3. I start to wonder if we're not all on the same page with the priorities of our sport- or maybe we just differ on what the priorities are. I have probably said it a billion times on these boards, but I would like our sport to be more accessible like soccer, basketball, etc. There are a number of things that stand in the way of that- expensive competitions, overpriced uniforms, etc. But I would like to see our sport transition to being all about the athleticism, talent, and the growth of the athletes as people rather than some of the emphasis on the "extras": over the top uniforms, heavy makeup, etc.

 

[WorkToWin]

I'm not really referring to eating disorders but I will comment on body image. Comments about people being sticks can be almost as bad as saying someone is fat.

My cp is 6 and tells me she is fat. Idk if she just tells me that for attention because then she will come home and say I'm the 2nd skinniest person in my class. So obviously there is points where she thinks she is skinny.

However I think back about 7 months ago. A mom whose daughter did a tumbling class with my daughter (her daughter didn't cheer) any ways she had a friend with her and they were sitting beside me. (unless people know me they don't think I'm jaylen's mom because I'm only 23 and ppl think I'm like 18 lol)
Anyways her friend said to the mom she came with- "your daughter looks good unlike the other one who looks like she is sick because that doesn't look good"
She was talking about my daughter because the only other girl in that class was like a normal size 14yr old and our daughters are close in age so she was comparing the two.
I almost said something but I get real hot headed very quickly so I just kept it to myself! Other wise I may have offended more then a few people.

The thing is my daughter looks skinny and everyone that sees her says that but my daughter has long legs. She is the height of most 9year olds on average. If my daughter was the height of most 6 yr olds then no one would be calling her skinny.
She has a couple 8yr olds in her 1st grade class (they got held back) and she is easily the tallest just like she was last year in kindergarten! People need to realize like other above have said is that people are different. They are built different, height and weight is only a small factor in what makes up someone's body.

Also it's nice to say to someone wow you look good- keep up the great work. Just don't insult them.. I try to tell my daughter everyday how pretty she is because I know the time will come when people call her more then skinny or fat. Me and her dad are both 5'6 and no one in our family is tall or skinny so I won't be surprised if it changes one day but I think long as she is eating healthy and not abusing her body then I'll be happy no matter what she turns up looking like!

it probably is a good thing you didn't say anything. I mean really, who cares what she thinks? Jaylen is adorable and looks healthy as a horse :)

 

[WorkToWin]

I think people in general forget how much they can effect people with little comments. At the end of the day if 100 people told me I was beautiful, and 1 person told me I was fat; I would be thinking about how I was fat and forget all about the positive comments. The littlest comments people say without even realizing it can really effect someone's self esteem. "Your eating that?" Also people need to learn to stop gossiping about people. I mean honestly, it's annoying. Why didn't their mothers ever tell them that if they don't have anything nice to say then shut up? People over hear comments, sometimes people just tell the person.

Another thing which is kind of off topic, but I'm on a rant so here it is. It disgusts me how people can hide behind a false name and trash people. Someone from my school started a twitter account as the name of my school. It insults individuals in a "funny" way. It calls people out for everything; what people wear, who they hang out with, what they look like, etc. Meanwhile, half the school follows them. They think because they are anonymous they can say whatever they want, trashing people. I know that was really off topic. I am just getting sick of people not thinking about other people's feelings. It's annoying.

 

[cheerheart4life]

Another thing which is kind of off topic, but I'm on a rant so here it is. It disgusts me how people can hide behind a false name and trash people. Someone from my school started a twitter account as the name of my school. It insults individuals in a "funny" way. It calls people out for everything; what people wear, who they hang out with, what they look like, etc. Meanwhile, half the school follows them. They think because they are anonymous they can say whatever they want, trashing people. I know that was really off topic. I am just getting sick of people not thinking about other people's feelings. It's annoying.

Amen! I am SO sick of fake two faced people!!! Especially when they will talk bad about someone to you and then pretend to be that persons best friend or be super nice to them. Some people seem to be five faced and im so done with it.

 

[ErinS]

i didnt eat much lunch in highschool because i hate eating in front of people. odd i know but i have never liked it

Me either. I don't like eating in front of people (I will do it now, but in High School no). I don't like eating outside (we ate lunch outside) and to this day I won't eat outside.

 

[gymrat12]

Most body image issues come from other girls... girls are just plain mean! I was always super super teeny (My freshman year people thought I was a 6th grader) untill the summer before sophomore year... I grew 6 inches in a little over 4 months and another 4 nches the next year. So being 5'10 and almost 100 lbs is not a good look on me but the girls would give me such a hard time about it, I would constantly walk around with my arms wrapped around my waist so that they would stop paying so much attention to my body but that only made things worse. I never gave them a reason to believe I had an ED... I ate like a horse and was around all my friends for hours after every meal, but that didnt stop the rumors. To make matters worse I was on the gymnastics team and we had to do a little tumbling performance at the winter pep rally in our leos... that same day a huge rumor went around that the gymnastics team was doing coke because how else would they be so skinny?! Let me tell you it had nothing to do with the fact that we worked out 4 hours 5 days a week. Bottom line people are down right mean but as T.Swift says...
don't you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine

 

[AllstarObsession]

no i dont think so... its not my half top that bothers me, its my tumbling skills and if im flying or not or just being around tinier people. im not bothered in my uniform. eating problems go deeper than that.

Hey everyone, I have a quick question and I'd love your feedback and perspective. If we lived in a world where all cheerleaders wore full tops with no midriff showing, do you think it could positively affect our athletes currently suffering from body image issues? Also, do you think it could attract other girls to want to join an all star team?

 

[AllstarObsession]

ive had body issues and eating issues for as long as i can remember. i started gymnastics SO young and ive always had all this muscle... im 5'4" and 145 pounds. everytime i go to the doctors, they tell me that im technically overweight and it just makes things so much worse... it makes me really uncomfortable all the time.

i found a picture of my brother and I on halloween when i was between 6-8 and I remember being so upset because I thought i looked fat in my costume. i saw a picture from that day and cried, because i was soo tiny and not fat at all.

 

[CoachTamara]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question and I'd love your feedback and perspective. If we lived in a world where all cheerleaders wore full tops with no midriff showing, do you think it could positively affect our athletes currently suffering from body image issues? Also, do you think it could attract other girls to want to join an all star team?

I think it wouldn't hurt, that's for sure.. I thought at one point there was a big push for this, especially at NCA College Nationals, but that seemed to die out quickly.
Our gym does not have trendy new crop tops for this reason-parents are not willing to put their kids out in them. We have full tops, and although they are not what I would choose, the parents love them. They are simple, flattering on all girls, and cover what needs to be covered. When I took over, I started allowing sports bras in the gym for practice because of the heat, and it was a big deal. But, they have the option. Some of them do it, some don't. I feel like a lot of girls don't care, and some of them that said they never would wear a sports bra because they were "fat" wear them all the time now because it's a safe environment. However, I know many of my kids would feel awful about themselves if they had to wear something like that in public, especially on stage in front of strangers. There are a lot of big name gyms around, and parents specifically will not go there because of the crop tops.
Are crop tops cuter? Almost always, but if it were required to have full tops, I don't think it would ruin the sport. At the end of the day, a thrown skill is the same in a crop or full length top.

 

[ctgatormom]

Hey everyone, I have a quick question and I'd love your feedback and perspective. If we lived in a world where all cheerleaders wore full tops with no midriff showing, do you think it could positively affect our athletes currently suffering from body image issues? Also, do you think it could attract other girls to want to join an all star team?

The answer is a giant YES!! With each passing year it seems to me that uni's have gotten smaller and smaller and so has practice gear. Not to mention all of the crazy cutouts all over the place. We are to the point that you are lucky if you can even wear proper undergarments with your uni. I'm sure this makes many kids uncomfortable. I'm really glad I cheered back in the day.....just sayin

 

[ssccxnce]

i think i may be the minority here :/ if anything i do not blame half tops, or the media for girls wanting to be a certain size, if anything my half top for cheer has shown me that i have nothing to be ashamed of, when i was in grade 5 two years before allstar cheerleading i used to HATE HATE HATE my legs, thighs, butt, and stomach i thought i was huge, but once i got into cheerleading i realized that all those things i hated led to me being a better athlete i was healthy developed muscle and those monstrous legs i had led to me being able to lift and jump yes this really has nothing to do with eating disorders but people cant go and say "its half tops fault" or the "media forces girls to be a size 0" no it really does not its the girls perception of themselves, their friends and parents - WE are what feeds to the media WE control what goes in and out of our childrens mouths

sorry if it sounds like i am angry but people need to know that not having a positive group of people is what triggers actions like eating disorders and behavioral problems

 

[canttouchthis]

Me either. I don't like eating in front of people (I will do it now, but in High School no). I don't like eating outside (we ate lunch outside) and to this day I won't eat outside.

yes! i could eat inside just not out

 

[NowImFamous]

Cheerleading has changed my whole perspective on body image.. for years i thought i was fat, huge and still sometimes think that. I only 5'4 but i have always been one of the tallest and biggest girls on my team.. the last two years I was on a Coed team that wore tiny little gk shorts and was on a team full of tiny flyers. Because of cheerleading I have a distorted view of body image and what is considered "big" I am only 125 pounds now and still want to be smaller but this year after being done with competitive cheer last season I have been working to get the "correct" body image back.. that every girl is not under 5'0 and 100 pounds and that isnt something everybody should try to go after. I think uniforms getting smaller and smaller and more cutouts it will continue to grow as young girls try to get the perfect bodies to fit into that tiny uniform. I know I would have loved to just a have a normal uniform where i could feel comfortable and not worry every five seconds about a camel-toe and muffin-tops. that is all for now lol

 

[jcheermom]

I don't believe that crop tops CREATE a distorted body image, but I do think that they can affect someone who has issues with an altered view of themselves and/or their bodies, by making them MORE self-conscious of how they see themselves. A disordered body image develops over time and it takes more than just wearing a crop top cheerleading uniform or a short skirt to develop. It is a psychological disorder with signs and syptoms and oftentimes needs professional help to be treated.