Official OWECheer
Most likely to post anywhere
- Jan 16, 2014
- 8,264
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I will be straight up with you. I ignore your social media posts nearly 100% of the time, not always because of what you do or say but how you go about it. No, the photo posted was not cute - this topic has been discussed before here on the board and no one needed photos during those discussions, and the majority are in agreement we'd rather not have athletes pose like this, but if you think it only happens in cheer you are very sadly mistaken. I have seen this type of photo taken with girls in prom dresses, lacrosse uniforms, basketball uniforms, school clothes etc. It is a social issue - not a cheer issue, but yet you insist on segregating it. Putting it here on a forum dedicated to cheer is one thing - putting it on twitter where the entire world is your soapbox yet making it only about cheer is counter productive.
I understand where both of you are coming from. My problem is that the photos were taken in gym gear. I am considering taking the tweet and video discussing the issue down but you have raised an excellent point. My problem is that I see photos like this taken all the time, praised as being sassy and fierce when they are distasteful and damaging to our sport. I haven't seen it much from other groups of people (doesn't mean it's okay or doesn't happen, of course), but these photos have been up ad very popular for years; I didn't dig them out of the obscure nooks of the internet. As cheerleaders, the girls in the photo will be given MORE flack than lacrosse players, girls in prom dresses, etc. because of the sport in which they are involved I drive home all the time on my Twitter page and YouTube channel that we have to be mindful and understanding of the media we popularize about our sport (remember the thigh/body rubbing flyer montage video that got shared all over vine and twitter and praised as "OMG FIERCE!" when it was clearly just 90% sexual?). Even if I hadn't shared the photos as examples, things like this would still be out there. The sad thing is that so many people in our sport are willing to defend nonsense. Granted, Fierceboard is a bubble of mostly parents, coaches and industry people, and Cheer Twitter is full of young people, but the difference in attitudes is still disturbing.You feel so strongly that this picture is inappropriate for children to post and represents the sport badly, yet, you choose to post it all over social media? I have lost respect for you because it seems rather hypocritical. You are not trying to protect the kids, instead you shamed them.