Letting young cheerleaders act too grown-up does them no favors

"They're just little girls!" The mother on the other end of the line was emphatic.

[wahooskipper]

As the father of a young girl who will, unfortunately, be asking to take cheer, dance and all of that other stuff...thank you for this opinion. Why anyone would want to dress their children to look like a whore is beyond me. There isn't anything cute about it.

If you don't want your young women to be objectified, don't objectify your young girls.

[MME]

My daughter has been in cheerleading since she was 6 years old. She played soccer, softball, cheerleading and then she discovered Cheerleading Allstars. We traveled everywhere and yes she wore make-up and dance like you said with "sexual movements", but what you see and what I see is different. My daughter is now a college student. She didn't become a Britney Spears because of the dancing or the makeup. The bottom line if the girl has parents that keep her grounded and teach good values and morales then as a parent you did your job. Britney Spears well her parents didn't do a good job parenting. Morales and Values begin at home not on the field and makeup doesn't determine who you will be. There are a lot of people with there minds in the gutter if they look at a 6 year old and think sex.

[Cheerlady]

I totally agree with you MME. I was a cheerleader as well and I now have a great job and a good head on my shoulders. In the article it asks why does your face have to stand out? Well obviously they do not know much about cheerleading. Smiling and facials are a HUGE part of cheerleading. You are actually judged on it. The only thing I have ever thought when I have looked at young girls all decked out in their glitter makeup and uniforms is how cute they were. I agree that the people who think about sex when looking at them need to get their mind out of the gutter!

[Hertz counter rep]

Your conclusion that the make-up sends these girls on path to trouble is off the wall. Would they make better citizens if they had scabby knees and elbows? Maybe in WilMa?

[BAP]

First of all, what the heck does Britney Spears have to do with any of this? Britney was a Disney child star who's background did not include peewee Cooper City cheerleading. Perhaps if she did she would not be where she is now.

Secondly, who elected you to set the standards for little girls behavior.

You come across as yet another know-it-all telling people how they should raise their kids and try to impose their own visions of morality on the world.

Frankly Ann, I think you are way off base here and need to get a grip.

For the record, I have have not stake in this situation as I have sons, not daughters. My youngest is 13 and plays youth football, along with other sports.

[Bust Corruption]

Hertz counter rep wrote:

Your conclusion that the make-up sends these girls on path to trouble is off the wall. Would they make better citizens if they had scabby knees and elbows? Maybe in WilMa?

It's not age appropriate. Use some common sense.

[Broward County]

Bust Corruption wrote:

<quoted text>
It's not age appropriate. Use some common sense.

Some things might not be age appropriate, but the fact that young girls dress up or wear make-up for a competition isn't going to turn them into a whor* anymore than playing cowboys and Indians is going to turn a boy into a gun-toting killer.

[Bust Corruption]

Broward County wrote:

<quoted text>
Some things might not be age appropriate, but the fact that young girls dress up or wear make-up for a competition isn't going to turn them into a whor* anymore than playing cowboys and Indians is going to turn a boy into a gun-toting killer.

I think you're wrong. We live in a diffent day and age now. Too many predators out there.

[Jules]

Ms. Carter, I hope you put the positive postings regarding your close-minded, straight-laced, rigid, uptight, one-sided, bias and misquoted article in your 1970's pipe and smoke it! I am in fact the mother that Ms. Carter spoke to for a forty-five minute telephone conversation which ended with her extending her appreciation of shedding some light on this cheerleading topic. Obviously, Ms. Carter is still in the dark and remains in the time where we didn't worry about all the different things we MUST worry about today; sexual pedophiles, child kidnapping, stalking, etc. and when becoming a man is wearing pants, not shorts. The unbelievable reference, coming from a grown man, of young girls (Pee Wee ages are 5-7) "sexually gyrating" and doing so for the" titillation of strangers," is something to concern any parent, whether a parent of a cheerleader, dancer, etc. Cheerleaders do not relate their actions (dance/cheer) to be sexual in nature as they are not mature enough to do so; it is the adult in question that misinterprets and misconstrues a cheerleaders performance. Cheerleaders are performers, just as young dancers, beauty pageant participants and drama/theater performers. They each wear skimpy outfits to suit their "skit," or "competition," wear "age inappropriate make-up," which is theater make-up, and "act" in a manner that is not "age" sufficient for their performance. However, one must keep in mind that they wear this make-up and full-dressed uniforms for competition only, not game day. I extend my sympathies to Mr. Miceli and Ms. Carter for their ignorance and close-mindedness!!!! Cheerleading is a sport, whether it suits your definition or not!

[MME]

To all the cheerleaders and new comers enjoy the sport. It shows teamwork, a sisterhood that last a life time, good sportsmanship, skills and above all the fun of the sport. I'm coach cheerleading and we train hard but when my girls are on that mat and perform and give 100% of themselves the smiles of accomplishment and pride in there eyes is more than any coach can ask for. At the end of the competition the makeup comes off and they are just normal girls going home to play with their friends.

[BBB]

This editorial is Ann Carter dictating that she knows better then the parents of the hundreds of kids involved in cheerleading.

She attempts to justify her opinion with wild and inaccurate comparisons (ie. Britney Spears). This intended ridicule those she disagrees with and thus strenghtening her argument.

Case in point; she states that these little girl cheerleaders are looking and acting like women because of their cloths and makeup. I guess to her, this seems obvious.

Looking at the photo that accompanied her column I simply saw little girls with too much makeup -- I certainly did not see woman.

Ann you have the right to your opinion, but please try to make it with facts and not resort to ridicule and inaccurate comparisons. It is simply poor journalism.

[Pete]

Somebody find out what JonBenet thinks about this.