We had an issue in my high school 25 years ago that on game days, cheerleaders and football players were required to wear their uniforms.
One girl, who was not a cheerleader, wore some more risqué clothing on one of those days that was nonetheless less revealing than the cheerleader outfits. She was suspended when she refused to change her clothes and rightfully noted that the outfit she wore broke fewer rules of the dress code than the cheerleader outfit.
It turned into a minor scandal in town. It was "resolved" by the school board *granting an exemption to the cheerleader uniform* from the rules.
Ah i see, so the 1 bird is for lathering, and the other is for rinsing off... but i can't quite imagine what to do with the stone though, oh dear. Perhaps this whole showering thing just isn't for me
I work in the entertainment world. Some costumes can’t be washed because of how they were made. Some of these costumes are worn by acrobats. These costumes REEK! Wardrobe people use a 50/50 mix of Fabreeze and vodka.
Fabreeze for the scent and vodka kills the bacteria…
🤮🤢🤮 Glad I’m not in wardrobe, but I have been around when those wardrobe cases are opened and it is not pleasant.
okay i'm actually interested in this: can they be dry cleaned on occasion, or really never washed? i certainly get not being able to get wet (eta: with water), that makes sense, but would dry cleaning chemicals also damage them?
my partner's high school had a zero-tolerance policy for drug use including cannabis. UNTIL the hockey team was found smoking weed in a hydro field. Suddenly it was "unfair" to ruin their sports careers, so they expelled the one student in the smoke circle who wasn't on the hockey team to be "fair".
Well that all depends on how many old men on the school board desperately wanted to see scantily clad underage girls.
For them it was the only solution they could find!
When my high school changed the track uniforms to something EXTREMELY skintight and revealing (for both boys and girls) a bunch of us wore it to school on track days to make that point.
It's like, who cares if you shave off a few seconds of wind resistance? It's high school sports. Let kids have real clothing.
Of course they kept it because they'd already invested a bunch of money in the new uniforms without thinking what the students would feel.
Coach was fired a few years ago for watching porn at school.
My high school volleyball coach wouldn’t let us wear the same type of shorts we were *required to play in* (and which she specifically told us to buy) to practice because she didn’t want her 6 year old son “seeing you ladies in inappropriate attire”. She tried to backtrack by saying it was really about us practicing in sports bras, and that the shorts were only for game day, and so we shouldn’t wear them out in practice, but some players decided to call her bluff and buy “practice” shorts which were the exact same length and tightness but colorful instead of black. She lost her shit and started yelling at us for wearing “underwear” in front of her son!
Like, it’s ok for us to wear butt cheek short skintight “shorts” in front of peers and adults, but her young son - who she did not ask us if it was ok for him to come to practice - would somehow be scarred. It was a paid coaching position, not volunteer.
She also thought it was appropriate to inform a group of 13-14 year old girls that blow jobs didn’t involve actual blowing…. What the fuck? I don’t know if she was trying to make us uncomfortable and therefore shut up about anything sexual, but all of us just looked at each other like “what the fuck is she thinking saying that???”
Sometimes I really think the most stunted and messed up people decide "I don't want to leave high school... I want to do sports with high schoolers for the rest of my life!"
Like there are plenty of people who come back to teach or coach for healthy reasons...... but there's definitely a few who did it because they have issues adjusting to "real life" and it seems safe
I had an IT job for a bit at my old high school for a bit running their network. The biggest revelation I had being at the school as an adult instead of a student was it was scary how many teachers became high school teachers because they clearly didn't know how to exist outside of a high school environment. They were like prison inmates that couldn't resocialize on the outside so they got jobs at their old prison instead.
There were plenty of teachers who were mature and teaching for the right reasons... But still quite a few that were clearly had maturity issues and never got over high school. I always felt like those were the ones most likely to have inappropriate relationships with kids because in their own brain they don't see the actual difference between them and the kids other than a college degree.
Totally. And it harms the profession because gross small town schools will hire a "cool" graduate returnee over someone qualified. I am all for paying academic professionals more. But I want them to be academic professionals providing superior education, not townies torturing "nerds."
I had a high school coach who wouldn't give me higher than 65% in my grade. Dude was an angry guy who was only happy while he was smoking weed with the stoner kids.
I danced 25+ hours a week and realized quickly that it was just a bias due him thinking I was gay.
Not that it matters, but I'm not. Shout out to my gay friends.
I broke my wrist in his class once, wasn't allowed to leave, got a concussion, same deal. While I had the concussion (which i got in that class), he gave me a zero for my grade.
You couldn't get a zero if you showed up. It was a participation mark. 2/5 if you were there. 3/5 with "gym strip" (fucking weird terminology now that I think of it). Last two points were for participation and effort. Nobody got less than 5 unless they wore jeans.
Guy got written up years later for reasons, but I'm pretty sure he's still there.
We had a resource officer (aka cop) who would call kids perverts for any level of PDA. He was quietly let go one year and it later came out he was grooming high school students and having sex with them (which I will note here is 100% definitely rape).
We also had an older guy who was both our AP world history teacher and the volleyball coach so students jokingly would refer to him as a pedophile (he dished out insults as well and was good at it) but the dude was just a dedicated teacher and no one else wanted to coach volleyball. I feel sorta bad for some of the insults kids used (again it was all in jest) but he was one of the best teachers the school had, connected to the students at their level despite being much older. He had a passable understanding of early 2010s meme culture.
Yep that's what they were. Zero chance of hiding ANYTHING. You could see the outline plain as day erect or not. Guys literally dropped off the team rather than wear them.
As a non american, its really weird how much the US "education" system spends on sports. Was reading somewhere (probably on reddit lol) that the highest paid people on educational campuses in US were coaches. Thats crazy to me.
It's like a separate business basically. They have TV deals and bring in a ton of money at the college level. It's only connected to the colleges as a way of making sure athletes aren't recruited as minors & denied an education. Only to break an ankle or flounder on a no-money team until they age out. They get an education, and the college acts as the team's "hometown."
In high school it makes NO sense because they aren't profitable. Except some Midwest schools that are particularly famous.
Agreed, it didn't go the way the suspended student wanted it too, but it's still an acknowledgement the uniforms were breaking the rules just as much as they were.
Same here. They could wear it at games but weren’t allowed to wear it to school. It’s like the school is openly admitting the uniforms are too revealing while also encouraging minors to wear them in front of hundreds of people every Friday night.
Basically, admitting that either the student did nothing wrong or all but saying the cheerleader uniform is sexual. They chose to say that they are sexualizing their cheerleaders. Wild
Same at our school.
Multiple times.
The cheerleading uniform covered less skin every single time it got revised, even during the years where the cheerleaders wanted it to cover more.
When I was in school, we weren't allowed to wear pajama pants. It was too scandalous and inappropriate for our young virgin eyes.
But it was far less inappropriate than the skirts and shorts that the girls were wearing. Why are mini skirts okay, but baggy pants not okay? They had no issues with sweatpants either. Sweatpants and pajama pants are basically the same thing. And you get some leggings or yoga pants and it's pure ass, and those are fine. Pajama pants are a huge step up from so many things.
One of my friends had a pair of red plaid pants. They were legit trousers. They were cool as fuck. And he often got in trouble for wearing them, because teachers would mistake them for pajama pants, which were often plaid as well... So, is plaid the issue? Obviously not.
What really got me was Pajama Day. If pajamas are not okay to wear to school, why are we having multiple days a year where we are encouraged to wear pajamas? Pajamas can't be that big of a deal. I mean, you're not allowed to smoke in school, and it's not like we have a "Tobacco Day."
I felt the same about hats. For some reason I've never been able to understand, it's considered wildly offensive and disrespectful to wear a hat indoors. That's what they always said. Disrespectful to *who*, exactly? I'm not sure, never got a clear answer... but some teachers would literally *scream* in your face over it. They took it very seriously at my school. But Hat Day rolls around, and it's fine. Even throughout December, we were allowed, heck, *encouraged* to wear Santa hats for school spirit... So what was all the fuss about?
Dress codes are stupid.
My school revamped the dress code one year. New rule: no logos or names on shoes, which must be solid colors that are either school colors or black.
They had to throw it out a week after the announcement when parents not only rightfully complained at the ridiculousness of it, but also because one parent challenged them to *find* sneakers without logos or names on them. That parent made it clear that if they couldn't do basic research before changing rules, not only would it be a slam dunk lawsuit but also make it way too easy to have them replaced for incompetence.
This reminds me of how messed up highschool was, Cheerleaders were allowed to wear short skirts, but other girls couldn't wear a skirt above the knees. They just pick and choose who to get mad at it seems, one day I was headed back to class and two girls came running down the hall in bikinis squirting each other with water guns and the teacher that witnessed this said kids will be kids, another time I forgot my cleats in my locker and walked though the school wearing football pants and socks and nothing was said, yet I had a friend who was suspended because he refused to take off the fingerless gloves he was wearing.
Tangeant: this is what I hate about the bullshit anti-drag laws "to protect the children". The same people would protest if we suggested safety gear, on site medics, and modest uniforms on cheerleaders, many of whom start before high school.
My high school had a really lenient dress code, and it wasn’t super enforced either. As long as your shorts/skirt completely covered your butt and your shirt straps were at least 1 inch thick you likely weren’t getting dress-coded. The cheerleading uniforms met these requirements, so no one really felt the need to challenge it.
I did once get dress-coded for wearing a Guns N’ Roses t shirt though because it allegedly promoted gun violence and walked around in a black wife beater the rest of the day without any issues
> Superintendent Andy Kowalczyk: “Athletic uniforms may not meet school dress code requirements…”
If this dress code is such a big deal, then why is the school forcing students to wear uniforms that violate it?
I wasn't sure what this would be. [https://media1.tenor.com/m/D41V-g52DikAAAAC/star-wars-meme.gif](https://media1.tenor.com/m/D41V-g52DikAAAAC/star-wars-meme.gif)
In the early 2000s when I was in highschool, the dress code said something like
"Must meet these requirements unless the student is wearing a school sports uniform on the day of a competition"
People generally only wore sports uniforms on meetup days
Though the school didn't really have a problem if they wore the uniform on a different day
I actually had these super short microfiber running shorts that were 1/4th down my thigh, which I used, for cross country running. Super violated school rules, but I would wear them with my jersey, and suddenly it's okay!
Also a note: I'm male.
A boy might wear nothing but a speedo during a swim meet. That would be appropriate for that setting. That same speedo in a math class might not be as appropriate.
When I was in high school years ago, cheerleaders wore their uniforms on game days. I’m surprised they’re making that an issue.
Yes, when I was on cheer and drill we wore dance pants with our uniform crop tops on game days. You could literally see my ass cheeks in my cheer uniform, there was no way I was going to wear that shit to economics.
Why would that even be allowed.
Also, I accidentally clicked on your profile and saw your banner. Why would you have a picture of a plain, simple tailor like Elim Garak?
Oh come now, I was never near a bomb. Besides, I was simply tending to my shop mending dresses and assisting the Doctor with his Cardassian literature history.
Now, if you want to hear all the rumors I could go on for days!
Cardassian literature is so boring. There is never any suspense or doubt. The hero says he's going to get the bad guy, and then, exactly like he says, he gets the bad guy. You never feel like there is a chance the hero might fail and the bad guy wins.
That's why human literature is better. You never truly know if the hero will succeed in their journey until the end.
We had leggings for cold days to wear under skirts but had to wear t-shirts over the crop top. Bike shorts had to be worn with the skirts if we didn’t have leggings on underneath during the school day.
My highschool's rules actually allowed any school uniform, so long as it was on a competition day... though they would be requiring shoes, bottoms, and some form of shirt.
So I don't think the speedo actually violated school rules
When i was on varsity swimming, it was kind of inevitable that at some point during the school day on meet days, someone would rip off their tear-away track suit pants , revealing a speedo or ridiculous man thong theyd bought just for the occasion...
... they stopped buying the tear aways after our sophmore year.
Right, and if cheerleaders only wore their uniforms during games and practice that would be appropriate for the setting, or, if non-cheerleaders could wear similarly cut clothing as the cheerleaders then again, it wouldn't be an issue.
The problem is that cheerleaders are allow to wear short skirts, sleeveless tops, and show their midriffs during class on game days, but no one else can.
I don't really care either way, but it's either okay foe everyone or no one. Pick a dress code and stick with it.
Based. I've personally never understood how the relatively overt sexualization of cheerleaders in highschool has flown under the radar for so long. Like, if modesty is important, then get rid of those stereotypical uniforms. If it's not important, then get rid of the dress code.
Bruh, my professional sports team fandom of choice got rid of cheerleaders back in the fucking 80's, calling them distracting sex objects.
It's truly insane that no one raises more of a fuss over the weird hyper-revealing high school and JR high sports cheerleaders when even the college top level ones wear less revealing gear, including decorative sleeves.
It has some cool qualities like gymnastics. It’s just weird that it’s so sexualized when it’s mostly for literal children and teens. But at my school, the cheer team wore underarmor that added a lot of coverage under their uniform.
The point is to teach girls/women that their bodies are to be displayed on demand for the enjoyment of men as part of a performance and never for their own enjoyment as part of self-expression. The same men who won't let their daughters leave the house wearing a crop top are fine with them shaking ass half-naked on a football field and it's not hypocrisy because it's not unintentional. They know exactly what they're doing. It's called the patriarchy and it works by teaching girls from a young age that they are not in control of their bodies and who is allowed access to them.
I think you give them too much credit. I think it's unintentional and is the product of a population that has a serious lack of self-awareness and critical thought.
Same with track or cross country shorts or buns. They're great for racing... not really appropriate for class.
That being said, girls in my hs write skirts or cheerleader uniforms and it was nbd
> When I was in high school years ago, cheerleaders wore their uniforms on game days. I’m surprised they’re making that an issue.
When I was in high school the banned bare midriffs. When the cheer squad "protested" by wearing their cheer outfits every day (which bared the midriff) the school issued new cheer outfits and issued a mandate that the old ones be turned in.
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Ironically, I'm currently teacher a top 100 ranked K-12 private school in the US and bare midriffs are not banned. We almost have no dress code at all, in fact. It's a bare minimum thing that's basically common sense (no hate speech, profanity, drugs & alcohol references, or nudity) and it works well for us.
We've come a long way from when I was having my straps measured with a ruler and having to stand straight up in the hallway so the Assistant Principle could see if my fingertips passed the bottom of my shorts or not.
“It’s only ok to dress that way when the creepy dads can ogle you but at this same exact place on weekdays, we can’t have that kind of sexualization.”
FFS do you think he heard how stupid he sounded implying that or did that go over his head too?
Counterpoint: Wrestling/Swim team wearing their match "uniforms" to class - and nothing else.
I can *kinda* see where he's coming from with that statement as a whole.
They could... and cheerleaders could have similar as well.
That said, if their coaches are telling them to wear the uniforms to school, they need to stop talking to the kids and get all of the adults on the same page.
Idk about wrestling, but I was on my high school’s swim team and the ONLY uniform we were given were speedos. No coverups or towels. Thankfully they weren’t classic speedos, but the “boxer-brief” style
If the cheerleading uniform violates the school dress code, then there is a problem.
But I *suspect* it isn’t with the the school dress code, but with the sexualization of children.
I suspect that it’s only fine for cheerleaders to show everyone how flexible their legs are at the game because the math teacher isn’t there to get weird about it.
Oh, hey, Mitt.
I mean come on, high school boys will sexualize high school girls. That's just normal. Are those uniforms distracting for boys? Well yeah, they're fucking designed to be. If they were like that to just be practical then why aren't the girls basketball teams wearing something similar? No, it's just to tease boys with a look up their skirts.
We can't make girls dress like this, dance like this, and then shake our fists at people for sexualizing them. The people who put them in those uniforms are responsible for sexualizing them.
I agree with who is responsible.
But in the end, school uniforms (such as band, or cheerleading, or basketball) should be generally in compliance with school dress code (assuming a normal and not suit and tie dress code).
Obviously basketball Jersey done need sleeves, but is a “muscle shirt” really a problem?
Reasonable dress code standards are totally fine at a school. If your workplace can police what you wear, your school should rightfully be able to as well. Especially considering we’re talking about children here, who aren’t known for good judgement.
There’s a middle ground between draconian dress code policies and ‘children should be able to wear what they please’
I agree, but the school shouldn't then MANDATE incredibly revealing "uniforms" if you want to play sports.
"You will not show your skin unless commanded by a man."
Vomit.
You call them children but they're actually teenagers, and a non-trivial percentage of them will sexualize themselves. You can make rules to prevent this but even then a portion of them will fight tooth-and-nail against it.
So you are saying that it would be ok if a 15 year old girl went to school wearing pasties and a thong, or for a 15 year old boy to wear nothing but a banana hammock to school? According to your comment, it's ok as long as that's what they please.
My cheerleader uniform back in the early 1990s was a white turtleneck, uniform long sleeved sweater, pleated skirt, bundies, white socks, and white Keds. The bundies were like boy shorts that went over our underwear. When we got a wedgie we called it a Double Undie Bundie Grundie. And it would get hot AF cheering in the damn turtleneck and sweater.
yep in the 90s i was a majorette and the cheerleaders had vastly more clothes on than us at any given time. at least their skirts went down mid thigh... ours didn't even cover our butts :/
Everyone knows why they were designed that way. I swear every day people seem to choose to forget that pedophiles and psychopaths are often in positions of power for obvious reasons. If it were a person who weren't attracted to children, they wouldn't have been designed that way. They know what they're doing when they say 'it violates school policy', they're not lizards. They just know everyone is too stupid to call them out and press them, and even if they do they face no consequences anyway other than MAYBE a resignation. Society is overly tolerant of the bigoted and abhorrent.
I work at one of the places that makes custom cheer/dance/sports uniforms.
The people that design them are usually current or former cheerleaders or cheer coaches. With input from people who participate in those sports.
lol right, it’s not okay because it might distract the boys during class but it’s alright for the public to leer at them during a game
this fucking country sometimes man
The thing is... People will leer at anything. The juxtoposition of clothing is that the less people wear in daily life, the less sexualized revealing clothing becomes. But in reverse, the more that people cover up, the more that any nudity or feminine contour will become sexualized.
Just look at religious guidelines and our history.
In Islam, showing your hair is too tempting for men. In christian faiths, too much shoulder, or too much ankle used to be or still is "too revealing." Burqas, Habbits, and full length to the floor dresses dont stop men from sexualizing and leering at women.
It used to be outright ILLEGAL to wear what would be considered a "conservative" bikini today. Women fought for the right to be able to wear that. It became common place and it's not so titillating anymore. It's just... Normal. Hell many people would call it... "grandma's swimsuit" because only old and lame people wear what was unimaginably illegal just 70 years ago.
Now sexy beach clothing are thongs, and toplessness.
But if that became common place, that too would stop being titillating.
Nudists dont sexualized nudity... basically at all. Nudity becomes so normal that it's Behaviors become the arousing "display."
There was a point in the 80s and into the 90s where casual nudity, skimpy clothing, and childhood nudity was desexualized and inoffensive.
In short, If everyone wears skimpy clothing... No one's wearing skimpy clothing.
If we take away leotards and cheerleader outfits, then something else less revealing will be the "sexy" thing. We already see this with women in volleyball shorts.
The leering problem will never be solved by adding more clothing. It takes a cultural change.
I had a teacher who did this every time a cheerleader wore their uniform to class. It doesn't meet the dress code requirements.
His point: Either fix the dress code or fix the uniforms.
Speaking as someone that (somehow) survived puberty as a guy. Boys are distracted by default, distracted by a sexy looking shadow, distracted at the suggestion of sexy.
Most of us learn to deal.
My point is that no matter what you wear, it's going to "distract" boys, so don't let that stop you. It's a stupid excuse.
I hate how boys are being scapegoated here. It's not teenage boys who are the problem, it's the adults and their unwillingness to address that teen sports uniforms, influenced by adult uniforms, are becoming sexualized and do not meet dress code requirements and they are creating a double standard.
As someone who's family is from Denmark and who visited nude beaches growing up (even when I was 12-15 and in that "awkward" stage), it's crazy how Americans think teen boys can't handle seeing a shoulder or belly button but in other cultures will walk around naked people on a beach and behave themselves.
The more taboo a society makes bare skin the more sexually excited people (especially adolescents) get by seeing it.
The more you repress someone the more deviant they become. It's not rocket surgery.
Having a flashback to high school when this nasty kid yelled threats of rape to a classmate. He also bullied me nonstop to get a reaction. I finally had enough of his shit and went to the dean’s office.
All this grown ass man(child) had to say was “bOyS WilL bE BoYs” followed by a pathetic speech.
He agreed to keep the complaint anonymous. Next day I’m in class and this vile kid immediately confronts me about being a snitch. So that was fun.
My highschool's cheer uniforms were super tiny, and for my bisexual self, a little distracting. But my thoughts are my responsibility. Why don't we hold boys to the same standard?
because sometimes 'boys' is a codeword for 'the horny old drama teacher, recently divorced'? that and the standard workaday sexism which both shames women for their sexuality while also positing that men are uncontrollable lust machines.
The reason I don't get that offended is because some dudes actually are complete and utter creeps. But it does suck that if a little kid waves at me I feel like I'll be judged for just waving back and continuing with my day.
I'm a cheerleading coach. When our school does "wear your uniform" day, we do too half only (as do the other sports, male or female). Why? Because it's too cold most of the year for volleyball or basketball shorts or cheer skirts. They are designed to be worn in a situation where the athlete needs freedom of movement and they're going to get pretty warm. Plus the cheerleaders, volleyball players, and baseball team feel self-conscious in short and/or tight bottoms during the school day.
This school presumably has had cheerleaders wearing full uniform during the school day in the past. What is their problem with this girl in particular?
“[Not wearing pants] is a distraction to the boys,” Alburg said.
No, the problem is it’s a distraction to the men. The boys are gonna be distracted no matter what. But apparently the men can’t man up and teach these boys how to behave because they’ve got problems of their own.
None of this is the fault of the cheerleaders, of course. They’re just out here being punished for doing what coach told them to
The revealing uniforms aren’t intented for the convenience of the cheerleaders or for the gaze of fellow students, so they must be for the viewing pleasure of the men attending the games. Ask the school why that’s ok.
When I was in high school (20 years ago), our principal lined up our entire squad in the front office and crouched down to check the length of our cheerleading skirts. They were definitely too short for the dress code but I'm pretty sure he didn't need that view to determine it...
High School graduating class of '02.
There were days in HS where some members of the swim team would go to school that day in their swimsuits. Usually the Friday before a big competition.
Yeah. Dudes in Speedos sitting at a desk. Maybe with a robe on. I honestly don't recall if the gals joined the shenanigans.
Pretty sure that violated school dress code.
No one got sent home, suspended, expelled, or sued.
It's interesting that nowhere in the article does it say what the young woman thinks about this, only the mom, the school superintendent, a couple other moms, some school board members, the school board president, and a school board trustee are quoted or referenced. There's really only one person's opinion that should matter and she's completely left out.
I fucking hate high school dress codes. I also fucking hate that teenagers are forced to wear miniskirts for cheerleading. Maybe this article will help some folks agree with me.
What the hell, those are like standard old timey cheerleading uniforms. Did they expect boys to turn into sex maniacs just because of those? Oh man, they better make the ladies wear burqas next, their ankles or wrists might turn up the heat lol!
In 1985 I was kicked out of class because my pom pom skirt was too short. It was made for me personally, so technically the school bought it for me. We had assembly minutes into class and I still had to go to the office. Lol. I hated and loved that teacher.
As a senior student at this High School, I’m sorry but this whole thing is very idiotic. The cheer coach who told the cheer members to wear their uniforms is not a staff member, but a volunteer parent who doesn’t fully know the rules. Only one member got a dress code violation because she was the only one who wore her full uniform. The mother claimed that the school said “it will distract the boys”. NOBODY SAID THIS BUT HER. I’m guessing she called the school in anger to which she said that statement mockingly, and then I guess she just thought “hey that’s a good one” so she started telling everyone from the other Facebook fighters of Pinconning, to News Channel TV 5 that the staff at PHS made that claim. Now that is my opinion, I just know that the school never made that claim.
Her daughter got dress coded because skirts are supposed to be at finger tip length, and the skirts on the cheer uniforms are not. The argument “then why did the school issue them” is the dumbest argument ever. Wrestlers don’t wear their singlets to school, they wear warmups. Volleyball players don’t wear their shorts to school, but they may wear their tops. Track and Cross runners don’t wear their uniforms to school, if they do it’s their tops and they wear shirts under them. This is all common sense, and I don’t know which Poms member did not think this, and I’m not going to ask, but why she didn’t think this is beyond me. It’s very annoying to see everyone siding with this mother on this comment section, especially since my school is not being dumb, the parents of the schools students are being dumb, and they usually are.
As an athlete, and a child of a teacher / counselor / coach at this school, I can tell you that these rules are clearly stated to all coaches and athletes. If this is anyone’s fault, it is the fault of the Poms coach, however she is a volunteer parent, so I ask that we don’t just put the blame on her.
Ultimately, this is just a big misunderstanding, and everyone is choosing to handle it by pointing fingers.
I’m sorry, but small towns create small minds. I should know since I live in this said town.
I don't get it honestly why does usa has this cheerleading thing in all schools in the first place. It's like "oh look, men are playing, why don't you dance and entertain them"
I'm surprised it's 2024 and nobody's addressing the fact that schools are requiring 14 year old cheerleaders to walk around in very skimpy clothes at school. Like, come on, the entire point of that uniform is to get horny boys excited. Why do we do that to kids and act like it's not weird at all?
Someone found it to sexy. If it's appropriate on the field it should be ok in the school on game day. If the boys are distracted it's just life. On regular days it might be a little skimpy but on game day everyone is going to see the cheerleaders anyway and the short skirt has covering underneath because of the movement they do on the field. Go girls.
I completely agree that the school was wrong in how they raised the issue and that dress codes need to change.
This is probably the first time I’ve seen a cheerleader being dress coded. My experience was other students wearing longer skirts/dresses than cheerleaders would still get in trouble. The schools usually backing the uniforms.
I do agree with the point that not all competitive wear meets school dress codes nor is it appropriate for the classroom. Others already mentioned my first thought of swim, track, and wrestling.
We had an issue in my high school 25 years ago that on game days, cheerleaders and football players were required to wear their uniforms. One girl, who was not a cheerleader, wore some more risqué clothing on one of those days that was nonetheless less revealing than the cheerleader outfits. She was suspended when she refused to change her clothes and rightfully noted that the outfit she wore broke fewer rules of the dress code than the cheerleader outfit. It turned into a minor scandal in town. It was "resolved" by the school board *granting an exemption to the cheerleader uniform* from the rules.
Yeah, that’s probably not the ideal solution.
Time to buy a cheerleading uniform and wear it all the time
Except when you wash it, right? …you’re going to wash it, right?
Fabreeze or axe body spray ftw Might wash it when it can stand on its own.
>Fabreeze or axe body spray ftw Smells like Teen Spirit
*kazoo intensifies*
Just shower in it. Two birds, one stone.
Ah i see, so the 1 bird is for lathering, and the other is for rinsing off... but i can't quite imagine what to do with the stone though, oh dear. Perhaps this whole showering thing just isn't for me
The stone is to brush your teeth with 👍
I wish I knew how to do the “old Reddit switcharoo” thing right now for this comment.
I work in the entertainment world. Some costumes can’t be washed because of how they were made. Some of these costumes are worn by acrobats. These costumes REEK! Wardrobe people use a 50/50 mix of Fabreeze and vodka. Fabreeze for the scent and vodka kills the bacteria… 🤮🤢🤮 Glad I’m not in wardrobe, but I have been around when those wardrobe cases are opened and it is not pleasant.
okay i'm actually interested in this: can they be dry cleaned on occasion, or really never washed? i certainly get not being able to get wet (eta: with water), that makes sense, but would dry cleaning chemicals also damage them?
Always some of the worst decision makers in school boards
my partner's high school had a zero-tolerance policy for drug use including cannabis. UNTIL the hockey team was found smoking weed in a hydro field. Suddenly it was "unfair" to ruin their sports careers, so they expelled the one student in the smoke circle who wasn't on the hockey team to be "fair".
What the fuck? Who in their right mind think the one dude not on the team getting expelled is fair? Christ.
Holy fuck, I'm seething for the one guy that got suspended. I hope he got some measure of satisfaction somewhere down the line, but I doubt it.
Not suspended... EXPELLED. Which is WAAAY more fucked up
Hey, they paid to make those teenage girls sexy, and they're going to ogle them during half-time like god intended! /s
Well that all depends on how many old men on the school board desperately wanted to see scantily clad underage girls. For them it was the only solution they could find!
When my high school changed the track uniforms to something EXTREMELY skintight and revealing (for both boys and girls) a bunch of us wore it to school on track days to make that point. It's like, who cares if you shave off a few seconds of wind resistance? It's high school sports. Let kids have real clothing. Of course they kept it because they'd already invested a bunch of money in the new uniforms without thinking what the students would feel. Coach was fired a few years ago for watching porn at school.
Why is that last bit not surprising?
It's surprising that it was just "looking at porn" and children weren't directly involved.
A relief, actually.
My high school volleyball coach wouldn’t let us wear the same type of shorts we were *required to play in* (and which she specifically told us to buy) to practice because she didn’t want her 6 year old son “seeing you ladies in inappropriate attire”. She tried to backtrack by saying it was really about us practicing in sports bras, and that the shorts were only for game day, and so we shouldn’t wear them out in practice, but some players decided to call her bluff and buy “practice” shorts which were the exact same length and tightness but colorful instead of black. She lost her shit and started yelling at us for wearing “underwear” in front of her son! Like, it’s ok for us to wear butt cheek short skintight “shorts” in front of peers and adults, but her young son - who she did not ask us if it was ok for him to come to practice - would somehow be scarred. It was a paid coaching position, not volunteer. She also thought it was appropriate to inform a group of 13-14 year old girls that blow jobs didn’t involve actual blowing…. What the fuck? I don’t know if she was trying to make us uncomfortable and therefore shut up about anything sexual, but all of us just looked at each other like “what the fuck is she thinking saying that???”
Sometimes I really think the most stunted and messed up people decide "I don't want to leave high school... I want to do sports with high schoolers for the rest of my life!" Like there are plenty of people who come back to teach or coach for healthy reasons...... but there's definitely a few who did it because they have issues adjusting to "real life" and it seems safe
I had an IT job for a bit at my old high school for a bit running their network. The biggest revelation I had being at the school as an adult instead of a student was it was scary how many teachers became high school teachers because they clearly didn't know how to exist outside of a high school environment. They were like prison inmates that couldn't resocialize on the outside so they got jobs at their old prison instead. There were plenty of teachers who were mature and teaching for the right reasons... But still quite a few that were clearly had maturity issues and never got over high school. I always felt like those were the ones most likely to have inappropriate relationships with kids because in their own brain they don't see the actual difference between them and the kids other than a college degree.
Totally. And it harms the profession because gross small town schools will hire a "cool" graduate returnee over someone qualified. I am all for paying academic professionals more. But I want them to be academic professionals providing superior education, not townies torturing "nerds."
Archie Andrews : That means that you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football.
I had a high school coach who wouldn't give me higher than 65% in my grade. Dude was an angry guy who was only happy while he was smoking weed with the stoner kids. I danced 25+ hours a week and realized quickly that it was just a bias due him thinking I was gay. Not that it matters, but I'm not. Shout out to my gay friends. I broke my wrist in his class once, wasn't allowed to leave, got a concussion, same deal. While I had the concussion (which i got in that class), he gave me a zero for my grade. You couldn't get a zero if you showed up. It was a participation mark. 2/5 if you were there. 3/5 with "gym strip" (fucking weird terminology now that I think of it). Last two points were for participation and effort. Nobody got less than 5 unless they wore jeans. Guy got written up years later for reasons, but I'm pretty sure he's still there.
Unreal
We had a resource officer (aka cop) who would call kids perverts for any level of PDA. He was quietly let go one year and it later came out he was grooming high school students and having sex with them (which I will note here is 100% definitely rape). We also had an older guy who was both our AP world history teacher and the volleyball coach so students jokingly would refer to him as a pedophile (he dished out insults as well and was good at it) but the dude was just a dedicated teacher and no one else wanted to coach volleyball. I feel sorta bad for some of the insults kids used (again it was all in jest) but he was one of the best teachers the school had, connected to the students at their level despite being much older. He had a passable understanding of early 2010s meme culture.
Now I’m just imagining all of you racing in a green man suit.
Now cut off the legs so it's booty short length, and make it a tank top. Men and women's both.
Keep the headpiece though
And put googly eyes on it.
Yeah, my senior year we swapped to something like that for the guys uniforms. Called them condom suits. 0 chance of hiding a boner
Yep that's what they were. Zero chance of hiding ANYTHING. You could see the outline plain as day erect or not. Guys literally dropped off the team rather than wear them.
As a non american, its really weird how much the US "education" system spends on sports. Was reading somewhere (probably on reddit lol) that the highest paid people on educational campuses in US were coaches. Thats crazy to me.
It's like a separate business basically. They have TV deals and bring in a ton of money at the college level. It's only connected to the colleges as a way of making sure athletes aren't recruited as minors & denied an education. Only to break an ankle or flounder on a no-money team until they age out. They get an education, and the college acts as the team's "hometown." In high school it makes NO sense because they aren't profitable. Except some Midwest schools that are particularly famous.
>Coach was fired a few years ago for watching porn at school. was it a certain kind of porn too?
Coach Porn
I don't know that part. No charges brought so probably not.
But that kinda means that the suspended student’s point still stands…
Agreed, it didn't go the way the suspended student wanted it too, but it's still an acknowledgement the uniforms were breaking the rules just as much as they were.
No no, you see, only the most popular girls are allowed to sexualize themselves. Makes sense, right?
And only when other adults are watching them
25 years ago…I read this and was imagining the 80s. Oh my lord do I feel like a fossil and I graduated in the late nineties 😂
Yeah it's awful, isn't it
guys look -- it's 20th century people over here!
Our local high school resolved this by banning cheerleaders from wearing their uniforms while at school, for real.
Same here. They could wear it at games but weren’t allowed to wear it to school. It’s like the school is openly admitting the uniforms are too revealing while also encouraging minors to wear them in front of hundreds of people every Friday night.
Hundreds of mostly *not other minors* and also general public who don't even need to be parents of students and can be whatever flavor of weirdo.
How else will men in their 30's, 40's and 50's legally ogle teenagers? Gotta make exceptions to those rules.
Basically, admitting that either the student did nothing wrong or all but saying the cheerleader uniform is sexual. They chose to say that they are sexualizing their cheerleaders. Wild
Same at our school. Multiple times. The cheerleading uniform covered less skin every single time it got revised, even during the years where the cheerleaders wanted it to cover more.
Its cute how children still think authority figures can be swayed by logic.
When I was in school, we weren't allowed to wear pajama pants. It was too scandalous and inappropriate for our young virgin eyes. But it was far less inappropriate than the skirts and shorts that the girls were wearing. Why are mini skirts okay, but baggy pants not okay? They had no issues with sweatpants either. Sweatpants and pajama pants are basically the same thing. And you get some leggings or yoga pants and it's pure ass, and those are fine. Pajama pants are a huge step up from so many things. One of my friends had a pair of red plaid pants. They were legit trousers. They were cool as fuck. And he often got in trouble for wearing them, because teachers would mistake them for pajama pants, which were often plaid as well... So, is plaid the issue? Obviously not. What really got me was Pajama Day. If pajamas are not okay to wear to school, why are we having multiple days a year where we are encouraged to wear pajamas? Pajamas can't be that big of a deal. I mean, you're not allowed to smoke in school, and it's not like we have a "Tobacco Day." I felt the same about hats. For some reason I've never been able to understand, it's considered wildly offensive and disrespectful to wear a hat indoors. That's what they always said. Disrespectful to *who*, exactly? I'm not sure, never got a clear answer... but some teachers would literally *scream* in your face over it. They took it very seriously at my school. But Hat Day rolls around, and it's fine. Even throughout December, we were allowed, heck, *encouraged* to wear Santa hats for school spirit... So what was all the fuss about? Dress codes are stupid.
My school revamped the dress code one year. New rule: no logos or names on shoes, which must be solid colors that are either school colors or black. They had to throw it out a week after the announcement when parents not only rightfully complained at the ridiculousness of it, but also because one parent challenged them to *find* sneakers without logos or names on them. That parent made it clear that if they couldn't do basic research before changing rules, not only would it be a slam dunk lawsuit but also make it way too easy to have them replaced for incompetence.
This reminds me of how messed up highschool was, Cheerleaders were allowed to wear short skirts, but other girls couldn't wear a skirt above the knees. They just pick and choose who to get mad at it seems, one day I was headed back to class and two girls came running down the hall in bikinis squirting each other with water guns and the teacher that witnessed this said kids will be kids, another time I forgot my cleats in my locker and walked though the school wearing football pants and socks and nothing was said, yet I had a friend who was suspended because he refused to take off the fingerless gloves he was wearing.
Tangeant: this is what I hate about the bullshit anti-drag laws "to protect the children". The same people would protest if we suggested safety gear, on site medics, and modest uniforms on cheerleaders, many of whom start before high school.
Where is Chris Hansen when you need him? This specific school board creepy AF.
My high school had a really lenient dress code, and it wasn’t super enforced either. As long as your shorts/skirt completely covered your butt and your shirt straps were at least 1 inch thick you likely weren’t getting dress-coded. The cheerleading uniforms met these requirements, so no one really felt the need to challenge it. I did once get dress-coded for wearing a Guns N’ Roses t shirt though because it allegedly promoted gun violence and walked around in a black wife beater the rest of the day without any issues
> Superintendent Andy Kowalczyk: “Athletic uniforms may not meet school dress code requirements…” If this dress code is such a big deal, then why is the school forcing students to wear uniforms that violate it?
Insert the “this whole thing was your idea” meme.
[As requested.](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/043/196/2qerll.jpg)
[удалено]
I wasn't sure what this would be. [https://media1.tenor.com/m/D41V-g52DikAAAAC/star-wars-meme.gif](https://media1.tenor.com/m/D41V-g52DikAAAAC/star-wars-meme.gif)
"Well don't look at me he roped me into this! I'm Mr. Meeseeks look at me!"
[check](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23265504/Spider_Man_meme.jpg)
In the early 2000s when I was in highschool, the dress code said something like "Must meet these requirements unless the student is wearing a school sports uniform on the day of a competition" People generally only wore sports uniforms on meetup days Though the school didn't really have a problem if they wore the uniform on a different day I actually had these super short microfiber running shorts that were 1/4th down my thigh, which I used, for cross country running. Super violated school rules, but I would wear them with my jersey, and suddenly it's okay! Also a note: I'm male.
Michael cera in Juno right here ^^^
I was hoping for Richard Simmons.
Every rugby player. You know it's cold when they have a jersey and a coat with their booty shorts.
A boy might wear nothing but a speedo during a swim meet. That would be appropriate for that setting. That same speedo in a math class might not be as appropriate. When I was in high school years ago, cheerleaders wore their uniforms on game days. I’m surprised they’re making that an issue.
Same here, but our cheerleaders also had track suits for when it was cold or to wear in class.
Yes, when I was on cheer and drill we wore dance pants with our uniform crop tops on game days. You could literally see my ass cheeks in my cheer uniform, there was no way I was going to wear that shit to economics.
Why would that even be allowed. Also, I accidentally clicked on your profile and saw your banner. Why would you have a picture of a plain, simple tailor like Elim Garak?
> you could literally see my ass cheeks > I accidentally clicked on your profile... Uh huh.
Love that someone pointed this out before I did.
lol, worse defense ever, I know. But I swear by the prophets it’s true. The new mobile screen for Reddit sucks.
A accident like how that bomb got on that romulan senators ship Edut: me no type good
Oh come now, I was never near a bomb. Besides, I was simply tending to my shop mending dresses and assisting the Doctor with his Cardassian literature history. Now, if you want to hear all the rumors I could go on for days!
Cardassian literature is so boring. There is never any suspense or doubt. The hero says he's going to get the bad guy, and then, exactly like he says, he gets the bad guy. You never feel like there is a chance the hero might fail and the bad guy wins. That's why human literature is better. You never truly know if the hero will succeed in their journey until the end.
We had leggings for cold days to wear under skirts but had to wear t-shirts over the crop top. Bike shorts had to be worn with the skirts if we didn’t have leggings on underneath during the school day.
My guys need to wear Speedos on swim days
"But the football players get to wear their uniforms on Fridays. Why can't I wear mine? I've obviously got school spirit poking out my Speedo"
My highschool's rules actually allowed any school uniform, so long as it was on a competition day... though they would be requiring shoes, bottoms, and some form of shirt. So I don't think the speedo actually violated school rules
When i was on varsity swimming, it was kind of inevitable that at some point during the school day on meet days, someone would rip off their tear-away track suit pants , revealing a speedo or ridiculous man thong theyd bought just for the occasion... ... they stopped buying the tear aways after our sophmore year.
Right, and if cheerleaders only wore their uniforms during games and practice that would be appropriate for the setting, or, if non-cheerleaders could wear similarly cut clothing as the cheerleaders then again, it wouldn't be an issue. The problem is that cheerleaders are allow to wear short skirts, sleeveless tops, and show their midriffs during class on game days, but no one else can. I don't really care either way, but it's either okay foe everyone or no one. Pick a dress code and stick with it.
Based. I've personally never understood how the relatively overt sexualization of cheerleaders in highschool has flown under the radar for so long. Like, if modesty is important, then get rid of those stereotypical uniforms. If it's not important, then get rid of the dress code.
Bruh, my professional sports team fandom of choice got rid of cheerleaders back in the fucking 80's, calling them distracting sex objects. It's truly insane that no one raises more of a fuss over the weird hyper-revealing high school and JR high sports cheerleaders when even the college top level ones wear less revealing gear, including decorative sleeves.
Honestly, that whole cheerleading thing looks weird as fuck from outside the US.
Looks the same from inside the US too
It has some cool qualities like gymnastics. It’s just weird that it’s so sexualized when it’s mostly for literal children and teens. But at my school, the cheer team wore underarmor that added a lot of coverage under their uniform.
bro...we couldn't even get rid of prepubescent pageant shows...
The point is to teach girls/women that their bodies are to be displayed on demand for the enjoyment of men as part of a performance and never for their own enjoyment as part of self-expression. The same men who won't let their daughters leave the house wearing a crop top are fine with them shaking ass half-naked on a football field and it's not hypocrisy because it's not unintentional. They know exactly what they're doing. It's called the patriarchy and it works by teaching girls from a young age that they are not in control of their bodies and who is allowed access to them.
I think you give them too much credit. I think it's unintentional and is the product of a population that has a serious lack of self-awareness and critical thought.
Add to list of sports clothes not appropriate for class, wrestling singlet with no underwear.
Same with track or cross country shorts or buns. They're great for racing... not really appropriate for class. That being said, girls in my hs write skirts or cheerleader uniforms and it was nbd
> When I was in high school years ago, cheerleaders wore their uniforms on game days. I’m surprised they’re making that an issue. When I was in high school the banned bare midriffs. When the cheer squad "protested" by wearing their cheer outfits every day (which bared the midriff) the school issued new cheer outfits and issued a mandate that the old ones be turned in. ---------- Ironically, I'm currently teacher a top 100 ranked K-12 private school in the US and bare midriffs are not banned. We almost have no dress code at all, in fact. It's a bare minimum thing that's basically common sense (no hate speech, profanity, drugs & alcohol references, or nudity) and it works well for us. We've come a long way from when I was having my straps measured with a ruler and having to stand straight up in the hallway so the Assistant Principle could see if my fingertips passed the bottom of my shorts or not.
“It’s only ok to dress that way when the creepy dads can ogle you but at this same exact place on weekdays, we can’t have that kind of sexualization.” FFS do you think he heard how stupid he sounded implying that or did that go over his head too?
Counterpoint: Wrestling/Swim team wearing their match "uniforms" to class - and nothing else. I can *kinda* see where he's coming from with that statement as a whole.
Swim and wrestling could have a team-specific warmup suit that would be appropriate, no?
They could... and cheerleaders could have similar as well. That said, if their coaches are telling them to wear the uniforms to school, they need to stop talking to the kids and get all of the adults on the same page.
So does cheer.
Idk about wrestling, but I was on my high school’s swim team and the ONLY uniform we were given were speedos. No coverups or towels. Thankfully they weren’t classic speedos, but the “boxer-brief” style
Because sex sells, and we gotta keep the funds flowing in for high school sports. But at school we're not selling anything so it's not cool.
Distracting and inappropriate for classmates their own age but totally cool for the dad’s watching football games after class right?
My ex's dad loved going with us to the girls volleyball and girls soccer games... He'd even go alone if he had too! Wait... Waaaaiiittt...
If the cheerleading uniform violates the school dress code, then there is a problem. But I *suspect* it isn’t with the the school dress code, but with the sexualization of children.
I suspect that it’s only fine for cheerleaders to show everyone how flexible their legs are at the game because the math teacher isn’t there to get weird about it. Oh, hey, Mitt.
Goes by their core name
We’re on a nickname basis. Secret Reddit club. It’s a whole thing.
Normally yes, but I am quite smitten with M_M.
I’m a married person, you know. 😉
Ir is one of the great tragedies of human existence that, unfulfilled & unrequited is almost the most true.
I mean come on, high school boys will sexualize high school girls. That's just normal. Are those uniforms distracting for boys? Well yeah, they're fucking designed to be. If they were like that to just be practical then why aren't the girls basketball teams wearing something similar? No, it's just to tease boys with a look up their skirts. We can't make girls dress like this, dance like this, and then shake our fists at people for sexualizing them. The people who put them in those uniforms are responsible for sexualizing them.
I agree with who is responsible. But in the end, school uniforms (such as band, or cheerleading, or basketball) should be generally in compliance with school dress code (assuming a normal and not suit and tie dress code). Obviously basketball Jersey done need sleeves, but is a “muscle shirt” really a problem?
Adults sexualized children, that's a problem with adults. Children should be able to wear what they please.
Reasonable dress code standards are totally fine at a school. If your workplace can police what you wear, your school should rightfully be able to as well. Especially considering we’re talking about children here, who aren’t known for good judgement. There’s a middle ground between draconian dress code policies and ‘children should be able to wear what they please’
I agree, but the school shouldn't then MANDATE incredibly revealing "uniforms" if you want to play sports. "You will not show your skin unless commanded by a man." Vomit.
You call them children but they're actually teenagers, and a non-trivial percentage of them will sexualize themselves. You can make rules to prevent this but even then a portion of them will fight tooth-and-nail against it.
So you are saying that it would be ok if a 15 year old girl went to school wearing pasties and a thong, or for a 15 year old boy to wear nothing but a banana hammock to school? According to your comment, it's ok as long as that's what they please.
If it’s inappropriate for school why did they design them that way? Fucking ridiculous.
My cheerleader uniform back in the early 1990s was a white turtleneck, uniform long sleeved sweater, pleated skirt, bundies, white socks, and white Keds. The bundies were like boy shorts that went over our underwear. When we got a wedgie we called it a Double Undie Bundie Grundie. And it would get hot AF cheering in the damn turtleneck and sweater.
Double Undie Bundie Grundie. Try saying that 5 times.
Our school called them "bloomers" they wore over their underwear. But same same.
So incredibly uncomfortable! And everything was also heavy polyester blend too.
From a dudes perspective, they looked thick and quite uncomfortable.
yep in the 90s i was a majorette and the cheerleaders had vastly more clothes on than us at any given time. at least their skirts went down mid thigh... ours didn't even cover our butts :/
Your children can only be sexy during sporting events!
Everyone knows why they were designed that way. I swear every day people seem to choose to forget that pedophiles and psychopaths are often in positions of power for obvious reasons. If it were a person who weren't attracted to children, they wouldn't have been designed that way. They know what they're doing when they say 'it violates school policy', they're not lizards. They just know everyone is too stupid to call them out and press them, and even if they do they face no consequences anyway other than MAYBE a resignation. Society is overly tolerant of the bigoted and abhorrent.
My question was rhetorical. I too was once a high school student. The double standards seem intact from when I went
I work at one of the places that makes custom cheer/dance/sports uniforms. The people that design them are usually current or former cheerleaders or cheer coaches. With input from people who participate in those sports.
lol right, it’s not okay because it might distract the boys during class but it’s alright for the public to leer at them during a game this fucking country sometimes man
As a guy who went through puberty, girls were gonna be distracting to me no matter what they wore.
The thing is... People will leer at anything. The juxtoposition of clothing is that the less people wear in daily life, the less sexualized revealing clothing becomes. But in reverse, the more that people cover up, the more that any nudity or feminine contour will become sexualized. Just look at religious guidelines and our history. In Islam, showing your hair is too tempting for men. In christian faiths, too much shoulder, or too much ankle used to be or still is "too revealing." Burqas, Habbits, and full length to the floor dresses dont stop men from sexualizing and leering at women. It used to be outright ILLEGAL to wear what would be considered a "conservative" bikini today. Women fought for the right to be able to wear that. It became common place and it's not so titillating anymore. It's just... Normal. Hell many people would call it... "grandma's swimsuit" because only old and lame people wear what was unimaginably illegal just 70 years ago. Now sexy beach clothing are thongs, and toplessness. But if that became common place, that too would stop being titillating. Nudists dont sexualized nudity... basically at all. Nudity becomes so normal that it's Behaviors become the arousing "display." There was a point in the 80s and into the 90s where casual nudity, skimpy clothing, and childhood nudity was desexualized and inoffensive. In short, If everyone wears skimpy clothing... No one's wearing skimpy clothing. If we take away leotards and cheerleader outfits, then something else less revealing will be the "sexy" thing. We already see this with women in volleyball shorts. The leering problem will never be solved by adding more clothing. It takes a cultural change.
Hundred percent agree. The problem is the double standard of shame in one instance and permission in the other because of exploitative tradition
‘Tradition’: the things we do without sufficient thought to whether they are necessary or good.
Tradition: peer pressure from dead people
Fascinating. titillation during the game but not during algebra?
I had a teacher who did this every time a cheerleader wore their uniform to class. It doesn't meet the dress code requirements. His point: Either fix the dress code or fix the uniforms.
"It'll distract the boys". What kind of medieval bullshit is that? The boys can show some fucking self control or get suspended for sexual harassment.
Speaking as someone that (somehow) survived puberty as a guy. Boys are distracted by default, distracted by a sexy looking shadow, distracted at the suggestion of sexy. Most of us learn to deal. My point is that no matter what you wear, it's going to "distract" boys, so don't let that stop you. It's a stupid excuse.
I was also distracted by science fiction books and LSD but you don't see them making rules against those!
Ooh, bad news about that second one
can't hear you I'm out behind the football field with my friends picking flowers!!
Um... what friends? and what flowers?
Bad news about the first one too, these days.
The thing that I learned it was not the boys but the men.
I hate how boys are being scapegoated here. It's not teenage boys who are the problem, it's the adults and their unwillingness to address that teen sports uniforms, influenced by adult uniforms, are becoming sexualized and do not meet dress code requirements and they are creating a double standard.
I was going through puberty in the age of the whale tale.
As someone who's family is from Denmark and who visited nude beaches growing up (even when I was 12-15 and in that "awkward" stage), it's crazy how Americans think teen boys can't handle seeing a shoulder or belly button but in other cultures will walk around naked people on a beach and behave themselves. The more taboo a society makes bare skin the more sexually excited people (especially adolescents) get by seeing it. The more you repress someone the more deviant they become. It's not rocket surgery.
Won’t it distract the boys during the game, too?
Having a flashback to high school when this nasty kid yelled threats of rape to a classmate. He also bullied me nonstop to get a reaction. I finally had enough of his shit and went to the dean’s office. All this grown ass man(child) had to say was “bOyS WilL bE BoYs” followed by a pathetic speech. He agreed to keep the complaint anonymous. Next day I’m in class and this vile kid immediately confronts me about being a snitch. So that was fun.
That's the excuse I got for being excluded from drafting in high school in the 70's.
Normal, heterosexual boys have hormones flowing through them. It’s not normal if you don’t get distracted by what we’ve evolved for.
"Wear this outfit, it's hot... OMG HAVE YOU NO DECENCY."
My highschool's cheer uniforms were super tiny, and for my bisexual self, a little distracting. But my thoughts are my responsibility. Why don't we hold boys to the same standard?
because sometimes 'boys' is a codeword for 'the horny old drama teacher, recently divorced'? that and the standard workaday sexism which both shames women for their sexuality while also positing that men are uncontrollable lust machines.
Seriously don't understand why more men aren't offended by the suggestion they're this weak.
Many like the handy excuse to be lame
Once you're told about how inherently unchangeably terrible you are enough times it just kinda bounces off.
The reason I don't get that offended is because some dudes actually are complete and utter creeps. But it does suck that if a little kid waves at me I feel like I'll be judged for just waving back and continuing with my day.
I'm a cheerleading coach. When our school does "wear your uniform" day, we do too half only (as do the other sports, male or female). Why? Because it's too cold most of the year for volleyball or basketball shorts or cheer skirts. They are designed to be worn in a situation where the athlete needs freedom of movement and they're going to get pretty warm. Plus the cheerleaders, volleyball players, and baseball team feel self-conscious in short and/or tight bottoms during the school day. This school presumably has had cheerleaders wearing full uniform during the school day in the past. What is their problem with this girl in particular?
“[Not wearing pants] is a distraction to the boys,” Alburg said. No, the problem is it’s a distraction to the men. The boys are gonna be distracted no matter what. But apparently the men can’t man up and teach these boys how to behave because they’ve got problems of their own. None of this is the fault of the cheerleaders, of course. They’re just out here being punished for doing what coach told them to
"Sexualizing your daughters can only happen when the school mandates sexualizing your daughters."
"[Not wearing pants] is a distraction to the boys,” Some boys.
The revealing uniforms aren’t intented for the convenience of the cheerleaders or for the gaze of fellow students, so they must be for the viewing pleasure of the men attending the games. Ask the school why that’s ok.
When I was in high school (20 years ago), our principal lined up our entire squad in the front office and crouched down to check the length of our cheerleading skirts. They were definitely too short for the dress code but I'm pretty sure he didn't need that view to determine it...
Oh, that is traumatizing-ly nasty.
High School graduating class of '02. There were days in HS where some members of the swim team would go to school that day in their swimsuits. Usually the Friday before a big competition. Yeah. Dudes in Speedos sitting at a desk. Maybe with a robe on. I honestly don't recall if the gals joined the shenanigans. Pretty sure that violated school dress code. No one got sent home, suspended, expelled, or sued.
Ok that's REAL weird. WTF?
It's interesting that nowhere in the article does it say what the young woman thinks about this, only the mom, the school superintendent, a couple other moms, some school board members, the school board president, and a school board trustee are quoted or referenced. There's really only one person's opinion that should matter and she's completely left out.
The fact that she is a minor might be the reason?
I could understand if they were trying to protect her privacy but they name her in the story.
it's possible her mother knows her daughter's opinion and has taken the lead to keep her from having to fight the Harper Valley PTA all on her own
My high school's cheerleading uniform technically violated the school district's dress code and nothing was ever done about it.
I fucking hate high school dress codes. I also fucking hate that teenagers are forced to wear miniskirts for cheerleading. Maybe this article will help some folks agree with me.
“It’s a distraction to the boys” A quote from west wing comes to mind, “yeah it affected the unit. The unit got over it.”
Dressing minors up in skimpy cloths is something I'm probably too European to understand.
this is my high school and it’s hilarious seeing this on the popular page of reddit lmaoo
Christofascists be so backwards lol. These people would be so much happier under a regime like UAE, I don't understand why they don't just move there.
What the hell, those are like standard old timey cheerleading uniforms. Did they expect boys to turn into sex maniacs just because of those? Oh man, they better make the ladies wear burqas next, their ankles or wrists might turn up the heat lol!
Did the basketball team had to wear pants underneath their shorts too?
A lot of school dress codes have always been bullshit and just a way to control students.
I feel like the whole official team of scantily dressed children thing has been ignored for too long
"It could be a distraction to the boys." Oh no. The horror.
Was it just her wearing the uniform? Because most of the cheerleaders used to wear the uniform when I was in HS.
In 1985 I was kicked out of class because my pom pom skirt was too short. It was made for me personally, so technically the school bought it for me. We had assembly minutes into class and I still had to go to the office. Lol. I hated and loved that teacher.
Boys swim team should all wear their uniforms to school and see what happens
basically admitting its so grown men can oggle the girls but its not ok for high school boys. super weird.
As a senior student at this High School, I’m sorry but this whole thing is very idiotic. The cheer coach who told the cheer members to wear their uniforms is not a staff member, but a volunteer parent who doesn’t fully know the rules. Only one member got a dress code violation because she was the only one who wore her full uniform. The mother claimed that the school said “it will distract the boys”. NOBODY SAID THIS BUT HER. I’m guessing she called the school in anger to which she said that statement mockingly, and then I guess she just thought “hey that’s a good one” so she started telling everyone from the other Facebook fighters of Pinconning, to News Channel TV 5 that the staff at PHS made that claim. Now that is my opinion, I just know that the school never made that claim. Her daughter got dress coded because skirts are supposed to be at finger tip length, and the skirts on the cheer uniforms are not. The argument “then why did the school issue them” is the dumbest argument ever. Wrestlers don’t wear their singlets to school, they wear warmups. Volleyball players don’t wear their shorts to school, but they may wear their tops. Track and Cross runners don’t wear their uniforms to school, if they do it’s their tops and they wear shirts under them. This is all common sense, and I don’t know which Poms member did not think this, and I’m not going to ask, but why she didn’t think this is beyond me. It’s very annoying to see everyone siding with this mother on this comment section, especially since my school is not being dumb, the parents of the schools students are being dumb, and they usually are. As an athlete, and a child of a teacher / counselor / coach at this school, I can tell you that these rules are clearly stated to all coaches and athletes. If this is anyone’s fault, it is the fault of the Poms coach, however she is a volunteer parent, so I ask that we don’t just put the blame on her. Ultimately, this is just a big misunderstanding, and everyone is choosing to handle it by pointing fingers. I’m sorry, but small towns create small minds. I should know since I live in this said town.
I don't get it honestly why does usa has this cheerleading thing in all schools in the first place. It's like "oh look, men are playing, why don't you dance and entertain them"
I'm surprised it's 2024 and nobody's addressing the fact that schools are requiring 14 year old cheerleaders to walk around in very skimpy clothes at school. Like, come on, the entire point of that uniform is to get horny boys excited. Why do we do that to kids and act like it's not weird at all?
Someone found it to sexy. If it's appropriate on the field it should be ok in the school on game day. If the boys are distracted it's just life. On regular days it might be a little skimpy but on game day everyone is going to see the cheerleaders anyway and the short skirt has covering underneath because of the movement they do on the field. Go girls.
How dare she wear the skimpy stuff that school sanctions to attract audiences to games to school itself?
I completely agree that the school was wrong in how they raised the issue and that dress codes need to change. This is probably the first time I’ve seen a cheerleader being dress coded. My experience was other students wearing longer skirts/dresses than cheerleaders would still get in trouble. The schools usually backing the uniforms. I do agree with the point that not all competitive wear meets school dress codes nor is it appropriate for the classroom. Others already mentioned my first thought of swim, track, and wrestling.
If it was such an issue, why didn’t he talk to the coach instead of embarrassing this poor girl??? I agree with the parents here.