Blog 19

This will be the blog for my introduction, eventually.  I am really really having a rough time even thinking of an introduction.

Im at a crossroad because well, I have research that follow a framework but, no one has ever done research on the topic I am studying.  I have thought over and over again how to start this.  I have the body work, its the introduction that is my biggest issue.

Going back to my introduction, finally!

            In terms of academia, all reports on cheerleading have been done on gender and gender equality.  Works such as “Cheerleading and the Gendered Politics of Sport” and “Hands on Hips, Smiles and Lips!” by Laura Grindstaff of the University of California and Emily West of the University of Massachusetts focus on the gender issues within the cheerleading world.  Unlike the works of Grindstaff and West, my study will show how the role of cheerleading reflects a person’s self image and the importance of relationships within a tightly bonded team.  The study will ultimately differ from others, aside from the topic, because it is written by an inside source rather than an observer not from the field.  The interviews and observations are done from a peer-to-peer perspective rather than a stranger to cheerleader one. My study will negotiate, through observations and an interview, the way the cheerleaders think about themselves as well as part of their team.  This will in turn, complicate the moves the cheerleaders make to come up with a story on who they are as individuals.