Blog 22

Some Introduction Work. . .

Ethnography:  Cheerleading defining Self Identify [I need a better title, something creative]

Crowds have been cheering since the beginning of sports teams, but it was not until the late 1800’s that organized cheerleading came into play.  When most people hear the word “cheerleading”, they automatically think of girls in short skirts but, in fact, men started the sport.  It was not until 1923 that women finally joined the world of cheerleading and began dominating the sport during World War II when the men were out fighting for their country.  It was during this time that cheerleading began to incorporate tumbling, stunting, and props like megaphones and pom-poms.  Today, a hundred years after its start, the sport of cheerleading has become all-American and continues to grow.  People off all ages and all genders from all over the world participate.  Although started by males and then transitioning to females, cheerleading is now embraced by both sexes.  Cheerleading continues to make its way into the sports work, a well as the world of popular culture. [please let me know if this is too much background information]  

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.