You are currently browsing the daily archive for March 26, 2012.
As usual Sociological Images is chock-full of interesting articles. I was intrigued by the title of this post and decided to reproduce it in part here for the benefit of my readership. While you are there, check out the article on how cheerleading outfits are shrinking over time.
“You might be surprised to learn that at its inception in the mid-1800s cheerleading was an all-male sport. Characterized by gymnastics, stunts, and crowd leadership, cheerleading was considered equivalent in prestige to an American flagship of masculinity, football. As the editors of Nation saw it in 1911:
…the reputation of having been a valiant “cheer-leader” is one of the most valuable things a boy can take away from college. As a title to promotion in professional or public life, it ranks hardly second to that of having been a quarterback.*
Indeed, cheerleading helped launch the political careers of three U.S. Presidents. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan were cheerleaders. Actor Jimmy Stewart was head cheerleader at Princeton. Republican leader Tom DeLay was a noted cheerleader at the University of Mississippi.”
Head over to SI and read the whole thing.
bleatmop
Mystro
The Arbourist
Dead Wild Roses 
Your opinions…