This House would ban professional cheerleading
Professional cheerleaders can be found across a range of sports including American football[1], basketball[2], rugby league and wrestling. They are particularly popular in the USA but can also be found in other countries. For example, many teams in the Australian National Rugby League are accompanied at matches by their own cheerleading squads. These squads are mainly made up of women, and are paid considerably less than the men who make up the teams that they support.
This debate is not about banning cheerleading as an extra-curricular activity in schools or at college, nor is it about banning amateur cheerleading competitions (those organised for cheerleading teams who are not paid). It should focus on the role of professional cheerleaders who exist specifically to support men’s sport teams, rather than to represent a school or college more generally.
[1] Wikipedia, ‘National Football League Cheerleading’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Cheerleading
[2] Wikipedia, ‘National Basketball Cheerleading’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_Cheerleading
Bibliography
Brady, Erik, ‘Cheerleading in the USA: A sport and an industry’, USA Today, 26 April 2002, http://www.usatoday.com/sports/_stories/2002-04-26-cheerleading-cover.htm
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Gopal, Priyamvada, ‘Sarah Palin’s female. That doesn’t make her feminist’, guardian.co.uk, 18 September 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/18/uselections2008.sarahpalin
Heldman, Caroline, ‘Cheerleader Required to Cheer for Man Who Assaulted Her’, Ms. Magazine blog, 15 October 2010, http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2010/10/15/cheerleader-required-to-cheer-for-man-who-assaulted-her/
Hu, Winnie, ‘Equal Cheers for Boys and Girls Draw Some Boos’, The New York Times, 14 January 2007, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/nyregion/14title.html?hp&ex=1168750800&en=372825a6878e22d5&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Inter-Parliamentary Union, ‘Women in National Parliaments’, 31 August 2011, http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/world.htm
Reichert, Tom, ‘Does Sex in Advertising work?’ 22 March 2008, BrandingStrategyInsider, http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/03/does-sex-in-adv.html
WAtoday, ‘Calls for cheerleaders to be banned from NRL’, WAtoday.com.au, 17 May 2009, http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/calls-for-cheerleaders-to-be-banned-from-nrl-20090517-b70z.html
Weeks, Adrienne, ‘The Health Benefits of Cheerleading.’ Livestrong.com, 14 June 2011, http://www.livestrong.com/article/418057-the-health-benefits-of-cheerleading/
Wikipedia, ‘National Football League Cheerleading’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Football_League_Cheerleading
Wikipedia, ‘National Basketball Cheerleading’, en.wikipedia.org, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association_Cheerleading
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