idle thoughts
So I ran into this blog post a while ago.
Basic upshot: Cheerleading originated as a masculine sport and women only started to get involve during WWI (and controversy over their involvement raged for a few decades).
Choice quote from The Nation 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.
Another choice quote about the inappropriateness of women cheerleading in 1938:
[Women cheerleaders] frequently became too masculine for their own good… we find the development of loud, raucous voices… and the consequent development of slang and profanity by their necessary association with [male] squad members…
Anyway, interesting find. It made me ponder.
The blog post notes that FDR and Eisenhower were cheerleaders during their schooldays.
Well, I was recently reading a mediocre book on US history trivia. It had a section on sports and presidents and went on at length about which sports each prez enjoyed. Somehow, it left out cheerleading entirely, which I found odd, all things considered.
But then, it was a mediocre book.
This entry was originally posted at http://gabrielleabelle.dreamwidth.org/371507.html. There are
comments on the DW side. Comments are welcome on either side. Due to massive SPAM issues on LJ, anon comments are only on the DW side.
Basic upshot: Cheerleading originated as a masculine sport and women only started to get involve during WWI (and controversy over their involvement raged for a few decades).
Choice quote from The Nation 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.
Another choice quote about the inappropriateness of women cheerleading in 1938:
[Women cheerleaders] frequently became too masculine for their own good… we find the development of loud, raucous voices… and the consequent development of slang and profanity by their necessary association with [male] squad members…
Anyway, interesting find. It made me ponder.
The blog post notes that FDR and Eisenhower were cheerleaders during their schooldays.
Well, I was recently reading a mediocre book on US history trivia. It had a section on sports and presidents and went on at length about which sports each prez enjoyed. Somehow, it left out cheerleading entirely, which I found odd, all things considered.
But then, it was a mediocre book.
This entry was originally posted at http://gabrielleabelle.dreamwidth.org/371507.html. There are
comments on the DW side. Comments are welcome on either side. Due to massive SPAM issues on LJ, anon comments are only on the DW side.