Cheerleading in the Context of Title IX and Gendering in Sport (Home‪)‬

Cheerleading in the Context of Title IX and Gendering in Sport As sanctioning and recognition of competitive cheerleading today grows under the protection and regulation of Title IX, one might wonder if the society is regressing. In the 1960s we threw off Betty Crocker and Father Knows Best for the feminist movement and bra burning. Does the new sport of cheerleading represent backpedaling--with the added twist of actual (if limited) tax-dollar support of the phenomenon? How and why did cheerleading become competitive? Who are these new teams and why aren't their members playing basketball, soccer, softball? Much of this paper is a review of existing research on (a) acceptance of and obstacles to high school and collegiate cheerleading today, (b) cheerleading regulatory controls, (c) and media interest in and hegemonic implications of cheerleading.