This came to me from one of my mailing lists and I think it deserves some attention…
It’s that time of year again, football season. Like a lot of women, I feel offended by NFL Cheerleaders and the obvious objectification. But, like most women, I feel the problem is so huge due to the huge number of football fans. I have read statistics that around 40% of football fans are now female, and that the NFL wants to increase the number of female fans. I say they start with changing the image of the cheerleaders.
I am a bit torn on this one. I personally am not a big sports fan in general, but I don’t see why women should get behind men’s sports (and put money in their pockets), while men do not generally support women’s sports. But to me, feminism is freedom, and that means women should be able to do what they want including interest in the sport they choose. I also believe the more female fans in the NFL, the more power women have to make changes, such as the insulting image of the NFL cheerleader. Just about every woman finds them insulting on some level, and even men sometimes seem embarrassed by them, but it is hard to know where to begin to change this image. If football is such a “serious” sport and we are supposed to respect the “skill,” then let’s start by taking away the joke of these women and how they degrade women.
The good news is women really do have the power here. We are the primary consumers and we hold the economic purse strings, so to speak. Most of the changes in the media come down to money, and this one is really no different. We have to come together though and make a powerful front.
I plan on writing to the NFL and letting them know ONE reason they are not attracting female viewers, at least this female viewer (well, honestly, I probably wouldn’t watch anyway, but THEY don’t have to know that!)
The e-mail address for Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner is: Roger.Goodell2@NFL.net
Let’s flood his inbox for the upcoming months!
47 comments
Lynn Stevens
I love professional cheerleaders!! As a former dancer I understand it’s gives these “athletes” a chance to perform and travel! I particularly “Adore” the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders! I especially enjoy their show Making The Team; The DCC. Not only are they world class performers, they are community and international ambassadors, . They travel to perform for American Troops. All of the performers must either been in college, working or married. Cheerleading can’t be their only focus. (Those are the rules for the DCC). Professional cheerleading presents many opportunities for the performers. Many become choreographers, dancers, actors, business owners and a couple became – the current Director of The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders – Kelli McGonagill Finglass and Head Choreographer – Judy Trammell. Not to mention a mirror ball winner from Dancing with the Stars – Melissa Rycroft who is currently The Showmanship mentor with the long running series. I would love to have experienced that group bond.
Some women enjoy performing , displaying their talent, being pretty and wearing cute outfits. I applaud them! It’s hard work!!
Reddae
Here’s a good article…. and within the article – at the bottom – another link for another article and call to action to stop NFL cheerleading as it’s currently presented. Let’s hope there is more of this trending!
https://www.google.com/amp/www.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/ct-ryan-ending-nfl-cheerleaders-spt-0107-20160107-column,amp.html
Reddae
I hope people are still coming here about this topic. I realize that I am late for the party… but I cannot help but chime in my complete and absolute agreement about this issue, and the extraordinary writing and commenting against the objectification of women in the NFL. It has affected me for years… I am aware of the damage that it does.. to both the cheerleaders and the viewers… and I know there are many more out there who feel the same way, but feel that they do not have a voice; along with harboring fear that they will be ridiculed or marginalized for their positions.
There are commenters here that have basically indicated “what’s the big deal – just calm down” type stuff, and a particular commenter who even indicated that she believes dressing the NFL cheerleader way is empowering to women and maintains “power” over men. That is a deception, and nothing could be further from the truth. A man’s mind simply doesn’t work that way.
There are many centers and services dedicated to helping former strippers and female porn actors who bought in to that type of thinking, who have to have copious amounts of counseling from the experiences of supposedly having “power” over men all the while being degraded and cheapened by the men… and demeaned in many ways… during which the girls more and more began to loose their own sense of self worth and dignity, and began to feel more and more cheap inside, and less deserving of genuine respect and dignity for who they are – not their ability to be ogled at and men throwing money at them like a circus act (or in tips… like the man mentioned about Hooter girls). The longer a woman participates in this erosion of her soul and accepts that deception, the longer it takes to unpack all the residual damage and get free.
To the lady who posted the “power over men” “we control the money” comment, etc… And to all of us who care or may just be curious, here is one video that will provide info in what happens to the male brain when they see those images. It’s short, interesting, not stuffy at all (shared by a beautiful woman) and presented in basic everyday language. I think it’s a video well worth showing to every young person – people of every age. It’s excellent, and just scratches the surface, with the basics about this rampant issue.
Here is the link to the video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WJVHRJbgLz8
There are many many more videos that demonstrate the far-reaching harm that public viewing of scantily clad fosters and produces. The above will get you started. Enjoy!! And be blessed.
P.S. … I’ll be happy to post more material and videos, if desired.
tina
I agree. The football players cannot even hear the half naked trash, why have them there??? Fyi a new restaurant called talleywackers has opened.. Its men wearing little to nothing serving food… Lets see how men feel eating there with wives… Probably the same as about 20 men across a theatre felt during a movie called ANY GIVEN SUNDAY… Men got up and walked out all over the theatre due to a mans penis shown… WOW…guess they were INSECURE!!!! lol whatever.. HEY GUYS… I AM A WOMAN I AM VISUALLY STIMULATED quite often as so are other women… IF YOU WANT STRIP CLUBS WE DO TOO, YOU WANT HOOTERS AND TWIN PEAKS, which might I add makes hooters look like Disney, THEN WE WANT BUFF HALF NAKED MEN AT OUR TABLE..
Nicole
Agreed! These women are extremely degrading! It makes me not support/attend any sort of sporting events!
JoAnne JOhnson
Same here, will not sponsor anything to do with NFL either. This is a disgrace and I and other women do not tolerate and will not support this BS.
tina
I agree… How about we add chip and dale dancers for the women to look at, I BET MEN WOULD WALK OUT…i saw about 15 men walk out of the movie ANY GIVEN SUNDAY, cursing BC it showed a man naked, …YET WOMEN HAVE TO WATCH TRASH IN ALMOST EVERYTHING ON TV.. go figure…
michelle
I really don’t care about this much to be honest. I mean, my female friends and I that enjoy football often talk about how good looking some of the men are, not to mention when we see them in the locker rooms after games with their shirts off. :)
Just an aside, but anyone think it’s weird how women reporters are allowed in men’s locker rooms after games but men reporters aren’t allowed in women’s locker rooms? Not that it really matter since I don’t watch the WNBA or other female sports, but it’s obviously a double standard.
Speaking of which, in response to “I don’t see why women should get behind men’s sports (and put money in their pockets), while men do not generally support women’s sports.” I don’t think this doesn’t actually have anything to do men vs. women, it’s just wanting to watch the best at that particular game. I’m weird in that I’ll watch almost any sport/game/competition regardless of what it is. I’ll watch any physical sport, poker, chess, a Scrabble tournament, anything at all as long as I’m watching the best in the world. We need to be realistic, even the best WNBA teams can’t even come close to being as good as even sub-par NBA teams, which is why me, my sisters, mom, and friends all prefer to watch an NBA game rather than a WNBA team. It’s not that I don’t think these women aren’t extremely talented, but I want to watch the best. That’s it.
And finally, like I said I don’t really care about skimpy cheerleading outfits or women who work at Hooters wearing somewhat revealing clothing. This is simply because no one is forcing them to do these jobs. They want to. I had a friend that worked at Hooters and loved it. She knew that guys were really nice to her, in large part, because of what she was wearing and how she looked, but she did like the fact that men found her attractive, and the tips were incredible that she could pay for a lot of her schooling. Back in school she wasn’t really anything special, but as she got older she did get much more attractive and did look really good in those orange shorts. ;) In any case, she liked this job, and I’m willing to bet all those cheerleaders also enjoy being out in the middle of 70,000+ fans, plus millions more at home, and be the center of attention for a bit. It’s not like cheerleaders really make a lot of money, and even still, even the skimpiest NFL cheerleader outfits still cover more than the average bikini you see at the beach. I really think everyone is just overreacting here. Just my opinion.
Alison
I don’t see any date on this post, but while I don’t make any demands on my husband about watching football, I don’t watch Redskins games with him anymore. It’s just my own way of not giving them my business. Seems things really went downhill when Daniel Snyder took over – the cheerleaders suddenly looked like they should be swinging on poles rather than waving pom poms around. Maybe it was a result of changing times, maybe it’s just the way the Redskins do business, or maybe it’s the influence of the NFL.
I believe people have the freedom to do what they want, but these stripper-like cheerleaders make me uncomfortable as a woman, and as a result, I don’t watch the games anymore, which means I don’t see the commercials. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m a football fan on the same level as my husband and others, but the days of me getting excited on game day and cooking a big pot of chili every Sunday are over.
Oh, well, I figure the NFL isn’t trying to attract a female fan like me, who just likes watching the game and having a few beers. It’s their choice…but I wonder how that’s working out for them?
Steph
Thanks for this article! I enjoyed it! I find the discussion of women athletes and their looks interesting. There’s something to be said for being a good looking athlete, just like male athletes, but it shouldn’t override their abilities. There’s a good discussion of this over at TC Huddle. I found your article looking for more opinions on this.
This is a good article. Thanks! Here’s the article if you’re interested: http://www.tchuddle.com/2011/07/women-athletes-and-the-need-to-objectify/
Joy
Dear Mr. Goodell,
I am emailing you to complain about the appearance of Cheerleaders (AKA Strippers) in the Football games. I guess you know where this is going. I feel in love with and married my husband 3 years ago. His wife had passed away and my husband had died in the line of duty as a Firefighter. My first husband was not a sports nut so I was not subjected to watching Cheerleaders doing stripper moves wearing the least amount of clothing possible. The problem with the outfits is that they show everything and they are so thin you can see every crack and crevices. Then the humping moves up and down jumping for more shaking is too much.
DON’T YOU THINK MEN WOULD WATCH FOOTBALL WITHOUT THE STRIPPERS???
WELL GUESS WHAT WE WOULD WATCH IT WITH THEM AND LET THEM GO TO THE GAMES AND LET THEM BUY THE CHANNELS THEY WANT AND THE GEAR THEY WANT.
Sorry to say we do run what happens in the house. I have put my foot down this year and for 3 months we have not had sex. He has watched half of one game with me and when the Cheerleaders started grinding and shaking their boobs my husband turned red and said, “Okay that is too much”. So he decided to turn the channel during the cheerleaders spot but by the time you find the remote and turn the channel it’s like the guy who says I only read playboy for the articles. Guess what you still see the pictures.
I want to turn my husband on not sex thrown at him every game. Hey were are the Male Chippendale’s wearing speedoos…Shaking their stuff???? We women know you men would never NEVER show that on the game because you are not sure enough of yourselves. Just like commercials that are ran by men. It’s all women young, sexy, and dressed in almost nothing and the men in the commercial are Boobs, and fat and sloppy.
So if you want more women going to the game. If you want more NFL channels ordered at home and all the gear that women okay their husbands to buy then get rid of cheerleaders or dress them and stop the stripper moves. You would be so rich you wouldn’t know what the hell happened. Trust me all of my Friend who go to the games and walk out and all the women who argue always. We used to put up with it but now we don’t we have had it. You if you care about the women who love football but hate the cheerleaders would understand. Just remember change out the female strippers and replace them with MEN IN SPEEDOOS DOING THE SAME MOVES. You men would freak out…
Clovis
All,
It’s is so obvious that cheerleading is degrading to women that I cant believe somebody would have an argument to the contrary. Women’s soccer is very popular in the US, much more than men’s soccer. Where are the male cheerleaders in women’s soccer games? As a male foreigner who moved to the US 10 years ago, the shock to me was more evident, since I was not culturally brainwashed because “it has been like this forever. My mom, my grandmom and my great-grandmom were cheerleaders too”.
The message I see: “Football is for tough guys. It’s no place for weak pretty girls. They should be on the side, wearing provocative clothes to get the stadium cheered up. Just smile, dont open your mouth. When the camera closes up (it’s like winning the lottery), dream that one day you may go to Hollywood or, in older times, date the popular guy in High School or find a rich husband right out of College”.
No wonder soccer is so popular with girls. It was their silent cry for independence and proof that they can have and be their OWN SHOW.
Clovis