HS dance team performs stripper lap dance routine at halftime - With video [Archive]

astro

01-28-2009, 04:57 PM

Wow.. just wow. (http://www.wsbtv.com/news/18582335/detail.html) - Video lives up to the title of the dance.

JONESBORO, Ga. -- A high school dance team at Jonesboro High School has been disbanded.

The move announced Tuesday comes after parents complained about a provocative dance routine that was performed by the 8-member group at a Jan. 13 basketball game.

Jacqueline Evans, a school district spokeswoman, said the squad will not be allowed to perform or represent the school for the remainder of the school year.

A video showing the dance, titled "The Sluts of Jonesboro," had also been posted on YouTube, but has since been removed from the web site.

"The team will not perform for the remainder of the year, nor will they represent the school in any other performances,” Evans said Tuesday.

Evans said the girls will not face disciplinary action.

To watch video of the dance routine click on the video below:

jk1245

01-28-2009, 05:07 PM

I went to the wrong High School...

But yeah, you gotta wonder what the coach/manager was thinking. "I know, I'll have them dance like they're strippers!! That'll be well-received. Genius, I'll be promoted for sure."

faithfool

01-28-2009, 05:08 PM

I don't really think it was that risque, but there sure was plenty of bad 'dancing' to go around. Seriously, had those girls ever had any training or rehearsing done in their entire lives? :eek:

astro

01-28-2009, 05:12 PM

I don't really think it was that risque, but there sure was plenty of bad 'dancing' to go around. Seriously, had those girls ever had any training or rehearsing done in their entire lives? :eek:

I get the impression from some of the comments on the website hosting the video that this school has some really serious problems. I think they may actually be on their own re training and routines.

Apparently the County school system also lost it's accreditation (http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/01/08/clayton_schools_sacs.html)

ParentalAdvisory

01-28-2009, 05:14 PM

OMG!@#$, what's going to happen?

zamboniracer

01-28-2009, 05:17 PM

The question is, how did the people who complained KNOW that the cheerleaders where dancing like strippers?

Dad: Those girls at the game were dancing like strippers!
Mom: How do you know?
Dad: Because that's how "Honey" down at the Crazy Horse dan... I mean that's what I heard. :smack:

MsWhatsit

01-28-2009, 05:19 PM

I don't really think it was that risque, but there sure was plenty of bad 'dancing' to go around. Seriously, had those girls ever had any training or rehearsing done in their entire lives? :eek:

Yeah, I kept waiting for the really risque part. I didn't think it was that bad from a sluttiness perspective (for lack of a better term) but dude, maybe they should have been disbanded just because they sucked so much. At least one of those girls looked like she completely forgot the routine in multiple places. That was really, really awful.

astro

01-28-2009, 05:24 PM

Yeah, I kept waiting for the really risque part. I didn't think it was that bad from a sluttiness perspective (for lack of a better term) but dude, maybe they should have been disbanded just because they sucked so much. At least one of those girls looked like she completely forgot the routine in multiple places. That was really, really awful.

Spread eagle crotch shots and bump and grind stripper moves are de rigeur for HS cheer leading teams these days?

Kyla

01-28-2009, 05:27 PM

It looked like the chairs were used more as props than as...a lap dancing routine.

faithfool

01-28-2009, 05:29 PM

I get the impression from some of the comments on the website hosting the video that this school has some really serious problems. I think they may actually be on their own re training and routines.

Apparently the County school system also lost it's accreditation (http://www.ajc.com/services/content/metro/clayton/stories/2009/01/08/clayton_schools_sacs.html)

Yeah, I've just now been catching up on some of the comments. That's really awful that they've lost their accreditation, but I've seen people their age dance better after just watching something off MTV. It looks like they weren't even really trying, just getting out there and acting silly.

MsWhatsit

01-28-2009, 05:34 PM

Spread eagle crotch shots and bump and grind stripper moves are de rigeur for HS cheer leading teams these days?

I dunno, I'm not saying it was super appropriate, but the only part that crossed into really outrageous for me was when they squatted down in front of the dudes sitting in chairs.

OK, having typed that out, I now see where some of the outrage is coming from. I guess I was just expecting... I don't know, actual garment removal, or simulated sex, or something.

KSO

01-28-2009, 05:39 PM

Yeah, I kept waiting for the really risque part. I didn't think it was that bad from a sluttiness perspective (for lack of a better term) but dude, maybe they should have been disbanded just because they sucked so much.
My thoughts exactly. I didn't see anything particularly "slutty" so much as boring and lame. Yeah, the guys in the chairs and some of the moves were questionable but I was certainly expecting something a lot more than what was described.

Cat Fight

01-28-2009, 06:36 PM

How kind of the news outlet to include a video link so we can all check out their terribly wrong behavior.

Inappropriate when they enlist the guys. Not too different from what the Backstreet Boys were doing up 'til that point (though they lacked the boy band's coordination). Or Pussycat Dolls. Or Girlicious. Or other stars of the small screen and record charts, who are often balked at but, in the grand scheme of things, rarely critiqued for what they're doing. At least not in the halls of a high school.

The question is, how did the people who complained KNOW that the cheerleaders where dancing like strippers?

Seriously.

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 06:38 PM

My thoughts exactly. I didn't see anything particularly "slutty" so much as boring and lame. Yeah, the guys in the chairs and some of the moves were questionable but I was certainly expecting something a lot more than what was described.

Not to mention the video appeared to be shot from some 500 yards away, so being able to see much of anything was right out. And the audio was even worse, just this grating noise that sounded like something out of a bad 70s science fiction movie. The whole thing definately rates an "I'm still flaccid" on the Dirty Old Man ScaleTM.

HongKongFooey

01-28-2009, 06:50 PM

I didn't have time to get offended I was too busy busting a gut watching the girl in the middle at the back; I don't think dancing is her calling. She did OK for the first 30 seconds...

flyboy

01-28-2009, 06:54 PM

I also can't see what all the fuss is about. If they'd at least been dressed... less... then I could maybe see some outrage. But they were wearing a lot of clothing. Dressed like that, doing stripper moves isn't provocative. At least, to me. America has become the knee-jerk capital of the world, and it really depresses me sometimes.

eleanorigby

01-28-2009, 07:08 PM

IMO a reprimand was in order solely for calling themselves "sluts". This is acceptable in HS "sports" now? What was the "coach" thinking? I didn't bother to watch the video--I see enough teen girls acting badly as it is, I don't need to see more.

faithfool

01-28-2009, 07:14 PM

Oh rigs, you gotta watch it. It's one of those things that are so hilariously bad that you can't believe anyone passes it off as legit. Check it out and I promise you'll get at least one laugh out of today.

Hockey Monkey

01-28-2009, 07:31 PM

A couple of those girls clearly have a career ahead of them on a dance pole. A couple clearly do not.

kittenblue

01-28-2009, 07:36 PM

thirdname

01-28-2009, 07:37 PM

Here's what an inappropriately slutty pep-rally dance looks like when it's done by girls who can actually dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGB8x46P-A

eleanorigby

01-28-2009, 07:50 PM

I don't think THEY called themselves Sluts...that was the title that got attached to the video by whomever posted it on YouTube. And yes, the dancing was lame, but still very inappropriate for girls that age, at a school function, in front of parents. Add to that their lack of skills (which in this case was a relief...if they were good at those moves I'd really worry) and I can see where the complaints come in.ust becasue they can watch this stuff on videos doesn't mean we want our young daughters doing that in fronmt of a crowd of cheering boys.

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I did watch a bit of it. God, the music (noise) is awful. And none of those girls can dance, ie move their bodies in time to music. I'm not sure which disturbs me more: the premise of the "dance" or the poor execution of same.

What is with the hoodies? Our Pom-Pons had uniforms similar to cheerleader ones (and some of their routines raised eyebrows as well).

I'm becoming an old fuddy-duddy, but do we truly want our young women to display this kind of thing as a matter of course? :confused:

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 08:03 PM

Ah. Thanks for the clarification. I did watch a bit of it. God, the music (noise) is awful. And none of those girls can dance, ie move their bodies in time to music. I'm not sure which disturbs me more: the premise of the "dance" or the poor execution of same.

What is with the hoodies? Our Pom-Pons had uniforms similar to cheerleader ones (and some of their routines raised eyebrows as well).

I'm becoming an old fuddy-duddy, but do we truly want our young women to display this kind of thing as a matter of course? :confused:

So, you're saying that its preferrable that we keep denying the fact humans are sexual creatures? :dubious: I utterly loathe the concept that we should clamp down on the barest hint of sexuality in teenagers. Young children, yes, and in no way should we allow the exploitation of anyone (Note: I'm using the term "exploitation" in the sense of forcing a person into an activity which they would otherwise not do.) sexually. Routines like that (even well performed ones) are harmless. Odds are, at least some of those girls are sexually active anyway, so its not like they're going to get the idea that bumping uglies is a fun activity from doing it.

Maybe, just maybe, this country wouldn't be so screwed up in so many ways if we were actually honest and open about sex. We have no problem letting kids see violent actions in movies, but Og forbid they get a glimpse of even the barest sight of a nipple, or the whole world will end. If kids imitate things they see in the movies, which would you rather have them doing? Bumping uglies? Or picking up a gun and shooting people at random? Personally, if they're going to do anything, I'd rather they bumped uglies.

Alice The Goon

01-28-2009, 08:20 PM

Teenage girls bumping and grinding for the enjoyment of teenage boys on school grounds is not harmless.

I'm 40 years old. My mother's generation fought long and hard for the right to be seen as an equal- a person of her own, worthy because of her brain, her talents, her personality. Not as a sexual object to be ogled and fondled. Today's generation of girls is turning the clock way back on that concept. The style of dress, the current "dating" practice of "hooking up", the rap and hiphop songs and videos- it's kind of crazy, actually. The young girls today seem so accepting and agreeable to their objectification. I don't like it.

Now you get off my lawn.

kittenblue

01-28-2009, 08:30 PM

But there is a big difference between being open and accepting of sex, and honest about it...and allowing our daughters to behave as if the only valued form of sexual expression is the cheapest and tawdriest. I'm all for teaching kids that sex is great and wonderful....but that does not include letting them display themselves like hookers in from of a crowd of people. If they are going to do that, they can go get paid for it, and deal with all the ugly stuff that comes with that.

RickJay

01-28-2009, 08:31 PM

Spread eagle crotch shots and bump and grind stripper moves are de rigeur for HS cheer leading teams these days?
Well, actually, quite often they are.

They're usually not quite that incompetent, though.

Tamex

01-28-2009, 08:49 PM

Wow, that girl in the middle who kept adjusting her socks and uh...bloomers in the middle of the routine? Really, really bad.

Tenebras

01-28-2009, 08:50 PM

Also, if you watch the whole video (ok, if you skip forward to around the half-way mark) the chairs become occupied by teenaged boys, on whom the girls continue their bump and grind routine. I expect that's what has got people up in arms.

Todderbob

01-28-2009, 08:51 PM

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 08:53 PM

Teenage girls bumping and grinding for the enjoyment of teenage boys on school grounds is not harmless. Compared to going on a killing spree, yes, yes, it is harmless. (And you forgot about us dirty old men who like to watch!)

I'm 40 years old.Ditto. My mother's generation fought long and hard for the right to be seen as an equal- a person of her own, worthy because of her brain, her talents, her personality. Not as a sexual object to be ogled and fondled. Today's generation of girls is turning the clock way back on that concept. The style of dress, the current "dating" practice of "hooking up", the rap and hiphop songs and videos- it's kind of crazy, actually. The young girls today seem so accepting and agreeable to their objectification. I don't like it. Humans always objectify. Doesn't matter if your male, female, straight, gay, or bi. If you don't conform to whatever trends happen to be popular at the moment, you're some kind of freak who needs to be reviled. You're only limited to being seen as a sexual object if you choose to be. If those kids in that video think that their best shot at becoming anything is tied directly to how well they bump and grind, it says a lot more about the school system (which is apparently failing), than it does about the choices they've made.

Women have made tremendous gains in the past 50+ years, and they're not going to be taken away simply because teenagers decide they like to wiggle their asses in public. (It should be noted that the so-called "metrosexual" trend in boys shows no signs of letting up.) There are natural evolutions which go along with large scale social changes like women being empowered, and in some cases, what at first appears to be a step backwards is, in reality, a step forward.

Now you get off my lawn.I didn't think folks in Tucson had lawns, just sand. ;)

HongKongFooey

01-28-2009, 08:53 PM

Wow, that girl in the middle who kept adjusting her socks and uh...bloomers in the middle of the routine? Really, really bad.Watching the two videos makes me wonder; when the he'll did white kids become the better dancers? I really am getting old.

Alice The Goon

01-28-2009, 09:03 PM

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 09:19 PM

I guess I'm getting old, too. I just know that these teenage girls with their tight pants and their little boobies are all up on my two teenaged boys. And they need to back off! heh. But seriously. And you never did anything like that when you were a teenager? :dubious:

And you're right about the lawn. I have no lawn. I have gravel that keeps the dirt down. Get off my gravel.You can have mine, its got snow on it, which I'll throw in free of charge!

even sven

01-28-2009, 09:28 PM

My mother's generation fought long and hard for the right to be seen as an equal- a person of her own, worthy because of her brain, her talents, her personality. Not as a sexual object to be ogled and fondled.

And my generation fought long and hard for the right to express ourselves as whole beings. Including our sexuality. I don't need to be an asexual being to be taken seriously. My sexual desires and expressions of sexuality do absolutely nothing to diminish my brains, talent, or personality. I'm a whole package, free to emphasize whichever parts I feel like at any given time.

Anyway, this video wasn't too shocking to me. Kids will be kids.

NinetyWt

01-28-2009, 09:29 PM

And you never did anything like that when you were a teenager? I dunno about anyone else, but we didn't. It just "wasn't done" if that makes sense - it wouldn't have occured to me to dance like that. I'm sure boys would have thought I'd lost my marbles if I had. :p

Speaking of lawns, you can borrow mine (http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i84/NinetyWt/BorrowedLawnLOL.jpg), Alice. ;)

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 09:37 PM

I dunno about anyone else, but we didn't. It just "wasn't done" if that makes sense - it wouldn't have occured to me to dance like that. I'm sure boys would have thought I'd lost my marbles if I had. :pSo, you're telling me that you never did anything the least bit risque as a teenager? Never batted an eye at a boy in a manner which would cause your parents to have conniptions if they'd have seen it? Never wore an article of clothing in a remotely suggestive manner? (And remember, to a teenage boy, any garment which shows more skin than a burqa is a suggestive garment.) :dubious:

kittenblue

01-28-2009, 10:01 PM

So, you're telling me that you never did anything the least bit risque as a teenager? Never batted an eye at a boy in a manner which would cause your parents to have conniptions if they'd have seen it? Never wore an article of clothing in a remotely suggestive manner? (And remember, to a teenage boy, any garment which shows more skin than a burqa is a suggestive garment.) :dubious:

Oh, come on! You're trying to equate a little eye-batting with bending over while wearing skimpy panties and gyrating your rump in some guy's face? I think there is a huge difference between the two. We flirted, we teased, we seduced, we pressed ourselves close during slow dances, we did all sorts of wonderful things in private.....but if I had broken into a dance like that during a canteen in high school, no one would have been talking to me for weeks. You just didn't behave like that. And it didn't stunt our sexual activity a bit to not spread our legs like that in a public setting.

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 10:05 PM

Oh, come on! You're trying to equate a little eye-batting with bending over while wearing skimpy panties and gyrating your rump in some guy's face? I think there is a huge difference between the two. We flirted, we teased, we seduced, we pressed ourselves close during slow dances, we did all sorts of wonderful things in private.....but if I had broken into a dance like that during a canteen in high school, no one would have been talking to me for weeks. You just didn't behave like that. And it didn't stunt our sexual activity a bit to not spread our legs like that in a public setting.

Societal mores change. The things which you did as a teenager would have been absolutely scandalous a generation or two beforehand. You may not have done the kind of dancing that they did, but you did do behavior which pushed the limits of the time. That's what being a teenager is all about.

NinetyWt

01-28-2009, 11:03 PM

Sonnenstrahl

01-28-2009, 11:17 PM

No one's asking the girls to deny their sexuality... they can do it all, and then some, in private. Though I doubt anyone's going to ask any of those particular girls for an encore. But there's no reason it has to be institutionalized like that. What if a girl was uncomfortable with it, but having been chosen (signed up? I doubt they had auditions...), she couldn't really refuse. But I'm not from a culture of cheerleading, so I find the whole thing a little odd, to be honest.

Rigamarole

01-28-2009, 11:23 PM

Ugh the audio quality in the linked video is horrendous. Warning to anyone else about to watch that: turn your volume down.

Nicolas Bourbaki

01-28-2009, 11:30 PM

Spread eagle crotch shots and bump and grind stripper moves are de rigeur for HS cheer leading teams these days?

Actually . . . yeah. Only, our school's cheerleaders actually rehearsed, so no one ever complained to the administration.

Guinastasia

01-28-2009, 11:34 PM

Societal mores change. The things which you did as a teenager would have been absolutely scandalous a generation or two beforehand. You may not have done the kind of dancing that they did, but you did do behavior which pushed the limits of the time. That's what being a teenager is all about.

So we're just a bunch of prudes, eh?

:rolleyes:

You can be sexy and cute without looking like a total tramp. The dance team when I was in high school looked more like chorus girls from the 1930s-their most risque thing was the kickline-lot of Spankies exposed, but that was it.. (And their uniforms were way cuter, too!) AND they could actually DANCE.

LAP DANCES at pep rallies? Please. If that makes me an old biddy and a stick in the mud, so be it. There's pushing limits, and then there's being completely inappropriate.

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 11:42 PM

No one's asking the girls to deny their sexuality... they can do it all, and then some, in private.Be a lady in public and then a whore in the bedroom, then? Yeah, that sounds like progress. :rolleyes: Though I doubt anyone's going to ask any of those particular girls for an encore.You don't know much about men, do you? But there's no reason it has to be institutionalized like that.Clearly its not, as they got a smackdown from the school administration over it. What if a girl was uncomfortable with it, but having been chosen (signed up? I doubt they had auditions...), she couldn't really refuse.Sure she could. She might get bounced from the team for it, or be subjected to some peer pressure, one of the things we're supposed to be able to learn as a kid, is how to make tough choices. But I'm not from a culture of cheerleading, so I find the whole thing a little odd, to be honest.Meaning you've never been a cheerleader or not exposed to the concept before?

Tuckerfan

01-28-2009, 11:53 PM

So we're just a bunch of prudes, eh?

:rolleyes:
If that's how you want to characterize yourself.

You can be sexy and cute without looking like a total tramp. In my day, we thought Madonna's outfits made her look like a total tramp ("Lucky Star" era). They're pretty damn tame in comparison to the things commonly sported by the bubble gum set these days, and were way more revealing than anything those girls were wearing. The dance team when I was in high school looked more like chorus girls from the 1930s-their most risque thing was the kickline-lot of Spankies exposed, but that was it.. (And their uniforms were way cuter, too!) AND they could actually DANCE.Ours won a national championship or two, and they occassionally raised an eyebrow with some of the things they did. (Of course, they didn't have to worry about their routines [good and bad] being plastered all over the internet for folks to gawk at.)

LAP DANCES at pep rallies? Please. If that makes me an old biddy and a stick in the mud, so be it. There's pushing limits, and then there's being completely inappropriate.Those flappers! With their provocative skirts and short hair! And the drinking and the smoking! And some of them have been alone with the young men from the town! This country is going to be destroyed by such nonsense, I tell you!

E-Sabbath

01-29-2009, 12:17 AM

In olden times, a glimpse of stocking, was looked upon, as something shocking...
Now, heaven knows... anything goes!

Boyo Jim

01-29-2009, 12:26 AM

...LAP DANCES at pep rallies? ....

Just a modern version of the bake sale... they gotta do something to raise money for the uniforms. Hmmm. I wonder if they do private dances in the locker rooms, maybe actually in the lockers.

Guinastasia

01-29-2009, 12:44 AM

If they do them in the lockers, that might explain why they can't dance for snuff, actually.

Kobal2

01-29-2009, 01:15 AM

How kind of the news outlet to include a video link so we can all check out their terribly wrong behavior.

"Cachez ce sein que je ne saurais voir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartuffe) !" :)

I frankly don't see what the big deal is. Audience participation may be pushing it, but frankly, how much more immoral or provocative compared to the pep rally concept itself ?

Seriously - you're taking the most beautiful girls in the school, dress them in sexy outfits and make them dance to entice the boys on the team to play harder. How does that *not* have a sexual subtext ? It's not surprising that "banging the cheerleader" is so prevalent a fantasm in porn & the American male psyche. At least those girls are being (ineptly) honest about what's asked ot them :)

Fubaya

01-29-2009, 01:21 AM

I think most cheerleading routines are pretty provocative and this one looked boring at first, then the guys came in and lapdancing for guys in is a little far. The girls want to do it somewhere else, more power to them, but it's wildly inappropriate for their coach (or whoever is in charge of cheerleaders) to encourage it and put it on public display.

OpalCat

01-29-2009, 01:52 AM

Here's what an inappropriately slutty pep-rally dance looks like when it's done by girls who can actually dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGB8x46P-A

Neither of these seemed particularly slutty to me... but maybe that's because I've worked in a number of actual strip clubs and know what actual exotic dancing looks like. This looks pretty much like the stuff my HS dance squad did back at pep rallies in the late '80s. I don't get the big deal. They didn't "bump and grind" ON the guys, they vaguely danced near them. I really don't get the outrage. Honestly, nothing in that video qualified as a "lap dance" IMO.

(Oh, and just for those Tucsonians in the thread: a shout out to my old club, TD's East! (http://gallery.opalcat.com/gallery/OpalCat2008/tds))

As for empowerment, honestly? I never felt so empowered as when I was a dancer. Those girls seriously have the guys in the palm of their hand and manipulate them like little marionettes. If the guys think otherwise, they're deluding themselves.

foolsguinea

01-29-2009, 03:36 AM

Be a lady in public and then a whore in the bedroom, then? Yeah, that sounds like progress. :rolleyes:Lucretia by daylight & Lais at night, what's wrong with that?

guizot

01-29-2009, 04:27 AM

I don't know what was more pathetic: the dancing, the dufuses in the chairs, or the idiotic screeching of whoever made the video. The whole thing is utterly embarrassing.

Lust4Life

01-29-2009, 08:20 AM

I've seen much hotter cheerleader routines that no one complained about.

I thought it was tame and the dancing lame.

OpalCat

01-29-2009, 10:53 AM

I don't know what was more pathetic: the dancing, the dufuses in the chairs, or the idiotic screeching of whoever made the video. The whole thing is utterly embarrassing.

I agree with everything here. I couldn't even tell what song was playing.

Who_me?

01-29-2009, 10:55 AM

Anyone who thinks there was lapdancing in that video has never seen a lapdance. I was more bothered by the lack of skill than by anything else (I'm at work with my comp muted).

OpalCat

01-29-2009, 10:57 AM

Comp muted is exactly how you should watch that video. You can't hear a single note of music, just a horrible screeching roaring crowd.

Sonnenstrahl

01-29-2009, 11:00 AM

Be a lady in public and then a whore in the bedroom, then? Yeah, that sounds like progress. :rolleyes:

Yup, that's why I did a lap dance at my last job interview. I felt oppressed to have to suppress my sexuality in front of my employer.

Meaning you've never been a cheerleader or not exposed to the concept before?

My high school did not have cheerleaders. None of the schools in the region did. I think it's a very American thing, though I know it has spread. It's not normalized enough where I'm from that we don't question it, however. I accept that it's something that I just don't get, though.

Drain Bead

01-29-2009, 12:27 PM

Anyone who calls this a lap dance has clearly never actually seen a lap dance. Here's a hint: In a real lap dance, you get closer than three feet away from the dude in the chair.

Chalk me up as another person who can't see what all the fuss is about. I've seen racier cheerleading routines late night on ESPN2.

Cuckoorex

01-29-2009, 04:09 PM

No one's asking the girls to deny their sexuality... they can do it all, and then some, in private.

I hear there are whole Web sites for that sort of thing.

Icarus

01-29-2009, 05:16 PM

Headline: Teens Behavior Shocks Parents!

Wow, that's only been happening since, oh, I don't know....THE BEGINNING OF TIME!

Tuckerfan

01-29-2009, 05:39 PM

Lucretia by daylight & Lais at night, what's wrong with that?ISTR that Lucretia Borgia was not generally considered to be much of a "lady" by folks in her day. Something about poisoning her husbands.

Yup, that's why I did a lap dance at my last job interview. I felt oppressed to have to suppress my sexuality in front of my employer.And you think that your "typical" cheerleader does her routine at interviews as a way of proving her ability to "work as a team player"? Wonder how many girls who work their way through college as a stripper bother listing that on their resume when they go to apply for a job? If a gal can spend 4 years stripping and pull down a 3.5 (or better GPA), while working however many hours a week as a stripper, do you think that the employer is going to consider that as a "positive" on her resume? :dubious: They see "stripper" on her resume, and its going into the round filing cabinet in most cases. We've had several threads here warning people that showing a bottle of alcohol on their freakin' MySpace or facebook page is enough to get them excluded from a job. Nevermind that what someone does off the clock should be of little concern to an employer. (There are exceptions to this, of course, but getting drunk with a few friends, without a resulting DUI, isn't one of them, IMHO.)

My high school did not have cheerleaders. None of the schools in the region did. I think it's a very American thing, though I know it has spread. It's not normalized enough where I'm from that we don't question it, however. I accept that it's something that I just don't get, though.It the States, cheerleaders are an expected item at most sporting events. On game days, its traditional for the cheerleaders to wear their uniform at school. Google can give you an idea of what these uniforms typically look like (not a good idea to do this from a work computer, BTW). My school had a fairly strict dresscode for the era, but the cheerleaders were allowed to strut around in their skimpy little outfits, even though a girl wearing a non-cheerleading outfit that was just (or even slightly less) revealing, would get you suspended. Clearly, the attitudes dictate that its okay for cheerleaders to put on a more provocative display, than non-cheerleaders.

The girls in the video were practically fully clothed, and I have to wonder if boys who were fully clothed who did a "Chippendale" routine would be subjected to the same harsh comments as these girls. Of course, for boys, being able to "dance" is often considered a sign that one is gay.

DiosaBellissima

01-29-2009, 05:43 PM

Spread eagle crotch shots and bump and grind stripper moves are de rigeur for HS cheer leading teams these days?

Yes. And you should see how the kids dance at school dances, too- now THAT is horrifying. The funny thing is that I'm 23- I go to clubs with my friends and dance like a hoe and, hell, I thought I danced like a hoe when I was in high school not all that long ago. But yeah, I am a prude based on what I see.

Here's what an inappropriately slutty pep-rally dance looks like when it's done by girls who can actually dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGB8x46P-A

"can actually dance" in the sense that they are just together and hitting the moves right, right? Because that just looks like a bunch of uptight suburban girls trying to do some provocative hip hop dancing and, while technically correct, they seem to be missing the. . . spirit/soul/whatever. Of course, I've never been a big fan of the typical robotic cheer dancing anyway, so maybe that's it.

Compare that second cheer video of "good" dancing to this (which actually isn't the best I've seen, just an easy Youtube search). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eYi6OGka0Y&feature=related)

pretend my name is witty

01-29-2009, 06:09 PM

And from this side of the pond (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7859239.stm)...

I definitely went to the wrong college.

NinetyWt

01-29-2009, 06:11 PM

My school had a fairly strict dresscode for the era, but the cheerleaders were allowed to strut around in their skimpy little outfits, even though a girl wearing a non-cheerleading outfit that was just (or even slightly less) revealing, would get you suspended. Clearly, the attitudes dictate that its okay for cheerleaders to put on a more provocative display, than non-cheerleaders. Quite right. I remember when my kids were in middle school, and the dress code specified how short skirts (worn to school) could be. Of course, all the cheerleader's outfits were shorter than that. They were also allowed bare midriffs, which was not allowed in the general population.

This thread reminded me of an incident which happened when my daughter was in high school. A female student, who was a member of the dance team IIRC, was disciplined by the school for performing a 'sexy dance' as part of a skit titled "Hot Sexy Teacher".

This girl's mom related the story to me. The mom and daughter went in front of the school board to appeal the disciplinary action. Apparently the girl had done a move called a 'hip thrust' twice in the routine. The school actually had a list of 'forbidden' moves which the dance team/cheerleading squad could not use in their routines. The board ruled that this girl had broken the rules by performing a 'forbidden' move (twice) and that she should have known better since she was on the dance team.

NinetyWt

01-29-2009, 06:35 PM

But I'm not from a culture of cheerleading, so I find the whole thing a little odd, to be honest. I'm from the southern U.S., which is big football country, and I still don't quite understand it. So I started a new thread (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=504239) asking about it. :)

ivylass

01-29-2009, 06:59 PM

I've seen worse, quite frankly. I bet if it didn't get posted on YouTube there wouldn't have been a kerfuffle and the dismissal of the advisor and the disbanding of the team.

I was more embarrassed at how badly the girls danced more than anything.

beanpod

01-29-2009, 08:03 PM

This is the biggest load of nothing I've heard people complaining about in a while. So it's ok for teenage girls to wear tiny shorts or skorts and bend over, shake their asses, and squat/split in front of the entire school body, but it's not ok for them to do it two feet away from a boy sitting in a chair? I disagree that this is inappropriate behavior at a pep rally. Except for the girl adjusting her junk during the routine. Honey, if you're gonna act vaguely suggestive and shock the old people, make it entertaining at least.

I also hardly see this as a step back in women's rights. 1) because it's just not that important and 2) because the ability to do things like this is actually liberating for some young women. They can choose to do routines like this without a big mean scary coach pressuring them into it and destroying their innocent sensibilities. I would put money on all the girls wanting to do the routine and the coach just caving or not paying attention to a damn thing. (Now, that's a decent reason for firing a coach, if they can't maintain authority, or if they're not involved enough to realize, "Hey, this routine may piss people off...uh, girls, let's fix this and do it this way..." then they're obviously not doing their job.)

As someone else mentioned, the entire pep rally concept could be seen as reinforcing a primal sexual hierarchy. All of high school could be seen as reinforcing a primal sexual hierarchy. Big deal. Teenagers push boundaries (News at 11!) because they're as clever and curious as they've ever been, and suddenly: OMGWTFSEX!!1!! They'll learn to be self aware, and about subtlety, and about self esteem and empowerment. Personally, I don't think it's possible to learn about that without pushing boundaries.

Also, the routine sucked. The cheerleaders at my high school did some suggestive routines, but they actually threw in, y'know, challenging athletics in there, like cartwheels or pyramids or handstands.

Rosie is Tired

01-29-2009, 09:06 PM

Seriously, yall have never been to my high school if you think that was even remotely slutty. Our cheerleaders never danced like that, as our cheerleaders were the rejects from majorettes/color guard, who typically were sluttier than anything in that video. Also, all of our dance/cheerleader teams were primarily self-led, so it is possible that there was no coach oversight.

Marlitharn

01-29-2009, 09:44 PM

I find myself thinking of my junior high assistant principal, who banned the cheerleaders and pep squad from doing the "funky chicken" cheer. It went, IIRC, like this:

How funky is your chicken
How funky is your chicken
How loose is your goose
How loose is your goose
So come on everybody
So come on everybody
And shake your caboose
And shake your caboose.

It was the shaking of the caboose he objected to, arguing that it was inappropriate for junior high school girls to shake their cabooses in public. It wasn't even like we were any good at shaking our cabooses, the move came right out of the chicken dance song.

Poor old guy would have keeled over in shock at the moves the average cheerleader does these days.

Freudian Slit

01-30-2009, 12:06 AM

The girls in the video were practically fully clothed, and I have to wonder if boys who were fully clothed who did a "Chippendale" routine would be subjected to the same harsh comments as these girls. Of course, for boys, being able to "dance" is often considered a sign that one is gay.

::Shudder:: You mean...the...Chippendiddys (http://thumbnails.putfile.com/images/8/12107162496605403357.jpg)?

Tuckerfan

01-30-2009, 12:07 AM

::Shudder:: You mean...the...Chippendiddys (http://thumbnails.putfile.com/images/8/12107162496605403357.jpg)?

I am sooooo not clicking that link, so I have no idea.

Todderbob

01-30-2009, 12:21 AM

::Shudder:: You mean...the...Chippendiddys (http://thumbnails.putfile.com/images/8/12107162496605403357.jpg)?Nope... they mean... chippendales (http://alterknacker.supernature-forum.de/chippendales_3.jpg).

Nava

01-30-2009, 01:49 AM

I don't really think it was that risque, but there sure was plenty of bad 'dancing' to go around. Seriously, had those girls ever had any training or rehearsing done in their entire lives? :eek:

Yes really, it was like Cabaret without the sex... in the verses of Joaquín Sabina "like a Belgian dancing flamenco."

The majority of them looked like they knew in their brain but not in their hips what the moves were supposed to be about. And each move was completely disconnected from the rest.

foolsguinea

02-05-2009, 04:52 PM

ISTR that Lucretia Borgia was not generally considered to be much of a "lady" by folks in her day. Something about poisoning her husbands.Wrong Lucretia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretia) & I was referencing a poem by Martial.

Freudian Slit

02-05-2009, 04:54 PM

Nope... they mean... chippendales (http://alterknacker.supernature-forum.de/chippendales_3.jpg).

Well, the chippendiddys would be the equivalent of young high school girls dancing in an "inappropriate" manner.

LouisB

02-05-2009, 05:33 PM

When I was in high school, the principal would have barred all the exits and set fire to the gym.

Eonwe

02-05-2009, 06:00 PM

Teenage girls bumping and grinding for the enjoyment of teenage boys on school grounds is not harmless.

Except that it's not for the enjoyment of teenage boys. It's for the enjoyment of the audience, which includes teachers, parents, and whoever else.

The big joke is that grownups are choreographing and directing this overtly sexual dance (how successful it was is maybe questionable, but its intent is not), and grownups are watching this.

Ask any of the men afterwards, maybe the ones sitting in the front row if it got them horny. See what kind of uncomfortable or upset responses you might get.

That's what the issue is. Grownups posing teens as sexual objects in front of other grownups questions all sorts of cultural standards.

I'm not saying that it's wrong. I am saying that that's really barely unspoken subject of debate. Not that girls are waggling their bits around, but that they're doing it at older men in a school-sanctioned event, and for what purpose?

It's certainly a fine line; I work in high school theater, and I've definitely put on some shows where we've had suggestive clothing and/or behavior. We are constantly at the whims of administration, the board, parents and students as to what shows we can do and what is and is not acceptable. It's my (and the other adult faculty's) job to make sure that we don't step too far out of what our community expects of us, or we could loose our jobs.