After looking at some short videos online I had difficulty seeing the male dancers at the back and amongst all the pom poms. But from what I could see the men definitely looked like they are very talented professional dancers so I hope they get a greater role in the future.
I found a great article in the Huffington Post titled 'The L.A. Rams' Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies are about to make history this Sunday as the first male cheerleaders at the Super Bowl.' by Sanjana Karant published on the 31 January, 2019 about the inclusion and the history of the inclusion of males in professional US football.
As an Australian female sports fan I have never liked cheerleaders in any sport. Last year I wrote this post in response to the dumping of grid girls by Formula One racing and the objectifying of women for male sports fans.
I hope Australian sports if they are to retain cheerleaders follow the US lead and become more inclusive not just of talented male dancers but of all people from different walks of life.
I have included this photograph from the official LA Rams Cheerleaders Twitter site that included the new male dancers. No copyright infringement intended.
Australian Sport And Professional Fan Cheer Squads...A fan responds published 9 February, 2018.
I have included this photograph from the official LA Rams Cheerleaders Twitter site that included the new male dancers. No copyright infringement intended.
Australian Sport And Professional Fan Cheer Squads...A fan responds published 9 February, 2018.
"We found it hard to work out a positive about it. There was a grey area to it. It makes women uncomfortable and it makes blokes who take their son to the football also uncomfortable..." Russell Crowe on South Sydney Rugby League Club's decision not use cheerleaders in 2009.
Recently traditional news sources and social media were alive with the story that the Formula One Grand Prix competition had axed their grid girls or the use of models. I have to say I don't know anything about Formula One or the tradition of grid girls except what I had seen on the sports news on television.
From the news articles I have read I gather grid girls were added to Formula One during the 1960's to add some glamour to the motor car sport. Being a grid girl involved walking around the stadium interacting with the fans, having their photograph taken with the drivers and being showered in campaign on the winner's podium. But obviously there was a bit more to it that included wearing the sponsor's clothes, appearing on the track before the event and lining the halls before the drivers got onto the podium (Wheatsone, 2018).
At the end of January, 2018 Formula One issued a statement "While the practise of employing grid girls has been a staple at Formula One Grand Prix for decades, we feel this custom is at odds with modern day societal norms...we don't believe the practise is appropriate or relevant to Formula One and its fans, old and new across the world." (News Corporation Australia, 2018).
As a female sport's fan in Australia (but not of Formula One) who is interested in the role and inclusion of women fans in Australian sport I welcomed the decision. And yes I agree with Formula One that the idea of grid girls 'are at odds with modern day societal norms'. As a sport's fan I don't really believe grid girls (like cheerleaders) added anything to an exciting sport where men are the stars. Women are often objectified and seem nothing more than eye candy for male supporters. Grid girls and cheerleaders definitely send the wrong message to those women wanting to participate in sport on equal terms with men including motor sport (Ormonde, 2012, Emery, 2018).
I doubt those journalists and columnists in the Australian media who supported grid girls have been to a Formula One Grand Prix event in Australia or overseas or any sporting event where young women perform to entertain the supporters and support men playing the game on the field. Many stated that the presence of grid girls (or cheerleaders) at events didn't bother them.
Recently traditional news sources and social media were alive with the story that the Formula One Grand Prix competition had axed their grid girls or the use of models. I have to say I don't know anything about Formula One or the tradition of grid girls except what I had seen on the sports news on television.
From the news articles I have read I gather grid girls were added to Formula One during the 1960's to add some glamour to the motor car sport. Being a grid girl involved walking around the stadium interacting with the fans, having their photograph taken with the drivers and being showered in campaign on the winner's podium. But obviously there was a bit more to it that included wearing the sponsor's clothes, appearing on the track before the event and lining the halls before the drivers got onto the podium (Wheatsone, 2018).
At the end of January, 2018 Formula One issued a statement "While the practise of employing grid girls has been a staple at Formula One Grand Prix for decades, we feel this custom is at odds with modern day societal norms...we don't believe the practise is appropriate or relevant to Formula One and its fans, old and new across the world." (News Corporation Australia, 2018).
As a female sport's fan in Australia (but not of Formula One) who is interested in the role and inclusion of women fans in Australian sport I welcomed the decision. And yes I agree with Formula One that the idea of grid girls 'are at odds with modern day societal norms'. As a sport's fan I don't really believe grid girls (like cheerleaders) added anything to an exciting sport where men are the stars. Women are often objectified and seem nothing more than eye candy for male supporters. Grid girls and cheerleaders definitely send the wrong message to those women wanting to participate in sport on equal terms with men including motor sport (Ormonde, 2012, Emery, 2018).
I doubt those journalists and columnists in the Australian media who supported grid girls have been to a Formula One Grand Prix event in Australia or overseas or any sporting event where young women perform to entertain the supporters and support men playing the game on the field. Many stated that the presence of grid girls (or cheerleaders) at events didn't bother them.
It is easy to support a group of people you personally have no contact with and are not a regular feature of you or your families life such as going to a rugby league game. These women argue that young women have a right use their physical beauty to earn money, wear what they want and to engage in any employment of their choice to earn a living at what they love. Which is true in Australia. One journalist told me 'how dare I tell another woman what values they should have' when I expressed my objection.
I was 'told how dare you tell another woman what values they should have' at the same time they ignored me and my feelings and the right to express my opinion. In fact no where in anything I read did journalists or columnists talk to a female fan about how grid girls or cheerleaders made fans feel at games and events and that was uncomfortable.
I was 'told how dare you tell another woman what values they should have' at the same time they ignored me and my feelings and the right to express my opinion. In fact no where in anything I read did journalists or columnists talk to a female fan about how grid girls or cheerleaders made fans feel at games and events and that was uncomfortable.
To be honest I didn't like cheerleader's routines and costumes. The only person I read interested in the position of the female fans and cheerleaders was Russell Crowe back in 2009 when he made the decision to axe cheerleaders at South Sydney.
American cheerleading and the role of women in this sport is different in America than Australia. I have read where many academics, people pro grid girls and cheerleaders argue that the girls are often using these experiences to put themselves through university (Back, 2017). I have also read about cheerleading as a sport in its own right not as an addition to a male game which is a completely different thing. "What I love about cheerleading is that it is for everyone. Just like other sports, cheerleading has positions (flyers, bases, back bases, tumblers, dancers) that require athletes of various shapes, sizes and skill sets to fill them. Tall, short, solid, skinny, blond, brunette -it takes them all to make a perfect routine..."(Mihalopolos, 2014). If this was true in Australian sport about cheerleaders as crowd entertainment then there would be more diversity in those selected to perform in the squads.
I am a female Australian rugby union fan. Australian rugby union has never had cheerleaders as a number of Australian sports. I have been interested in rugby union and women in sport for over thirteen years. During that time I have seen major sporting league teams in Australian actively encourage women to participate in all levels of sport from being a fan, member, player, referee, employed in teams in a range of positions through the media, as health professionals, in team management and on boards. Many rugby union clubs have had special memberships and events including 'Ladies Day' for women fans. The head of Australian rugby union is a woman.
During doing research for the post I read quite a few articles but not in one did I read where someone had asked a female fan of Formula One what they thought (they spoke to the grid girls, drivers and management of Formula One, female academics and females in the sport but not the fans). The only time I have seen cheerleading at an Australian sporting event was when I lived in Canberra and I went to watch Australian rugby league teams South Sydney v Canberra. To me the men were the stars of the show and showed great skills at playing the game. When I went to these games South Sydney had already axed their cheerleaders.
In 2009 Russell Crowe as the new owner of South Sydney decided not to use cheerleaders as they made fans feel uncomfortable. He stated that the focus should be on football and replaced them with other forms of entertainment that were later disbanded. The move was seen as progressive at the time. To be honest Russell Crowe's words rang true at the games in Canberra and I did feel uncomfortable with cheerleaders and their type of entertainment. Several years on from my experiences in Canberra, the rugby league team the Canberra Raiders have decided not to renew their female cheerleading squad. The reason given was that this would distinguish their team from other teams and to 'create more opportunities for women and men and children to get involved.' (Back, 2017).
In 2016 Australia provided the American college football season with a match in Sydney between the California Golden Bears and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at ANZ stadium. This was the first American college football game ever played in Australia. Along with that game came all the razzle dazzle of American football including female cheerleading squads and marching bands. The social media section at ANZ stadium were sending out a large amount of tweets to promote the game using tweets with photographs of cheerleaders who seemed to be included in every promotional opportunity available rather than the players.
I don't have a problem with American college football or any American sports playing in Australia during their regular or off season but I do have a problem with cheerleaders who don't play the game in any capacity being used to promote the sport here. If Americans are going to promote their sport here I would rather see and hear from the players and administrators. When I complained to ANZ stadium on Twitter they blocked me for speaking up for what I considered sexist behaviour.
Many journalists and sports fans will probably believe the decision to axe grid girls comes in the wake of the #MeToo campaign in 'which has brought sexual harassment and objectification of women into the spotlight' (Emery, 2018). I believe it probably has influenced many professional sports and the role women play within them. But in Australian sport the decision to make sport more inclusive of women and for equal rights has been ongoing for many years. For example, late last year Australian sporting codes Australian Rugby Union, Australian Rugby League, Australian Football League and Australian Netball League joined forces to encourage Australian sport's fans to be more than a spectator and challenge sexist attitudes and behaviours, where ever and when they see them.
So what happens when women sport's fans speak up about sexist attitudes and behaviours in particular in sport around Australia. It seems grid girls, cheerleaders and their supporters are quick to shut those women down. I was told by one journalist on Twitter 'what right do men have to tell women what to do' as I tried to explain the role of women in sport including motor sport and their sponsors and this decision was perhaps not confined to men. Since then other articles have been written and the down fall of the grid girl has been blamed on the middle class well to do women telling working class women what they can and can't do. The grid girls blame women feminists for the lost of a job they loved (SBS, 2018, ABC, 2018).
Regardless of who made the decision to axe the grid girls it seems that those who run a business (either male or female) like the Formula One and their sponsors and fans can't make a decision about what is best for their business. Chan & Walters (2018) stated Formula One paid grid girls in the United Kingdom 300 pounds a day plus all their costs including food, hotels, makeup and travel. The total cost of grid girls ads up to a lot of money and savings if made redundant or replace with a more inclusive model. The axing of grid girls, cheerleaders and other walk on roles for models in professional darts and Australian cycling does reflect current societal norms but also to ensure the future of their sport as they compete for limited sponsorship funding. The money certainly can be used to promote more inclusive women's roles at all levels of the professional sport. What ever the reasons it is a move in the right direction.
References
Back, A. 2017. 'Canberra Raiders drop cheerleaders in 2017' published in The Canberra Times on 9 January, 2017.
Chan, E & Walters, I. 2018. 'It didn't feel sexist': Former grid girls have THEIR say on the controversial Formula One ban but Melinda Messenger says it's the right move' published in the DailyMail.co.uk on 1 February, 2018.
Emery, K. 2018. 'Grid girls are a notion that has had its day' published in The West Australian on 2 February, 2018.
McMahon, A. 2018. 'Formula One axes grid girls from races to keep up with 'modern day societal norms' published on abc.net.au on 1 February, 2018.
Mihalopoulos, S. 'Everything you know about cheerleading is wrong' published in mamamia.com.au on 10 August, 2014.
Musovic, S, (2017), 'Sports stars urge fans to challenge sexism by being #morethanaspectator' published in ourwatch.org.au on 24 November, 2017.
News Corporation Australia, 2018. 'Formula One axes 'grid girls' starting at the Australian Grand prix in March' published in news.com.au on 1 February, 2018.
Ormonde, L. 2018, 'Do you support woman's right to cheer?' published in mamamia.com.au on the 1 May, 2012.
Poulson, J, 2018. 'Broncos say cheerleaders here to stay after Formula One axes grid girls' published in The Courier Mail on February, 2018.
Ritchie, D. & Charnock, C. 2009, 'Cheerleaders axed at Souths' published in the Daily Telegraph on the 17 March, 2009.
SBS, 2018. 'F1 grid girls push back against 'well of women' telling others what to do'.SBS News published on 7 February, 2017.
Wheatstone, R. 2018. 'Grid Grief. What are grid girls, how much do they get paid and who are the grid kids to replace them' published in thesun.co.uk on 6 February, 2018.
American cheerleading and the role of women in this sport is different in America than Australia. I have read where many academics, people pro grid girls and cheerleaders argue that the girls are often using these experiences to put themselves through university (Back, 2017). I have also read about cheerleading as a sport in its own right not as an addition to a male game which is a completely different thing. "What I love about cheerleading is that it is for everyone. Just like other sports, cheerleading has positions (flyers, bases, back bases, tumblers, dancers) that require athletes of various shapes, sizes and skill sets to fill them. Tall, short, solid, skinny, blond, brunette -it takes them all to make a perfect routine..."(Mihalopolos, 2014). If this was true in Australian sport about cheerleaders as crowd entertainment then there would be more diversity in those selected to perform in the squads.
I am a female Australian rugby union fan. Australian rugby union has never had cheerleaders as a number of Australian sports. I have been interested in rugby union and women in sport for over thirteen years. During that time I have seen major sporting league teams in Australian actively encourage women to participate in all levels of sport from being a fan, member, player, referee, employed in teams in a range of positions through the media, as health professionals, in team management and on boards. Many rugby union clubs have had special memberships and events including 'Ladies Day' for women fans. The head of Australian rugby union is a woman.
During doing research for the post I read quite a few articles but not in one did I read where someone had asked a female fan of Formula One what they thought (they spoke to the grid girls, drivers and management of Formula One, female academics and females in the sport but not the fans). The only time I have seen cheerleading at an Australian sporting event was when I lived in Canberra and I went to watch Australian rugby league teams South Sydney v Canberra. To me the men were the stars of the show and showed great skills at playing the game. When I went to these games South Sydney had already axed their cheerleaders.
In 2009 Russell Crowe as the new owner of South Sydney decided not to use cheerleaders as they made fans feel uncomfortable. He stated that the focus should be on football and replaced them with other forms of entertainment that were later disbanded. The move was seen as progressive at the time. To be honest Russell Crowe's words rang true at the games in Canberra and I did feel uncomfortable with cheerleaders and their type of entertainment. Several years on from my experiences in Canberra, the rugby league team the Canberra Raiders have decided not to renew their female cheerleading squad. The reason given was that this would distinguish their team from other teams and to 'create more opportunities for women and men and children to get involved.' (Back, 2017).
In 2016 Australia provided the American college football season with a match in Sydney between the California Golden Bears and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at ANZ stadium. This was the first American college football game ever played in Australia. Along with that game came all the razzle dazzle of American football including female cheerleading squads and marching bands. The social media section at ANZ stadium were sending out a large amount of tweets to promote the game using tweets with photographs of cheerleaders who seemed to be included in every promotional opportunity available rather than the players.
I don't have a problem with American college football or any American sports playing in Australia during their regular or off season but I do have a problem with cheerleaders who don't play the game in any capacity being used to promote the sport here. If Americans are going to promote their sport here I would rather see and hear from the players and administrators. When I complained to ANZ stadium on Twitter they blocked me for speaking up for what I considered sexist behaviour.
Many journalists and sports fans will probably believe the decision to axe grid girls comes in the wake of the #MeToo campaign in 'which has brought sexual harassment and objectification of women into the spotlight' (Emery, 2018). I believe it probably has influenced many professional sports and the role women play within them. But in Australian sport the decision to make sport more inclusive of women and for equal rights has been ongoing for many years. For example, late last year Australian sporting codes Australian Rugby Union, Australian Rugby League, Australian Football League and Australian Netball League joined forces to encourage Australian sport's fans to be more than a spectator and challenge sexist attitudes and behaviours, where ever and when they see them.
So what happens when women sport's fans speak up about sexist attitudes and behaviours in particular in sport around Australia. It seems grid girls, cheerleaders and their supporters are quick to shut those women down. I was told by one journalist on Twitter 'what right do men have to tell women what to do' as I tried to explain the role of women in sport including motor sport and their sponsors and this decision was perhaps not confined to men. Since then other articles have been written and the down fall of the grid girl has been blamed on the middle class well to do women telling working class women what they can and can't do. The grid girls blame women feminists for the lost of a job they loved (SBS, 2018, ABC, 2018).
Regardless of who made the decision to axe the grid girls it seems that those who run a business (either male or female) like the Formula One and their sponsors and fans can't make a decision about what is best for their business. Chan & Walters (2018) stated Formula One paid grid girls in the United Kingdom 300 pounds a day plus all their costs including food, hotels, makeup and travel. The total cost of grid girls ads up to a lot of money and savings if made redundant or replace with a more inclusive model. The axing of grid girls, cheerleaders and other walk on roles for models in professional darts and Australian cycling does reflect current societal norms but also to ensure the future of their sport as they compete for limited sponsorship funding. The money certainly can be used to promote more inclusive women's roles at all levels of the professional sport. What ever the reasons it is a move in the right direction.
References
Back, A. 2017. 'Canberra Raiders drop cheerleaders in 2017' published in The Canberra Times on 9 January, 2017.
Chan, E & Walters, I. 2018. 'It didn't feel sexist': Former grid girls have THEIR say on the controversial Formula One ban but Melinda Messenger says it's the right move' published in the DailyMail.co.uk on 1 February, 2018.
Emery, K. 2018. 'Grid girls are a notion that has had its day' published in The West Australian on 2 February, 2018.
McMahon, A. 2018. 'Formula One axes grid girls from races to keep up with 'modern day societal norms' published on abc.net.au on 1 February, 2018.
Mihalopoulos, S. 'Everything you know about cheerleading is wrong' published in mamamia.com.au on 10 August, 2014.
Musovic, S, (2017), 'Sports stars urge fans to challenge sexism by being #morethanaspectator' published in ourwatch.org.au on 24 November, 2017.
News Corporation Australia, 2018. 'Formula One axes 'grid girls' starting at the Australian Grand prix in March' published in news.com.au on 1 February, 2018.
Ormonde, L. 2018, 'Do you support woman's right to cheer?' published in mamamia.com.au on the 1 May, 2012.
Poulson, J, 2018. 'Broncos say cheerleaders here to stay after Formula One axes grid girls' published in The Courier Mail on February, 2018.
Ritchie, D. & Charnock, C. 2009, 'Cheerleaders axed at Souths' published in the Daily Telegraph on the 17 March, 2009.
SBS, 2018. 'F1 grid girls push back against 'well of women' telling others what to do'.SBS News published on 7 February, 2017.
Wheatstone, R. 2018. 'Grid Grief. What are grid girls, how much do they get paid and who are the grid kids to replace them' published in thesun.co.uk on 6 February, 2018.
