I am entering the Young Adult genre again today. Anybody who has read a selection of YA knows about cheerleading. Cheerleaders and the perception that they present is that they are proud, badly possessive about their boyfriend, merely objectified dolls, and more or less have no sense of self-respect. And no, this is not how I see cheerleaders. This is how books tend to present the cheerleaders.
C=cherleading (My attempt at digital artwork)
I am pretty much sure cheerleaders are wonderful like other people. I mean they have to work so hard for those cheerleading activities. They cannot be easy for anyone out there. Yet, these cheerleaders who actually are hard working people are just wrapped in a bubble of sexiness and cattiness and presented in the books. There is rarely any mention of how much work that goes into their status (I have read two books till now which covered this issue). Most of the focus is on how beuatiful they are and how proud of themselves they are. The focus is on how the “so called intelligent” students tend to see them.
I am not judging anyone here, but by objectifying their work, nobody gains anything. Firstly, the cheerleaders can be academically good. Secondly, even if they are not, not everybody needs to be perfect in academics. The books(and even movies/series) present such a grey picture of the cheerleaders.
Again this is the cultural issue perhaps. We do have cheerleaders, but cheerleading does not just make us bad. Or perhaps I am grown up in a family where academic achievements are equally celebrated as beauty.
When I read a YA novel with cheerleaders as villains or negative character, I tend to be semi-alienated. I mean I do understand the struggle that teenagers go through, and jealousy is understandable, but then positive picture has to come forward.
P.S.: I do not intend to disparage anyone through this post. I have equal respect for cheerleaders and those who are not into cheerleading. If you are reading this post, please know that you’re special in your own way.
Parichita Singh 