Save the Cheerleader, Save the World!

Yesterday, I was waiting for my sons' basketball games to start at our local rec-center. I went to get a drink from the fountain and had to wait in a small line. In front of me were two young (maybe 12 or 13) rec-league cheerleaders. One was crazy thin and the other a little further along on the puberty line. I had such a clear picture of them because their cheer outfits made all but their zip code known. Now, I don't pretend not to be a prude when it comes to modesty in young women; I am all about cocooning developing female bods. I'm usually unnerved when I see most young girls in my community - but these outfits made the Pussycat Dolls, look like Cabbage Patch dolls. I can't even describe them, they were so bizarrely vulgar- not to mention completely impractical. Let's just say they better not jump, raise their arms, do any back bends or splits or it's garden of Eden with a little Lycra. The kicker? They cost $260!!!! Apparently, that's platinum Lycra. I was talking to one of the moms and thankfully she was just as dumbfounded, but she was sure that she was going to be the only mom to speak up. She knew her daughter would hate her for embarrassing her. But better to embarrass her now, then in front of all those ball playing boys. The mother was sure her daughter hated her that day for something else anyway so she had nothing to lose. Thank goodness for the occasional parent instead of the indentured adult servant.



Here's the real problem. When girls wear provocative clothing, they set themselves up to be objectified. When you are still figuring out who you are, and you are given sexual attention that early, you stop trying to figure out who you are. You are given something that feels like validation, love and acceptance, but it is false. It is false because the people showing that attention don't have any clue what those true feelings are either. It's especially false because true, healthy feelings of love, acceptance, and validation come from ones self. You cannot develop a true sense of self when you stop trying at 13. That's the problem just for the GIRLS. It's just as much of a problem for young men. Oh, I know, girls should be able to wear whatever they want. If boys have inappropriate sexual thoughts about them, that's their fault. Boys are supposed to have sexual thoughts all the time,it's part of their normal physical development. But in their moral character development, they are to try and control their thoughts. When girls are immodest, it's like waving a plate of brownies in front of someone fasting. It's actually kind of cruel. Revealing clothing hurts all youth. Young women are much more inclined to get into relationships too early and therefore have a much harder time having meaningful, healthy, adult relationships. Young men don't have a very difficult time controlling their thoughts, and frankly have no reason to - it's all out there. They have no reason then to control their actions. In the end they have no reason to wait and learn to please anyone else but themselves - Lose/Lose all around - and society in the end pays the price in less solid healthy family relations. All because two cheer coaches and some weak mothers needed to feed their insecure inner Brittney. As for those outfits - "Take 'em back, Take 'em back, WAAAAYYYY Back!!!