August 2, 2019

"My second year we were told we had to be sexier, so we went that route, and now they're saying it's too sexy and women aren’t being respected."

"Now they’re solving the problem by getting rid of it, and that’s kind of a slap in the face to women who worked so hard on the team."

Said Tiffany Fontaine, a former member of the Milwaukee Bucks dance team, quoted in "Milwaukee Bucks Dancers are being replaced with the gender-inclusive 414 Crew. Former members say it's a 'slap in the face'" (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). The new group will have "dancing, tumbling, break-dancing, tricking and other unique talents." Sounds great to me. Styles in cheerleading change, and the sexy all-female approach isn't the most traditional style. It's a style and if it's gone out of style, good! I'd like to see some men and some break dancing. And I don't know what "tricking" is, but it sounds more promising than the sexy cheerleaders show that came from the 1970s.
"We're kind of constantly looking to evolve and broaden our reach and be as inclusive as we possibly can," Bucks President Peter Feigin said. "We've seen the trend change. We've seen dance entertainment teams morph into a lot of different things, and we loved what the co-ed dance teams were starting to look like."
It's a trend to express the idea with the word "inclusive." But it's not the words that matter. It's the show.

I looked up "tricking":



And here's Wikipedia on the history of cheerleading. It was an all-male activity until the 1940s:

Cheerleading began during the late 18th century with the rebellion of male students. After the American Revolutionary War, students experienced harsh treatment from teachers. In response to faculty's abuse, college students violently acted out. The undergraduates began to riot, burn down buildings located on their college campuses, and assault faculty members. As a more subtle way to gain independence, however, students invented and organized their own extracurricular activities outside their professors' control. This brought about American sports, beginning first with collegiate teams. In the 1860s, students from Great Britain began to cheer and chant in unison for their favorite athletes at sporting events. Soon, that gesture of support crossed overseas to America....

Organized cheerleading started as an all-male activity. As early as 1877, Princeton University had a "Princeton Cheer", documented in the February 22, 1877, March 12, 1880, and November 4, 1881, issues of The Daily Princetonian. This cheer was yelled from the stands by students attending games, as well as by the athletes themselves.... Princeton class of 1882 graduate Thomas Peebles moved to Minnesota in 1884. He transplanted the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the University of Minnesota. The term "Cheer Leader" had been used as early as 1897.... 

79 comments:

Ice Nine said...

So, "acrobatics" then.

gspencer said...

Jigglin' tits never go out of style. Never.

Hey Skipper said...

Only two comments in, and gspencer has already won.

Michael K said...

USC had an all male cheerleading team when I was there,. About that time there was a push to get the "Song Girls" as another activity and the sororities opposed it. The Song Girls have been there now for 50 years,

Fernandinande said...

gender-inclusive

Having a new term for "coed" is so daring.

Curious George said...

Tricking looks kinda gay.

rehajm said...

The time out entertainment is certainly important in places like Milwaukee that don't have a tradition of winning. I can see why there are strong opinions.

Bob Boyd said...

Why shouldn't the team itself be gender inclusive?

Bob Boyd said...

The Milwaukee Bucks N Does

The Milwaukee Deer

The Milwaukee Ruminant Quadrapeds.

Stephen Taylor said...

Sporting events are supposed to have some tits and ass. It's a thing. Another icon of a healthy sexuality goes down the woke toilet.

rcocean said...

The NBA has become so bizarre and left-wing I fully expect them to have a trans-gender team next year. Stars popping off about Trump, Female Refs, all-gender cheerleaders, etc.

Throw in a meaningless 82 season that lasts forever, a 2 month playoff, and too many teams and mediocre players and the whole thing is un-watchable. Also, the influx of players from all over the world, plus Americans turning Pro after 1-2 years of college means you don't know who the players are. Oh, there's the Croatian guy, Oh there's the guy from the Congo. Oh there's that young dude, from...what college did he play for?
Impossible to care about, unless you're betting $$.

rcocean said...

I'll just keep my memories of Magic, Bird, Barkley, Jordon, The Detroit Bad Boys, and Shack.

Shouting Thomas said...

Fortunately, I haven't watched an NBA game in years.

Use to watch at least the finals.

Don't even watch that any more.

William said...

Tricking refers to the way professional cheerleaders pick up a few bucks on the side.

Wince said...

"My second year we were told we had to be sexier, so we went that route, and now they're saying it's too sexy..."

Okay, you asked for it!

Mike Sylwester said...

My Dad was a cheerleader in college.

I was not proud of that.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

MeeToo# - what can't it do?

John Borell said...

gspencer wins.

But EDH gets a close second for the Right Said Fred link.

I'm out, because I'm too sexy for this discussion.

Ann Althouse said...

My father was a cheerleader too.

So were a lot of U.S. Presidents.

AlbertAnonymous said...

Good Lord! Is Ice Hockey next? Those hot young skaters shoveling the snow off the ice during breaks....

Don’t change NHL we don’t need figure skating guys and their flamboyance doing that. They can have he figure skating world.

traditionalguy said...

The puritanical days are upon us again. All youthful female sexiness must be repressed. The Burkas are now high fashion.

Pardon me for thinking that anti youthful sexuality expression is just more thuggish anti-human procreation.

Sally327 said...

People don't realize how much work goes into being sexy. On display, as part of your job, it's not that easy. It takes work! And then being sexy isn't enough or it's too much or it's not the right kind of sexy. It's like the factory workers whose jobs are out-sourced to India or the administrative assistants who are obsolete because of technology. It's so hard to stay marketable these days!

Scott Patton said...

Sometimes, sexy depends on the stadium, for those of us whose best feature is distance.

rhhardin said...

The National Lampoon cheerleader cover was what I thought of
https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1974-national-lampoon-1964-high-1732654622

Curious George said...

Althouse, don't equate the Bucks dancers with cheerleaders. They aren't cheerleaders.

Bobb said...

Ann, you should remember the University of Michigan's cheerleaders were all men until the early 1970s (when the Athletic Director's daughter wanted to be a cheerleader). They were very athletic, primarily drawn from the swim team.

richlb said...

This sort of dovetails with the Playboy post.

PM said...

Nice that tricking is gaining acceptance outside of Nevada.

CJinPA said...

A lot of teams do this. Still plenty of eye candy for the men. The gals just work harder to get your attention. (And pep you up, if that still matters.)

pacwest said...

While I enjoy T&A as much as the next guy a lot of cheerleading has become nothing more than live soft porn and I am turned off by it. Just have a halftime orgy show already.

Francisco D said...

Tiffany Fontaine

Did her parents name her knowing they were giving birth to a dancer?

mccullough said...

This is what teams do when they can’t win championships.

Yancey Ward said...

These aren't cheerleaders, and many colleges also have these all-female dance teams, or did at one time- I remember Kentucky's dance team from 2010 when my father and I went to see a game in Lexington.

Chuck said...


Blogger Bobb said...
Ann, you should remember the University of Michigan's cheerleaders were all men until the early 1970s (when the Athletic Director's daughter wanted to be a cheerleader). They were very athletic, primarily drawn from the swim team.


Beat me to it.

I want to correct one very minor thing. I too was a Michigan undergrad in the 1970's, and Don Canham, one of the handful of the greatest collegiate athletic directors in history (in which 2 or 3 of the greatest were all Michigan AD's, including Fielding Yost and Fritz Crisler) did not actually "integrate" the male cheerleading squad. He added an additional team of yell leaders. And it was at a time when he was under a lot of pressure to do that well apart from any interest with his daughter. It has since gone downhill into an conglomeration that would make the 50's, 60's and 70's unrecognizable.

And yes, the Michigan cheerleaders as of the year before I arrived on campus were almost all scholarship NCAA divers and gymnasts. Most of them Big Ten champs in their respective sports. And they would not just lead cheers; they were astonishing acrobatic/aerial performers on the sidelines.

{#16}

JAORE said...

I recall the Ram's cheer squad in the early years.... the Embraceable Ewes. Oval cut outs at breast level.

Tacky.

Good times, good times.

Laslo Spatula said...

Dang, Chuck - on this streak you are on I actually look forward to reading your comments.

I mean this with no tone of snark.

I am Laslo.

mikee said...

We Aggies (current and former students of Texas A&M) scoff at your female cheerleaders and at your updated gymkhana entertainment squads. As is tradition, our sports teams are supported by an all male squad of Yell Leaders, who walk the sidelines leading the students in Yells, and who get tossed in a fountain - after a violent chase by students storming the field - after wins. And don't even ask me what they do on 4th downs.

Laslo Spatula said...

On the plus side, strip clubs are always looking for new talent.

I am Laslo.

mikee said...

At the University of Texas - Austin, gymnastic club members go out to solicit donations from alumni during the tailgate parties before football games. They called it something like Flips for Tips, but it was universally known as Tricks for Dicks. And if you think a drunk Longhorn won't open his wallet to see a scantily clad coed do a few handsprings, you don't know your alumni.

PB said...

The women were a draw to the main demographic that goes to the game.

Chuck said...

Ahh, the USC song girls. Who doesn't love the USC song girls?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brcl8U0jHto

{#17}

mccullough said...

I’m old enough to remember when Michigan's football program was better than Wisconsin’s.

Kevin said...

"We're kind of constantly looking to evolve and broaden our reach and be as inclusive as we possibly can,"

Unless you like the dancing girls.

Then you can just f-off.

#tolerance

Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

will transgenders solve the problem?

not a trick question

mccullough said...

If they want to be inclusive they can lower the ticket prices so lower-income people can afford to attend a game.

But they won’t do that.

They are inclusive like the Ivy League is inclusive. Rich, White People.

Darrell said...

When Chuck meets his quota, I want him banned for illegal betting. Rules are rules.

Kevin said...

Good Lord! Is Ice Hockey next?

Fighting and scoring will be replaced by more inclusive activities such as team ice dancing, sliding across the ice for distance, and duels using flying camels set to hip hop music.

After all, any drive to inclusiveness must include hip hop music.

Kevin said...

"My second year we were told we had to be sexier, so we went that route, and now they're saying it's too sexy..."

This is exactly how you get rid of the all-women group.

A. Tell them to be sexier.
B. Use the complaints from the SJW's who claim they're now hurting women to can them for something "more inclusive".

Kevin said...

This sort of dovetails with the Playboy post.

They're also sneaking in some penises, too.

Darrell said...

Will transgenders solve the problem?

You know it. No limit to transgender sexiness.

Plus the NBA will fold.


Infinite Monkeys said...

As a more subtle way to gain independence, however, students invented and organized their own extracurricular activities outside their professors' control. This brought about American sports, beginning first with collegiate teams.

From something that was just a thing the students had that was outside the professors' control to a thing that could pressure professors to give passing grades just to keep a player on a team.

Unknown said...

I used to watch sports to see the game. Other stuff happened at half-time, and I would take a break. Food, discuss the first half play, etc. I quit going to games when they became variety shows; TV has better production values, and variety shows couldn't make it long term there either.

Jeff Brokaw said...

“Too sexy” ... what?

The concept only makes sense to Millennials. Which is how we know it’s wrong.

Bob Boyd said...

Make all pro sports team gender inclusive. It ill solve the pay disparity crisis facing western civilization.

Hammond X. Gritzkofe said...

Some lines of employment get socially obsoleted. Try finding a job today as a slave overseer. For your line of work, you could try Hooters. Be grateful for no government regulations and licensing requirements.

Jack Klompus said...

I guess releasing Smell the Glove with the original cover concept is out of the question. As Nigel Tufnel asks, "What's wrong with being sexy?"

doctrev said...

Dang, Chuck - on this streak you are on I actually look forward to reading your comments.

I mean this with no tone of snark.

I am Laslo.

8/2/19, 11:08 AM

I agree with all of this, including being Laslo. Cheerleading is not exactly easy at the pro level. Sometimes they are expected to do stunts I definitely wouldn't expect a man to do.

But I don't even watch the NBA, much less attend games, so what do I care if there are cheerleading squads or professional breakdancers? Maybe this is convergence, maybe this will actually work. I can't be an expert on something I don't care about.

Sebastian said...

"if it's gone out of style, good!"

It's not "gone" out of style, it's being ordered out of style. The prog way.

n.n said...

It's not "gone" out of style, it's being ordered out of style. The prog way.

Democracy dies with dictate.

CWJ said...

"If they want to be inclusive they can lower the ticket prices so lower-income people can afford to attend a game. ... They are inclusive like the Ivy League is inclusive."

You can say that again. I guess I just did.

CWJ said...

"Yell Squads"

Careful there.

Ralph L said...

Tricking might not be fun on a wood floor, but it's better than carpet burns.

We've still got the small megaphone that USNA must have given to every midshipman in the 40's, probably so they could shout directly to the cadets of West Point.

There was a riot at a medieval university that killed several townspeople. I can't remember where or when.

The Vault Dweller said...

From what I've read about this team and others in the NBA it doesn't strike me as the motivation is for some sort of gender parity goal, or ending gender roles. I think if anything this move for a change up of the dance/cheer teams is more of a move to make it more urban versus suburban. Most of the new squads sounds like they are much more aligned with Hip-Hop culture, than anything else. I'm guessing this is just something that the majority of their audience prefers.

Chuck said...

mccullough said...
I’m old enough to remember when Michigan's football program was better than Wisconsin’s.


LOL. Barry Alvarez's dream; get into a division without Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State or Ohio State.

I was at the 2008 Wisconsin-Michigan game, sitting with the then-Dean of your B-school (who was and is an absolutely great guy and a huge asset to UW); he had flown in on the private jet with Ted Kellner and Alvarez's brother. I've never seen a more deflated group. I thought that they might all choose to fly the plane into Lake Michigan on the way home.

{#17}

Chuck said...

btw; as for NBA and NFL "cheerleaders" being quasi-strippers...

I think it is perfectly appropriate for those two enterprises.

{#18}

n.n said...

Sex, gender, and transfeminism.

JaimeRoberto said...

So tricking is just Gymkata.

mccullough said...

Ohio State has dominated The Big Ten in football this century.

Michigan football isn’t good. It’s second-tier at best.

Michigan hasn’t won the Big Ten in football since 2004.

Wisconsin has won it three times since then.

Michigan-Ohio State is not a rivalry and hasn’t been for a long time.

Jim at said...

Used to be a huge NBA fan. But, once the Sonics were stolen and they've gone all SJW? Haven't watched a game in at least 10 years.

Don't miss it one bit.

Dude1394 said...

Boy women have asked for it and they are getting it good and hard, from cheerleaders to sports. Hard to feel too sorry for anyone getting what they've asked for while calling everyone sexist.

Chuck said...

A couple of times every century, like clockwork, Wisconsin wins two in a row versus Michigan. Otherwise, the series is 51-15-1 in favor of Michigan.

And of course whenever Wisconsin wins one against Michigan in Camp Randall, chances are good that some coed will nearly get killed in a celebration stampede.

Chuck said...

Oops. {#21}

Thanks for asking.

rcocean said...

"My father was a cheerleader too."

So, was FDR. Mitt Romney would've been a cheerleader if they'd been around in 1968.

Taft was NOT a cheerleader. He did the human pyramid and killed 3 men. TR was not a "Cheerleader" either. He was banned after shooting 3 members of the opposing team. Nixon? Now, there's a cheerleader. In fact, lets go down the List of possible cheerleaders:

Hoover? Nope too academic.
FDR? Yep.
Truman ? Never went to college
Ike? Football Star.
JFK? Only interested in Bed sports and yachting.
LBJ? Yes, but only to cover up his Rigging the games and making $$$
Nixon? Yep - cheerleader
Ford ? Nope. football star.
Reagan? Yep
Carter? Maybe But went to Annopolis and was very wonky.
Bush? Yep for Football Team. Played Varisty BB.
Clinton? See JFK - but no boating
Bush II? Yep
Obama? Nope. Just smoked Dope
Trump? Hahaha.

n.n said...

women have asked for it and they are getting it good and hard, from cheerleaders to sports

Feminists, anyway. Affirmative discrimination to force men to kneel. Transgender males or neo-feminine to force women to kneel. Diversity to progress color judgments based on low information attributes to force everyone, selectively, opportunistically, to kneel. Here's to unqualified progress.

Ralph L said...

W was a cheerleader in either prep school or Yale.

Ambrose said...

"I'm too sexy; too sexy for the Bucks...."

CWJ said...

"FDR? Yep."

OK, that's quoting rcocean.

FDR?

That's my comment.

Freeman Hunt said...

Acrobats--fun!

Anonymous said...

Just so there aren't any dancing drag queens.