(no subject)

[slemslempike]

The Guardian has an interesting article about cheerleading in the UK: here. The title is slightly misleading, the cheerleading group they focus on is not school-based, and is in fact a place where they deliberately mix up pupils from different areas to build trust and stop the violent rivalries bewteen them.

The comments are predictable:

It's not just cheerleading. the UK appears to have looked at everything bad about the US and copied it. Look at the state of us now! All we need is to adopt their gun laws and we truly would be a 51st state...and what a state. I'm glad I'm out of it!

And I'm a bit pissed off about the comment from a male cheerleader that it's "the least gay thing" he could do. Because doing gay things is terrible.

Comments

[katlinel.livejournal.com]

Thanks for link - the article's not bad, but the comments are, for the vast majority, the usual weep-worthy tosh. The 'least gay thing' remark is very sad - maybe he'll learn and grow.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

There are a lot of things around gender and sexuality in cheerleading that I think are distinctly non-radical, but much of the criticism is based on "yuck Americans" and "urgh girly", which is WRONG.

[cellardor.livejournal.com]

I think some people need to read Cheer!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

They really do! Everyone should read it.

[snowballjane.livejournal.com]

Harrumph!

Ooh, I see that ice dance is not a sport either.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Of course not. It's for GIRLS.

[anglaisepaon.livejournal.com]

Good grief. You people are going to have to work a LOT harder to copy all our bad things before we let you in as the 51st state. (Although you did take Madonna off our hands, so you have that in your favor)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I think we should get deep-fried twinkies before we go for the gun thing. Also Old Navy.