How Did Cheerleading Switch From Being Male Dominated to Female Dominated?

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In this video:
At this time, only an estimated two percent of the country’s population went to college and, of that small number, nearly all were wealthy, male, and white. Among these individuals’ favorite extracurricular activities were intramural sports, particularly crew, baseball, track and field, and football.
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[@BerryUnusual]

I was a proud male cheerleader for all 4 years of high school. I participated in both sidelines for football season and competition. I was the ONLY male on the squad and I think I still hold that position till this day and I graduated almost 10 years ago. I was gonna cheer in college, I made the squad but couldn't afford the tuition and had to go to community college where my career in cheer sadly ended.

[@xfan420bush9]

huh, gay

[@BerryUnusual]

@@xfan420bush9 My wife would beg to differ, but thanks for your bigoted stereotype on a video that factually proves you to be dead wrong.

[@gregorsamsa3016]

@@BerryUnusual Don't feed the trolls.

[@cs0345]

@@BerryUnusual Still gay

[@DSan-kl2yc]

No cheer in CC. Only despair! Kidding

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Answers to questions I never knew I had is why I love this channel👍

[@rjchavers9267]

💛👍

[@sam21462]

So, in the end the answer to your question "How Did Cheerleading Switch From Being Male Dominated to Female Dominated?" seems to have this answer. It's really kind of Hitler's fault. Truly fascinating.

[@animistchannel2983]

Steve Martin, the famous comedian, movie star, and banjo player, was also a cheerleader.

[@jacksonpercy8044]

I can definitely see that. Hell, he probably did some cheerleading in one of his movies.

[@Klaaism]

BANJO Player!

[@animistchannel2983]

Yah, he's a member of "Men With Banjos Who Know How To Use Them" amazing band of masters. There's a KZbin clip of them doing "Foggy Mountain" on Letterman some years back, among other vids

[@glenngriffon8032]

When I was in my senior year of high school our school got its first male cheerleader and nobody made fun of him. Mostly because he was a very skilled black belt. He was my neighbor and I had been to his house a few times, he had so many trophies they were all over the living room floor.

[@jasonmeadows8510]

@rwsthedemonking Why does it matter if a guy is straight or not, to be a male cheerleader?

[@fad23]

As a former high school cheerleader I'm always glad to see more about this.

[@tappure]

fad23 I feel same way 👍🏽

[@mattyward4822]

I can do this ... I can get drunk and yell supportive comments ... finally a sport I can Excel at

[@ionlyeatbrainsdummy9858]

Lol

[@jameskosusnik1102]

"I thought this was america??"

[@des1redlearnz185]

To excel i had to spend at least 4 hours tumbling, stunting, and stretching a day for 4 years in high school and i still am not positive i could have made the best teams in college.

[@macdri]

Apparently "sis" and "boom" were meant to mimic the sound made by a firecracker. Also "more cow bell!"

[@JeremyWS]

At my high school, we had a cheer squad of eight members (sometimes more). There was only one male uniform, so usually zero men were on the squad and it was predominantly women. If you were an man and wanted to be on the squad, you either wore the one male uniform or you were the mascot. I wonder how many high schools or colleges or universities are the same way.

[@Ainiewainy]

That makes me so sad! Guys should have a chance too!

[@michaeljaysonbanua4870]

Really? I thought in a squad the university supports them with uniform. The uniform are being ordered according to the members of the squad (men and women). Just like here and in my previous uni. They always have trainees and substitutes

[@litchtheshinigami8936]

Michael Jayson Banua that was my thinking aswell they can just order ones for the men can’t they ?

[@animehuntress9018]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that your school had a very limited budget, cause if their cutting anything sports related i shiver to think what else they cut.

[@des1redlearnz185]

We had 30 something on my squad i was one of 2 guys. We were both on highly competitive teams in 2004 i was on cheer dynamix and he was on cheer athletics. It got awkward after my team beat his at nationals. We got third he got 4th. This was at NCA. The year before worlds started.

[@KendrixTermina]

"Yell Marshall" definitely sounds like a term that ought to be revived

[@rjchavers9267]

I would love having a time machine to introduce the first organized cheer squad to say the Dallas Cheerleaders today 🤔👍PS You can never have enough cow bell 😂

[@noellem9319]

Or cornhole

[@danikasilva9906]

Thumbs up for all in favor of Mr. Whistler to preform the princeton cheer!! 👍👍👍😁

[@davidaston5773]

I think he should have a big skirt and pom poms Danika LOL

[@xxXthekevXxx]

That could be a Patreon option like how you can hear him whistling if you’re a patron 😂

[@davidaston5773]

@@xxXthekevXxx Or a video special for patrons only where he translates videos on all his channels by cheer leading? Blonde wig, school uniform and lip stick make up and all HAHHAHAHAHA!!!!? XD

[@rjchavers9267]

"They took our jobs!" "Wait, what!?!"

[@unfinishedsentenc5308]

Before watching, wasnt it during the Vietnam war and with all the men being drafted? Edit: wrong war. It was ww2

[@Klaaism]

Men are coming back in due to all the athletic shenanigans cheer squads get up to now.

[@Judahmangi]

Do a video about the process of making a Today I Found Out video (ideas, research, filming, etc.)

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Google our one million subscriber video "How it's made- a TIFO story" :-)

[@promontorium]

Hours of painstakingly adding fake stains to old photographs to make them less discernable.

[@silkwesir1444]

@@promontorium I'm pretty sure it's an automatic process... but it's really stupid, i noticed it too. if I am not mistaken, those "stains" are applied even on relatively new photographs or computer generated images, which creates a false impression that those too are old photographs (or photographs at all)

[@LordDice1]

Rah, rah, rah TSsss Boom Bah Fight fight fight Minnesota! The sis boom bits where basically beatboxing, trying to emulate drum sounds like a drum roll etc..

Eye candy for men, women's bodies they found sold things and probably helped to sell seats to watch matches.

[@carp566]

In pro football they don't lead cheers, all they do is dance, shake pom poms, and show off their sexy bodies, they are beautiful decoration though.

[@silkwesir1444]

I often heard the idea that they are supposed to get testosterone going in the male _athletes_ which in turn would increase their performance. I was surprised this didn't get mentioned in the video at all, as it seems to be the whole rationale as to why to do such a silly thing.

[@animehuntress9018]

@@carp566 I actually know someone who was Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. They have a very strict body code. They have to fit certain sizes in certain areas or out the door they go.

[@silkwesir1444]

@@animehuntress9018 really? then they could probably sue and back through the door they come ;) (or at least be monetarily compensated...) actually I hope they do. similarly to how the first black cheerleader fought her way in some decades ago. it will clear the way for more people in the future.

[@KendrixTermina]

GEORGE W BUSH?! Ohh please I did NOT need that image in my head

[@TheRachaelLefler]

And notice that in history whenever anything goes from being male dominated to being female dominated, it dramatically loses prestige and becomes the subject of mockery.

[@FreakyGremlinDK]

This channel truly lives up to its name.

[@marcogomez8754]

Simon you are truly appreciated thank you for all you the very interesting videos

[@ceciliaspears161]

Far more fascinating than I thought! So glad to watch and share! ^_^

[@President_Starscream]

I, Lord Starscream, have my very own cheerleading squad called THE DECEPTICONS!!! HAHAHA!

[@President_Starscream]

@Steve Mclean why it is both of course. Lord Starscream of Cybertron is president of Earth. Though I rather do prefer my full title Supreme Commander President Lord Starscream!

[@jlokison]

Are you sure they are cheering you on or are they shooting at you and missing due to your dumb luck?

[@WatchRipples]

I wish I could have shown this video to my former school principles! Some schools I attended in the 1990s actually banned boys from cheerleading. Only girls were allowed, and I thought it was silly (and told one principle my opinion) but didn't know this history. Good to know!

[@iteerrex8166]

When I think of a cheerleader I think of a bouncy bubbly hot girl in an skimpy outfit, N O T our presidents. lol

[@jjc5475]

beautiful right. XD

[@christelheadington1136]

I see more like Richard Simons. To borrow a phrase."Never Trump".

[@1969GrassHoppa]

I love your teachings. I have learned so much from your videos.

[@AdZS848]

Who loved hearing Simon recite those cheers with that posh British accent?? 🙋🙋🙋

Rah-rah!

[@JiveDadson]

"Intramural" is when two teams from the same school compete.

[@deadpaul6587]

What the hell since when does TIFO have 1.9mil subs? Hello?? Is it just me?

[@TodayIFoundOut]

Slowly but surely. ;-) -Daven

[@xxXthekevXxx]

Today I Found Out I’ve been a fan since before 1M and when Daven was sometimes the host :)

Question for a probable future video: Why football is called football everywhere but North America? And in the same line of thought, why American football, which is played (mostly) with the hands, is called football and the (real) football, played with the feet only, is called soccer (in America of course)?

[@brantsemallory726]

Search the channel - its already been done.

[@jonnunn4196]

association's one syllable abbreviation is soc. instead of the first three syllable for obvious reasons. Next at one point "soccer" became short for being a member of an association. Then remember that the full name is "association football". Gridiron football was much more radio and TV friendly, already having some obvious places in which unofficial timeouts could be added for short commercial breaks. (Change of possession when both teams changed all players.)

[@Zeldahol]

I subscribed 4 years ago, stop telling me to. I've shared, I watch the adds, And as always... thank you for posting videos like this every single day. Just busting your balls Simon. Thank you for doing what you do Sir.

[@pamelamays4186]

My buddy Charles was the only male on the cheer squad at our high school. He had school spirit to spare! It's funny how now men are finding it hard to join NFL cheer squads.

[@jaidenbrower6178]

It's because NFL squads and basically dance teams, they do literally no stunting and tumbling

[@parkb5320]

This is very interesting since I grew up in New Jersey and lived between Rutgers and Princeton.

[@jbeers1234]

You missed the fact that nearly every university has both male and female cheerleaders. Safe to say nearly all of that 5% is at the university level.

[@silkwesir1444]

@rwsthedemonking What? For once, their sexual orientation should have nothing to do with whether it's "OK" or not. And even assuming for a minute that it was relevant (attraction to the male players required in order to cheer more enthusiastically?), by that logic it would mean that gays would be better suited for it.

[@ALLDAYKPOP]

@rwsthedemonking You sound really stupid. I knew a lot of Male cheerleaders in college and a majority were straight and popular with the girls. You just sound like a homophobic little kid

[@silkwesir1444]

@rwsthedemonking are you using speech recognition to enter your post? i have no other explanation for some of your "typos". Apart from that, you make almost no sense, and what little sense you make is horrific (homophobic).

[@jackmcdaniel1548]

This is true that far more women are cheerleaders than are men. This is sexism pure and simple. 😁

[@dannydaw59]

The women's body is easier on the eyes.

[@jackmcdaniel1548]

@@dannydaw59 With all the gender identity confusion in the United States that may depend on whose eyes are looking. 😉

[@des1redlearnz185]

Not in college its about a 50/50 split most places and if you want to make the college squad you are going to have to be in competitive. Youll need either at least a running full and standing backhandpring back or toss stunts as a guy.

[@des1redlearnz185]

Men are very highly regarded and sought after in the high school cheer community. Need the strong bases to hold the flyers.

[@des1redlearnz185]

Men are very highly regarded and sought after in the high school cheer community. Need the strong bases to hold the flyers.

[@jhmcd2]

Interesting irony which this sort of alludes too. Cheerleading isn't the only formally male dominated activity that is now female run. They include Gymnastics, Skating, Field Hockey (in the US) and and Medical technicians. Even Nursing roles (when you go back to prior to the 1700's) where all men and its actually a pretty long list. In fact, today, in many sports in general, you can clearly see that male enrollment in athletics is down by a lot, but female enrollment in athletics is up all across the board with many colleges not even having male teams for certain sports. But that's the little story of inequality you won't often hear about.

[@devlinmorin7615]

So... the feminization of cheerleading went from basically a successful kind of feminist, equality movement back to failure as their success there reversed public opinion of cheerleading. Can that happen with anything? If women take up farting, burping and grunting will that trigger men to decide that not being gross is manly?

[@jonnunn4196]

Yup; high heels were first for males before becoming popular with females which then rapidly fell out of favor among males.

[@Klespyrian]

As a prior cheerleader, the only thing I ever heard from other guys was "You got to hang out with a lot of girls, huh?" Never much about acrobatics or skills involved.

[@saranobutt]

All I know is I actually wish there were more guys doing cheerleading because got to have good bodies and be tough and that's the kind of guys I would love to be throwing me around. I'm not trying to sound weird I'm just saying that's the truth.

[@mmhoss]

u up

[@gentlecaringviolence]

Nice 😏

[@animehuntress9018]

Its always WW2, Kibble, cheer-leading, women's rights, etc etc etc....

[@valiroime]

Kind of the way secretaries used to be male only as well?

[@michaellouton3870]

Great video! I love to learn and this channel does it in a great way. So you had a sport game going on, on the field and a hotdog juggling contest on the sidelines cheering. How’s that for a mental image? Keep up the great work!

[@tappure]

Some states count cheerleading as a legal sport some states is not a legal sport they are s club. I was a male cheerleader from middle school to high school

[@tappure]

B Pr nice try at name calling I think is what you where trying to do?

[@commentsforthealgorithm1740]

"Rooter-king" was my nickname in highschool

[@holdenmuganda97]

I think people are thinking of cheerleaders today and envisioning that guys did the exact same thing. Obviously something that’s dominated by men will look very different from if it’s female dominated even if its the same activity. Also you go to college football games and such and you still see male “cheerleaders” they just aren’t official. They do chants and paint themselves and lead the crowd. Same thing. They just don’t try to make it look sexy like women do.

[@darrenkrivit6854]

When on the field (not a player) at LSU football games, I thoroughly enjoyed spending time watching the cheerleaders. I think we won some games too😁

[@fanOmry]

Male Cheerleading- Oratory skills. Parkour. Female Cheerleading- What you see on TV.

[@wavion2]

They took our jerbs!

[@pvthitch]

I was a cheerleader in high school. I could hold women over my head with one hand.

[@davekachel]

I guess this is kinda sexy

[@err_kk]

Now what can you do with one hand?

[@nourmasri1398]

@@err_kk hold his phone.

[@pvthitch]

@@nourmasri1398 Your mother.

[@rparl]

I attended Tamalpais High in Mill Valley California from 1956 through 1960. At first the cheerleaders were all girls, but then two boys and two girls ran as a team and were elected. The rest of my time at Tam, it was always two and two. When my younger siblings attended, it still was.

[@majkus]

There is probably room for a really well-researched book giving a definitive historic treatment of organized cheering, especially prior to the second world war (after that, it seems pretty well attested). The 1927 book, "Just Yells", which documents many practices at the time, is informative and fascinating in its own way, but raises questions of its own: apparently by then, 'bleacher stunts' like card stunts (USC used two-color hats, and the book has several photographs of them in action) were common, but how did that practice originate? In 1927, some amount of acrobatics was seemingly expected from the cheer leaders, but what did they do, and when did that start? How big were the rooting sections at games over the years, both college and high school? As a data point, a major prep school, Andover Academy, in their Philippian newspaper in 1907 reported just 41 men/boys reporting for football practice (one of them 20 years old, which is positively scary), and had a student population of 500 or so. But they had no fewer than _five_ cheerleaders on their rooting squad, which seems like quite a lot. Even small things, like the size of megaphones (some pictures show them to be a good fraction of someone's height, and being held up with two hands) are hard to pin down. Someone doing _real_ research instead of random Internet searches-the sort of thing where you still need libraries-could give us a really informative chronology. Even in modern times, there were transitions worth documenting, like the establishment and growth of cheerleading squads in professional football, which apparently started in 1954 with the Baltimore Colts (thanks, Wikipedia), but really came to national attention with the Dallas Cowboys squad in the 1970s. (the L.A. Rams soon had the 'Embraceable Ewes' cheerleaders, showing that some people should not be paid for thinking up clever names) Heck, I can't even find out when the UCLA 'Eight-clap' cheer changed to a prolonged 'Ellllll' from the 'L-rah-rah-rah' version we cheered in the 1970s. It's an improvement, to be sure.

[@farmboyjad]

Love to see my Gophers mentioned! Worth noting, "Ski-u-mah" is pronounced "Sky you mah", and is the University's signature cheer. It's got its own interesting history as well (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ski-U-Mah_(slogan) )

[@biscoito1r]

Here is a question. Can police commandeer my car to help in a chase like in the movies ?

[@silkwesir1444]

Hasn't this already be answered in a previous video? I thought so, but this comment was "hearted", but no comment with a link to that previous video was provided... so I must be thinking of a different channel. Short Answer: it depends. in certain situations yes, but not nearly as easily or commonly as portrayed in the movies.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

I first heard of male cheerleading when we looked at the Herff Jones class ring catalog and a cheerleader men design was an option. We laughed at that one, along with rodeo roper (urban campus), auto body, HVAC, and a number of others. They had one called "Together" with a couple and a heart carved on a tree and "Tomorrow," which was probably the most dated of all of them, depicting the Trylon and Perisphere of the 1939 World's Fair. This was in the early 1990s. I don't remember which year we were encouraged to buy class rings, possibly 10th (which would be odd since that was considered the grade at which people were most commonly held back).

[@scottandrewhutchins]

It had to have been tenth grade now that I think of it because the principal, Eugene White, who would come on the morning announcements and get the students laughing unintentionally by pronouncing the second F in "Herff." He was hired my freshman year and resigned after my sophomore year to become school superintendent. The next year, C.E. Quandt became interim principal. He was principal last time I checked about a decade ago, but in 12th grade, they hired this guy called James (Mike) Jones, who looked like the Weekly World News photos of cult leader Jim Jones when they ran stories alleging that he was still alive. Even stranger, when I was in college, I worked at a supermarket with many people who were currently attending the same high school and had no memory of Jones ever being the principal, even those whose high school years overlapped with mine. They all seemed to think Quandt took over after White.

[@theloneranger2101]

I have a question, is it true that all Bananas types are becoming extinct and this will happen very soon and why?

[@savvywavvywoopwoop]

Lol it's really late for me Its 2:00 am where I live

[@JimAllen-Persona]

Or really early.. it’s 3:09 here

[@savvywavvywoopwoop]

@@JimAllen-Persona oh ur right lol

[@19mitch54]

They discovered that, except for the players, most people preferred looking at pretty girls.

[@operationmaga6711]

Love the show

[@SyoaranBarker]

At Texas A&M we still have a traditionally all-male squad of Yell Leaders--3 seniors, 2 juniors--using hand signals to coordinate the whole of the student body at each game in pre-determined yells. They wear white coveralls and are elected from among the student body. Being a Yell Leader is considered one of the most prestigious positions at the university, and is certainly one of the most visible. The Yells are taught to each new group of students and the Friday night before each home game the student body actually gathers for Midnight Yell Practice, lead by the Yell Leaders, in Kyle Field. A couple example yells: Farmers Fight - "Farmers Fight! Farmers Fight! Fight! Fight! Farmers! Farmers Fight!" Military - "Squads left! squads right! Farmers, farmers, we’re all right! Load, ready, aim, fire, BOOM! (Seniors only: "Reload!") A&M, give us room!" Horse Laugh (for expressing disappointment): "Riffety, riffety, riff-raff! Chiffity, chiffity, chiff-chaff! Riff-raff! Chiff-chaff! Let’s give ‘em a horse laugh: Sssssss!"

[@richwood2741]

And people pay large amounts of tuition to be fed that dribble. No wonder the U.S. school system is failing. Look at where we are wasting our taxes and school funds.

[@SyoaranBarker]

@@richwood2741 A&M is a world-ranked university, and is considered a top research institution (and is the only school to hold all three distinctions of being a land, sea, and space grant school). Alumni have gone on to be heads of state, astronauts, legislators, and leaders of industry in energy, chemical, construction, and law. That drivel binds together a student body that consistently draws in a large number of National Merit Scholars, and consists of students from across the nation and around the world. And besides, even if Yell Leaders *were* paid, I'd hardly think cutting five student positions would make any difference in the cost of attending A&M. Your assertion also fails to take into account that Yell Leaders and many of these yells go back over 100 years, well far enough back to raise the question of whether or not our public schools have been failing for 100 years, right through various economic and education booms that have happened in the last century. And through all of them, we Aggies yelled to encourage our team. Our football team. Football. That thing universities spend egregious amounts of money on? I think your ire should direct itself at the costs surrounding what is on the field, not what at the people doing silly things on the sideline.

[@christopherconard2831]

Sadly, just this week George Edmonson aka Mr Two Bits passed away. He had been leading cheers for the University of Florida since 1949. Though he officially retired in 2008, he still made occasional appearances.

[@tonyabrams1352]

Small correction! At 3:10 It's pronounced "sky-yoo-mah" Love my Golden Gophers!!

[@jmeyer3rn]

I’m of the era of female teams in high school. I didn’t go to campus for college but we really enjoyed the good, clean fun of the Purdue campus on game days. Boiler up and hammer down.

[@cdjhyoung]

As the grandfather of three school age cheerleaders, may I offer some insights? First, yes young ladies as cheerleeders do offer more of an eye candy moment than their male counter parts for the predominately male audience. Modern cheer has become less about the sideline cheer squads we have all become used to, and has progressed to a standalone competition of its own. "Cheer" is now less about getting the fans into the game, and more about a meddling of gymnastic skills and dance routines. Synchronized dance routines judged on difficulty of the movement combined on how well each member of the squad is in step with her fellow team mates, tumbling routines, and stunt lifts are now the hall mark of organized, competitive cheer. Few, if any, males choose to participate in this kind of event. When they do, and I've seen VERY few in the 14 years I've been watching from the stands, their contributions are limited to helping to be the base in lifting stunts. Coordinating the dance moves to include the male members of a squad frequently limits what moves can be made to work and have the squad remain synchronized. The sport has passed by males being involved.

[@PeugeotRocket]

I think most of can agree that we are quite happy that most cheerleaders are women. ;)

[@butre.]

I'm alright with a guy in a skirt

[@Floordford]

Bugs bunny did a "rah-rah-sis-boom-bah Bugs bunny Bugs bunny rah-rah-rah" cheer one time.

[@sam21462]

3:30 It is by this point in the video that you realize that all early cheering squads also had to contend with cheering whilst not spilling one's beer from the large wooden mug emblazoned with the favored school's crest. Quite impressive, actually.

[@MrFaceeatingcancer]

Wow that's a nice video about cheerleading but can we please have a video about where the term eyes are the mirrors of the soul and where did that come from

[@SS4Xani]

How did it go from being male dominated to being female controlled? Same way nail polish, heels, earrings, and makeup changed from being male items to female-only fashions: Feminism.

[@ziljin]

Men always did everything first. They were first to wear high heels and pantyhose too!

[@christelheadington1136]

Now many have gone back to the future.

[@nourmasri1398]

@The Action Man wanna wear them again? I don't mind

[@skip123davis]

HA! So the next time some woman lectures me about cheerleaders being overly sexualized/ objectified, I shall reply: completely correct! This is NO job for a woman!

[@GrimKeeper9011]

Almost 2million. Cant wait.

[@jjc5475]

i want men with suits and top hats again.. wait, even better, women in suits and top hats.

[@SuperVstech]

Cool initials in neon back there Simon...

[@garreswe]

It's so fucked up, when cheerleading was for only men it was considered to be of great importance but as soon as women started doing it then it suddenly wasn't that important anymore. Giving women-dominated roles low status is one of many ways women have been (and still are) oppressed in society. All of this shit happened in the US, it's another reason that I don't understand what's so great about that country.

[@JiveDadson]

Find out why the one, AKA ace, is the highest ranked card rather than the lowest.

[@studinthemaking]

George Bush 2 was a male cheerleader at Yale.

[@darter9000]

University of Washington supposedly became the Huskies because Malamutes was difficult to build cheers around.

[@ZoeAlleyne]

Amazing how often society proves than any industry dominated by women has been historically derided. Thanks guys, this was a really interesting video.

[@Jdaminbf4]

No feminist weirdo

[@ZoeAlleyne]

@@Jdaminbf4 literally what this video was showing but go off I guess

[@Jdaminbf4]

ZoeAlleyne well I’ll be honest I didn’t watch the video because I already knew when it went from a guys thing to women, but in your view what about cheerleading has been derided?

[@ZoeAlleyne]

@@Jdaminbf4 well the fact that people get annoyed when cheerleaders talk about getting fair compensation for their work, which has huge physical demands and take a LOT of their time, people consistently say they are "only" cheerleaders, that they don't really matter, they are just eye candy. The men who were cheerleaders in the past were viewed as being literally as important, to some, as the quarterback. It isn't a big secret that industries that become female dominated have been historically subject to suddenly being viewed as "lesser" and because women are predominant in those fields and it was legal to pay women less the rates of past became lower as did the prestige. Nurses, for example, were often men, historically speaking. But now they are a minority and it became a low paying job that struggles to get men interested, partly because of social ideas that it is women's work. Hell, it is not just jobs. Pink was seen as a very masculine color as it was too bold for women, but once it became associated with girls, it became associated with something more frivolous and thus, less masculine. Now guys can literally be picked on for wearing pink and it still has a very strong association with girls. The only point is that with the historical attitudes that women werew the weaker sex, things that they were interested in or became associated with became inherently undesirable too many men. It is good to remind ourselves that the idea of strict divisions between what men and women should do are artificial and they shouldn't affect the value. The video was quite good, you could give it a watch if you have time. This channel often delivers really good, interesting content.

[@Brainfryde]

I think there is an American -> UK translation fail in here. The war effort impacted US secondary schools as well, where most graduates are 18-19yrs old, but the enlistment age for WWII was 17 (with consent). This means a lot of high school sports, emulating colleges, suddenly had no senior cheerleaders. It was still mostly college of course, but something that should have been mentioned perhaps?

[@jonnunn4196]

No, graduates are mostly 18 in the US; except for those born during the summer break, who are generally 17. And automatic deferment from the draft if still attending High School. Plus the recruiter would have recommended that an 18 year old still in their senior year to elect for the deferred enlistment that took effect a week or two after graduating. It should also be pointed out though that many kids dropped out of school at 16 then anyway. Those full time in college also got an automatic deferment from the draft, but many dropped out to enlist, especially if they had more than a year of classes left to graduate.

[@TheRachaelLefler]

I really like your neon sign of your initials.

[@gmoops8986]

Rick'em Rack' um Ruck'em!!! Get that and really FFFFFight!

[@ehrldawg]

I met a Navy Seal who said he was a cheerleader in high school for the sole purpose to meet the ladies

[@Supersonic]

Princeton, Princeton, Prrrinceton

[@iammaxhailme]

Pretty funny thinking of these manly military men like Eisenhower cheerleading. Of course, I'm sure the practice was quite different in the past.

[@des1redlearnz185]

I was an infantryman after my 6 years as a cheerleader.

[@kendallroberts9914]

I wonder if the advent of television, advertising, and commercialization of sports had anything to do with further cementing female cheerleaders and the short uniforms. Seems to me it would have quite the impact, given the money funneled in to advertising and crowd pleasing.

[@jonnunn4196]

Not the advent or even popularization of television; those came much earlier. The others may have been, perhaps along with popularization of color television as that lines up better, but popularization of the bikini was also 60s.

[@diGritz1]

Because someone finally realized they looked better in the short skirts.

[@christopherrobinson3857]

I should ask my parents if they knew this, as they were just kids getting through grade school and possibly going to high school while all of this was going on.

[@jlokison]

Funny how for the last several decades the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have made their brand more money than the football team they were created to support.

I always click on the like button to not forget to like your videos. 😋

[@failureblanket8559]

Nothing like a bunch of men going to war before realizing "hey, women can do said thing"

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

When Female Cheerleaders started to do the splits (and twerking?) that really had them more popular than their male counterparts.

[@uprightape100]

You neglected to mention the alcohol that fueled the early male cheerers. Mucho alch indeed.

[@montecar87]

Kid: daddy, what did you do in college Dad: I was a cheerleader Kid: Oh …… walks away

[@Kirsten_is_cursed10]

Noneya Bidniz That’s...a problematic way of looking at it...

[@davidroddini1512]

I would like to know why people with ADD/ADHD have paradoxical responses to stimulants and sedatives.

[@ScottJPowers]

That's funny because at my high school, where I attended between 1997 and 2004, the school had to be sued for boys to be allowed to be part of cheerleading.

[@JimAllen-Persona]

Scott Powers I can see that. From an administrative perspective - you can’t have them dress in the same room, you have to have a chaperone.. and some girls parents freak out at the thought. Still no excuse though.. a male cheerleader opens up a lot of stunting options for a squad because they are generally stronger and taller. Plus-a lot of girls like it because it offers them a “big brother” in their circle.

[@ScottJPowers]

@@JimAllen-Persona that was the excuse they used to not allow me to take gymnastics but there are separate locker rooms for boys and girls, so I don't see the problem.

[@jonnunn4196]

@@ScottJPowers Yeah, if nothing else the male cheerleader(s) could have used the same locker room as those on whichever of football or (male) basketball players used.

[@jypsywith_a_jae7575]

Gooood gophers!!!

[@holymaryfullofshit3790]

Next in this Miniseries: Horsebackriding. edit: i actually want to know.

[@Elesario]

No mention of how the athletic element of cheer-leading came about?

[@jonnunn4196]

That's a direct result of cheerleading competitions; and by itself not that interesting, but perhaps he could have mentioned when the cheerleading competitions started.

[@bogfinken]

Why do I get a vision of Simon in a cute little cheerleader dress?

[@christelheadington1136]

It sounds personal to me.

[@montecar87]

which would you prefer?