Cheelreaders must wear leggings/sweatpants

[wolfie]

It's my understanding that in U.S. high schools, it's traditional for members of the football team to be allowed to wear their jerseys in class, and for cheerleaders to be allowed to wear their uniforms in class, on game days.

A school in Idaho is ordering cheerleaders to wear leggings or sweatpants if they wear their uniform at school. Why? Because the uniform skirt is too short to meet the school's decency standards.

WTF? The skirts are not just OK, but mandatory, for when they're representing the school on the field as part of the cheer squad, but they're indecent when the students are representing themselves as students in class?

What sort of message is this sending to the students? I can think of one - "Your body is not your own. If we choose to put you on display to football fans, including grown men, that's fine. You, however, are not permitted to display your body in the same manner to your peers".

I'd understand a ban on the swim team wearing its uniforms in class, since bathing suits are not a normal item of "in class" clothing. I could also understand a blanket ban on wearing uniforms other than at events on the grounds that it would present a bad image if they were to spill the chili they were eating for lunch on the front of the uniform, so restricting them to events minimizes the risk of pre-event soiling. Skirts, however, are considered a normal "in-class" clothing item. IMNSHO, either a skirt is OK to wear both when representing the school and in-class, or it's indecently short under both circumstances. I could even understand requiring a longer skirt when representing the school than what is allowable when they're being themselves.

[Gravekeeper]

According to the article the skirts were exposing their arses when they sat down in class. So yeah, I have some questions as to why exactly they're okay with parading their female students around on the field with what sounds like butt frills. I mean, if the dress code says mid thigh is the limit, then what did they okay for the cheerleading uniforms?

[HYHYBT]

If I remember right, football players wear *only* the jersey from their uniform, and they wear it over normal school clothes. Technically, I suppose they could do that any day they wanted; it didn't break the dress code so long as there was another shirt underneath. What would be the equivalent for cheerleaders?

[Aragarthiel]

I have to wonder, do their skirts have material underneath that covers their underwear? I was in marching band in high school and never encountered a cheerleading outfit that didn't. Though honestly, I would LOVE to see actual leggings for cheerleaders to wear during games. Football season out here gets cold, and I feel bad for the girls. Cheer leggings could potentially look really good under the skirts AND keep their legs warm.

[mjr]

I have to wonder, do their skirts have material underneath that covers their underwear? I was in marching band in high school and never encountered a cheerleading outfit that didn't. Though honestly, I would LOVE to see actual leggings for cheerleaders to wear during games. Football season out here gets cold, and I feel bad for the girls. Cheer leggings could potentially look really good under the skirts AND keep their legs warm.

I live in a rather Conservative area of Texas. Even when I was in HS 20+ years ago, the cheerleader skirts were starting to creep up. Now, as has previously been mentioned, they barely cover the girl's ass.

And yes, they do have something that covers their underwear. But it looks like underwear, so it's basically colored the same as the uniform.

Football season here doesn't really start getting cold enough for leggings until close to the playoffs in early/mid November, but the girls here do have black (usually) leggings that they do wear when it gets colder.

[BlaqueKatt]

Though honestly, I would LOVE to see actual leggings for cheerleaders to wear during games. Football season out here gets cold, and I feel bad for the girls. Cheer leggings could potentially look really good under the skirts AND keep their legs warm.

depends on the area, california and florida are slightly less sweltering in fall

though the packers cheerleaders dress like this when it's cold

my school had three "layers" of cheer/drill team uniforms-skirts, skirts with capris under them, and pants(worn with or without the skirts). Our uniforms were the same style they had in the 80's*, skirt about 3 inches above the knee. This is from a recent middle/high school game(not school in question), note barely covered when standing. and this is a photo of all five uniforms for a california school, also way shorter, these are the common styles.





*similar to this, sweater/turtleneck combo was also similar

[GOInsanity]

I don't see why the cheerleaders are wearing their skirts to class at all. The football players wear their jersey with a shirt under it. They don't wear the tight pants with pads in them to class.

So the cheerleaders should wear their cute tops and pants. Our had a whole tracksuit and would wear the pants from that with the top.

My high school also went through the phase where a girl got in trouble for wearing too short of a skirt for the rules, but they were allowing the cheerleaders too short skirts to class. The above was the compromise. Although I think they also had to have a shirt under the top because it would ride up and show stomach. I can understand that the skirt being long enough to meet the dress code would hinder cheer moves, but why does the top have to not cover the stomach then?

[Daskinor]

I must live in bizzaro USA then. The sports team members where forbidden to wear their jerseys outside of game and practice. In fact they where required to wear a shirt and tie in class game day and at any sports related events. I graduated in 2000, so it was not that long ago.

The cheerleaders where in the same boat, forbidden to wear their gear in class. They did wear their outfits during any sports related events but only if they where performing.

[Lachrymose]

If I remember correctly, as I wasn't on any sports teams myself, the shirt and tie in my school at least was only for away games. Pretty sure they could wear jerseys throughout the day if it was a home game. I graduated in 1996 for the record.

[Greenday]

I must live in bizzaro USA then. The sports team members where forbidden to wear their jerseys outside of game and practice. In fact they where required to wear a shirt and tie in class game day and at any sports related events. I graduated in 2000, so it was not that long ago.

The cheerleaders where in the same boat, forbidden to wear their gear in class. They did wear their outfits during any sports related events but only if they where performing.

I graduated in 2006. We wore our jerseys on Fridays. Pretty much all the sports did something similar. And for away games, we'd pretty much travel in everything but shoulder pads. So pants, girdle, rib pads (if you wore them). Change to cleats once we got there. No wasting time changing clothes.

[s_stabeler]

The issue isn't if they should be allowed to wear their cheer uniform in class- the issue is that the skirts are apparently too short to allow them in class. The question is, if the skirts are indecent in class, why are they permissible in the cheer uniform? ( and incidentally, it does sound like they are too short. Despite the (possibly only in fiction) stereotype, I don't think cheerleaders are supposed to be about sex appeal. And if they are, then that says quite a lot about the schools, if you ask me.)

[Hyena Dandy]

Based on my experience with how my school ran cheerleading, it might not be totally impossible? If the team is an official school organization, but the cheerleaders are only a club, then the cheerleading squad uniforms are subject only to one teacher's approval, and don't need to meet 'code' since they're not worn during the school day. If the club head doesn't think it's worth making a deal out of, they'll just let it pass. However, if worn during the school day, 'code' would apply.

It depends on how it's organized, really. If the cheerleaders ever compete interscholastically, they're subject to the entire school deciding (but of course, sports uniforms still don't always have to be 'code,' for example gymnasts) but if it's not an official school thing, and instead a more 'informal' group, then they only need one person to sign off.

[Racket_Man]

Thinking back to the "wild days" of the mid to late 1970's when I was in HS. The cheerleaders and pom-pom squad outfits consisted of a shirt or sweater and a short short pleated skirt (yes barely long enough to cover the butt) . However Under the skirt they were required to wear kind of short shorts (the leg/inseam extended about 2 - 3 inches below the crotch not of the "legless/bikini covering the crotch only" type of say leotard or gymnastics singelet).

Yes they were allowed to wear said "costume" during school time under certain circumstances with no restrictions.

[Gravekeeper]

Thinking back to the "wild days" of the mid to late 1970's when I was in HS.

Thinking back to the wild days of the mid to late 90s when I was in HS I've blocked most of it out because ugh, the 90s, seriously. I have no idea what our cheerleaders looked like but I do have yearbooks. Lets see....

Sweater or tank top + skirt shorts combo it looks? Skirt is mid thigh length. Our school colours were surprisingly ugly on a side note. They couldn't wear them to class though. Nor could any of the sports team members wear their uniforms to class.

Our school didn't have much of a dress code that I recall. The four general rules were no miniskirts, no v neck cleavage, no bare midriffs ( on guys or girls ) and no hats indoors.

[Kittykat]

I was a cheerleader, graduated in 2004. We wore our uniform and leggings with them on Game days. To us it wasn't even an issue, though I'm southern and most here are southern baptists, so modesty is a HUGE issue. I myself was raised Catholic so yeah..