Commanding the Room in Short Skirts: Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood - Article Example

According to the authors, in the present world, millennial females exhibit both feminine and masculine personalities. The authors hold that cheerleading presents a limited opportunity for certain girls to exemplify idyllic girlhood. Over the past century, cheerleading has reconstructed to accommodate a wider spectrum of aspects of normative femininity (Adams & Bettis, 2003). Girls in the modern era have developed their unique definition and perception of femininity, which enables them to face their masculine counterparts while retaining their feminine personalities.

As such, Adams and Bettis postulate that girls are simultaneously products and triggers of the gender prejudices that they face in the community. In their conclusion, the authors argue that cheerleading in America is traditionally predisposed to create gender bias where girls act to please their male counterparts. Therefore, it follows that cheerleading offers ground for modern girls who exemplify both feminine and masculine characters. It permits Millennium girls to assume risk and integrate well with male counterparts.

Cheerleading restricts girls to specific gender identities, leaving them with no choice over their preferred gender identities.