Today cheerleading can be an incredibly athletic and risky sport. Because it is associated with women, though, and serves a sideline function for football and other male-dominated sports, cheerleading is often not considered a sport at all. Less than half of U.S. high school athletic associations define high school cheerleading as a sport and neither the U.S. Education Department or the National Collegiate Athletic Association categorize it as one.
Instead, cheerleading is frequently labeled an “activity,” akin to the chess club. Accordingly, cheerleading remains unregulated by organizations responsible for ensuring the safety of athletes, leading to rates of injury among cheerleaders higher than even those among American football players.
A similar logic appears to be at play regarding the Lingerie Football League, 12 teams of women that play live tackle football in underwear. Here are some highlights from a game:
So, here’s the thing. Last month 16 of the 26 players on the Triumph, a team in Toronto, resigned over safety concerns. From a story at the Toronto Star sent in by Emily M.:
…four players described the ill-fitting hockey helmets and one-size-fits-all shoulder pads designed for young males that they had to wear.
“We would have headaches during practice… They made a hockey helmet a football helmet, and that’s not what it’s for.”
…
Sprained ankles, concussions and pulled hamstrings were among the injuries sustained by Triumph players in their first game… their team had no medical staff.
One of the players reported that, when they brought their concerns to the coach, he shrugged and said: “You know, it is what it is.”
“You know, it is what it is.” In other words, “You’re women in underwear. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re not really playing football.” Ideology triumphing over reality.
Lisa Wade, PhD is an Associate Professor at Tulane University. She is the author of American Hookup, a book about college sexual culture; a textbook about gender; and a forthcoming introductory text: Terrible Magnificent Sociology. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
Comments 55
Smartie Pop — November 2, 2011
Wow all this made me think was "What do we need to get a real women's football league?!" Those women are FIERCE. And they're obviously drawing crowds. Maybe the crowds would die down with more clothing but heck, I have many friends who are still able to admire a good looking male football player even through all their padding!
cee — November 2, 2011
Women's rugby *is* a real sport, at least at the college
level, and it is played largely without pads (same as mens rugby). There
are people who argue that traditional gridiron football would be safer with
greatly reduced padding because the invulnerability a hard shelled
helmet gives causes players to use it as a weapon and play more
recklessly than, say, rugby players.
The real issue to me is the lack of a team doctor. Dance troupes and marching bands have team doctors. Not having one here smacks of lack of professionalism of any sort.
Umlud — November 2, 2011
Lisa, you make a large leap between high school and collegiate cheerleading and the LFL. Are you saying that the lack of appropriate medical care is what links these two groups, or are you saying that it is female non-sport-activities that link them? Or something else? You don't even make the connection between high school cheerleading and post-collegiate cheerleading to the players of the LFL.
Also, you seem to directly attribute the motivation behind the coach's words with an inferred conclusion of your own (based on premises that you don't define). However, we don't know what the coach is thinking or feeling for his players. For example, was the shrug one of indifference or defeat? The motivation for the statement is very different between the two.
Also, re: ideology. You haven't defined what ideology is triumphing over reality (nor have you defined what constitutes reality).
I agree that there are serious health and safety problems with the LFL, at least as they are laid out. There is also the problem of it appearing to centered around the sensationalism of women playing in lingerie. How this fits into the gender politics of American football seem -- to me -- to be interesting in the extreme. However, instead pointing out health and safety problems and then making the association (sans facts and data) that this is somehow a normal part of an undefined ideology is... sloppy.
Anonymous — November 2, 2011
Makes me thinkg of runway models. Most of them are underage, the industry pressures them to keep incredibly unhealthy weights, and I can't imagine that they get any decent wage or working conditions either. But hey, it's entertainment, they're women, so apparently that makes it okay.
Parker — November 2, 2011
While there are a lot of good points to be made concerning Lingerie Football, I adamantly disagree with your final statement/conclusion. The reality is that these are women in underwear. If the reality was that they were women playing football, they would be dressed accordingly. This is a sport, a league, a TV contract, because of the lingerie.
Anonymous — November 2, 2011
Except... cheerleading isn't a sport. There is a closely related sport called gymnastics, which often has a 'cheerleading' competition. Make sure to clearly identify which one you are referring to.
Interesting player stats in the LFL. The BMI for the top rushers in the LFL is to the 23-26 range, while the BMI for the top rushers in the NFL is in the 28-31 range. Are LFL players being selected for competitive ability, or the ability to draw an audience?
I don't know if hockey helmets provide adequate protection, but the footwear they have provides no ankle support, which will lead to a large number of ankle injures simply from hard cornering.
EDIT:
I guess that answers any questions about whether or not they were selected based on their football abilities.
G — November 2, 2011
Lingerie football is a perfect example of how female sex and titillation and female gendered exclusivity are used to sell women's sports and other activities as if it was feminist, when in reality it is just taking advantage of their gender and sexuality to garner them sponsorships, fans, TV and media attention, etc. If these women were playing in more appropriate gear that would protect them from the the hits and bumps and bruises of football, probably the media attention and sponsorships would diminish. Parallel examples are womens' roller derby and volleyball, where revealing uniforms (short shorts or bikinis) are used to attract fans.
In contrast, men's sports would never allow men to play in their underwear and men are encouraged to cover up just as women are encouraged to reveal skin. But more importantly, the reasons for the discouraging of men to reveal skin is different than the reasons for women to bare skin: men are discouraged by other men (e.g. studio executives, male coaches, male fans) and by women because of the homosexual component whereas females are encouraged for the heterosexuality of the situation.
It is very interesting how anti-homosexuality sentiment is imposed on men to discourage them from expressing themselves in non-masculine ways (discouraging or sanctions against men where their dress, speech, endeavors, jobs are perceived as feminine, etc.). On the other hand, pro-heterosexuality sentiment is imposed or encouraged on females (e.g. "Flaunt it if you got it.", the encouragement of women to enter traditional male-dominated fields) to sell ads, etc. Even more, this pro-sexuality is often disguised or mis-labeled as being feminist; i.e. women who are playing football in lingerie are strong, liberated women.
Has anyone else looked into this?
Leslee Beldotti — November 2, 2011
This is what women's football SHOULD look like: http://www.austinoutlaws.com/Photos.html
If there were men's leagues in which the guys wore speedos, or something equally revealing/titillating, I wouldn't have a problem with the women's lingerie league. But right now the lingerie teams are just another example of sexually objectifying women for (men's) profit.
AP — November 2, 2011
I personally don't understand why they are wearing lingerie. how demeaning is that? I guess women can't even play a sport without the main objective being a man's sexual attention. ugh. everything about this is ridiculous.
Kitty Broadway — November 2, 2011
I wonder if the members of the Lingerie Football team are considered employees. If that's the case, they could have complained to the Ontario Ministry of Labour. They don't have access to appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (helmets, shoulder pads, uniforms) and they have the right to refuse unsafe work until a MoL representative can review the situation.
Anonymous — November 3, 2011
Today my school has powderpuff football, which isn't as bad, but it is girls in tank tops and booty shorts. Equality!
Fake — November 4, 2011
This is designed to humiliate women
Anonymous — November 4, 2011
Wouldn't the nearest analogue to LFL be professional wrestling: sports entertainment? Staged competitive element, dubious costumes, erotic overtones, etc...?
Imakez4u — November 5, 2011
Its PLAYBOY"s Lingerie football !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are supposed to be playing for fun and sexiness.... lightly .. nicely... for fun... they should probably make it two hand touch only.
My opinion is that the woman playing in this manner are doing it because they like it and they are knowingly accepting the risk...
Think of all the mindblowing sex they are having afterwards...!!!
Be happy for them... they found something satisfying and fun.
Dn — December 16, 2011
its obvious that the women had no problem playing in the lingerie league until they realized that they are not as popular as the nfl and will not receive the same benefits. those realities should have been a given. if the player quoted in the article clearly states that she knows she is only considered as a woman in underwear and is not really playing football then why does she expect sympathy for a situation she clearly is aware of but does not remove her self from. its not like they told her " we want you to play womens football" and when game day came the players were blindsided with having to wear lingerie. the women are as much to blame as the males