c. 2005 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Pity the cheerleaders. After all that enthusiasm, and decades of striving to be recognized as dedicated athletes, an old stereotype is back:

They’re just too sexy.

Or so says Al Edwards, a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives. His bill would have the state regulate sexually suggestive moves by public-school cheerleading squads. It has passed the House but is languishing sponsorless in the Senate. No matter, the damage is done, and the headline writers can’t resist: “Whole Lotta Shakin’s Gonna Stop in Texas,” “Bill Bumps, Grinds Through the House,” “House to Cheerleaders: Hooray, But No Hip Hips.”

“It’s very sad to see the negative light on cheerleading,” said Linda Rae Chappell, who has been cheering or coaching more than 30 years. “We’ve been trying to keep the focus on these young role models, these athletes. There’s so much more to it.”

Indeed, much more than in the 1880s, when the first organized cheer was supposedly yelled at Princeton University, heralding the beginning of the sport.

Now, girls don’t even have to cheer for athletic teams. Tens of thousands opt to join private cheer groups across the country that exist solely to hone skills and compete.

It’s a huge, multimillion-dollar business that has spun off companies as specialized as the Cheerleading Music Service in Harrisburg, Pa. (“Our music is heard all over the cheerleading industry.”)

But has cheerleading drifted too far from its pep squad roots? Is it now too influenced by outside factors such as racy music videos and hip-hop music?

Cheerleading professionals differ.

“We truly believe that this is not a major problem,” said Karen Halterman, vice president of the National Cheerleaders Association in Dallas, the original American cheerleading organization.

Founded in 1948, it trains cheerleaders and coaches as well as sponsoring annual championships. It also issues safety guidelines each year, which include parameters for conduct. They are used by most squads, both school and professional.

“This addresses inappropriate choreography, music, uniforms and costumes,” Halterman said. “We absolutely self-police and always have.”

The National Federation of State High School Associations also is updating its “Guidelines for Spirit Competition,” starting with the 2006-’07 school year. New will be this: “When standing at attention, apparel must cover the midriff.”

The Christian Cheerleaders of America has been so busy answering news media queries on the topic that its president, Rose Clevenger, issued a statement from its Bethania, N.C., headquarters.

It said, in part: “There are some school districts … in which bare midriffs, very short skirts, bump and grind music with vulgar lyrics, authority abusive lyrics and totally inappropriate moves with sexual implications are part of cheer routines. This happens even in elementary and middle school as well as high school. I do feel that this is NOT indicative of the majority of cheerleading in schools today.”

Chappell, who has judged nationwide, said sexy moves and dress aren’t commonplace. “Yes, it’s a small percentage of the cheerleaders, the exception,” she said. “The judges always talk about it afterwards: `I can’t believe the coach let them do that!”’

Chappell is author of “Coaching Cheerleading Successfully,” just out in its second edition. She’s also the Spirit Team coach and on the faculty at William Jewell College, a Christian liberal arts school in Liberty, Mo., and president of SpiritWorks, which conducts private cheer camps.

“As far as getting the (Texas) legislature involved, that’s a waste of time,” she added. If a principal has high standards and supports the coach and if the parents are involved, she said, “you’re not going to have problems.”

But Crystal Hughes of San Diego, Calif., supports limitations.

A former cheerleader, Hughes founded Unlimited Cheer All-Stars two years ago and now trains about 35 girls.

“Unfortunately, people are trying to get away with too much,” Hughes said. “Some of the dance moves are inappropriate _ it just reinforces bad stereotypes.”

Her girls are ages 4 to 16. “During competition, my little ones stay with the big girls, so there are 4-year-olds watching older girls compete. They’re seeing this racy stuff. It’s getting out of hand.”

Hughes and an assistant choreograph routines themselves. “I go towards the cheerleading moves,” and not dance-oriented gyrations, she said.

Chappell theorized that girls doing their own choreography might create the problems. “They are imitating the whole MTV genre, they’re going to try to get away with what they can. But again, that’s a small percentage of kids.”

Elizabeth Rossetti is a former Ohio State University cheerleader who founded AmeriCheer Inc. in 1987. The organization has attracted more than 100,000 cheerleaders and spectators to camps and competitions.

“The cheerleaders seeing those videos and those entertainers dancing, that can be quite provocative,” Rossetti said from Westerville, Ohio, where AmeriCheer is headquartered. “If those are their role models, maybe they think this is OK. Their coaches need to step in _ someone should.”

But not, she said, a state legislature. “Where’s the adult supervision?” she asked. “It’s called common sense.”

MO/LF/RB END SEFTON