Red Flags and Realities of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

and lasting impact for tomorrow. Let's get into it.

the biggest scandals in the cheerleading industry. And despite being exposed to the sexist, misogynistic, outdated, and highly problematic world of the elite cheerleading organization that Dallas Cowboys is, it honestly does set out to do exactly what it sets out to do, sharing the emotions, the challenges and successes of the industry. But for me, it brought up so many infuriating thoughts and I'm here to have a chat

about why. So let's have a little bit of a conversation about my main points of concern about the show. And I don't think anyone is going to be surprised that they're financial. They are incredibly talented, and these women are at the very top of their industry. They have trained, arguably their entire lives to earn minimum wage. Firstly, these women are not paid what they are deserving of by

any stretch of the imagination. In fact, Kat on the show If You Know You Know, said in twenty twenty two that her salary was similar to a Chick fil a worker who maybe works full time. This is generally around twenty five grand year in America, which is about

thirty five thousand dollars Australian, which is absolutely disgraceful. The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable football team in American football, with a net worth of wait for it, nine billion dollars this year, and they are the world's wealthiest sports team. Let that sink in. Their cheerleaders are paid less than a Chick fil A worker. The majority of the player that play for the football team and people behind the scenes are millionaires and the highest NFL players in the industry.

They make more than fifty million dollars a year, yet they're not valuing their women. In fact, their team's mascot salary is reported to be sixty five thousand dollars, more

than double what the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are making. These women dedicate their entire lives to dance education, including spending thousands on ballet and jazz and gymnastics training, and when asked about the DCC's low salaries, all the chief brand officer, Charlotte Jones could offer was some speech about it being in a sisterhood and how it's been that way since nineteen seventy two. Are you guys for real? It wasn't until nineteen seventy four that women could get a credit

card in their own name. We learned from the first episode that these women are incredible, having to undergo both physically and mentally challenging training and recruitment processes while sustaining full time work as nurses, doctor orthodontists, and accountants. The second thing I want to talk about is their lack

of diversity. Now, throughout the tryouts, we see so many aspiring DC cheerleaders who are black and brown being cut, and then they celebrate that a red headed white dancer gets through and they call that a sign of diversity. I mean, Charlie is lovely, but a red headed white dancer who got through all of the auditions is not a sign of diversity. Dallas is a very ethnically diverse state in a country that has some of the largest

ethnic diversity in the entire world. Jackie Scott, who is a former Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, has said before that the standard of beauty in professional cheerleading is a white European one, and in the years since she was on the squad from twenty twelve to twenty sixteen, she mentioned that she'd never felt comfortable to wear her natural hair. She said, it never occurred to me that maybe I could start over and rock my natural hair as a cheerleader, because

I'd never say it done. Instead, she wore her hair relaxed, and when the heat did so much damage that she experienced extensive breakage, the squad recommended she get extensions. Cynthia L. Robertson, PhD, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Black Studies at the University of Nebraska Omaha, has mentioned that black women get rid of their curls because of white supremacy. People view straight hair, light skin, and smaller noses as

quote more beautiful. She's been quoted saying black women since the plantation have had to alter their hair in order to be accepted. And Robertson then said, I would imagine that these cheerleaders know, without even being asked, that they need to straighten their hair. When women are auditioning for these professional cheerleading teams, former cheerleaders and dance teachers usually advise them to model their look on what they have already seen present in the team, and this is especially

true for black cheerleaders. In fact, Scott said, you feel like there's only a certain number of spots for the minority cheerleaders on a squad of roughly thirty six. Scott was one of six black cheerleaders for two years, and one of three black cheerleaders during her own two years. She's been quoted saying, no one has ever said this, It's just how we feel. It's almost like we're competing against each other to get that spot rather than embracing one another. You often look at the who's who of

the team and what they're like. Clearly they like them and how they look. So I'm going to try and just look like that so I can show them that I can be part of their team, which to me is not embracing diversity. And given the DCC leader has been quoted in saying it's been the same since nineteen seventy two, it's just part of the tradition, I think it's time that tradition changes. All right, let's move on from that, because I want to talk about the conversations

that they're having about women's bodies now. I feel like I've had this conversation a number of times on the podcast because it is really important to me and our community, but also It's really topical this week because research has just come out to say that Taylor Swift has had a very positive impact on her fans' body image and diet culture. So ten out of ten for the Swifty culture, but one out of ten for the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders.

There's honestly so much harm being done throughout this entire series when it comes to the normalization of not just nasty or unrealistic, but dangerous expectations they have on women's bodies. I don't know if you guys have watched it, but the way Victoria is treated, The way Victoria treats her body, not me, the cheerleader, is honestly disgusting. I feel so bad and I want to scoop her up and give her a hug, because she is crucified for having the body she has, when in actual fact, to me, she

looks like a supermodel. Throughout the entire show, we see skinny women being called curvy. The commonality of women experiencing bodies asmorphia. They normalize not eating and it's expected that they fit in the same uniform they get at the start of the year for the entirety of the year. They will not be reissued another uniform should their body change for any reason. In an audition round one, male judge was quoted as saying she has more weight on

her face compared to the year before. At this point, we really have to ask ourselves how much damage is being done by elevating these standards for women by putting them on the telly. Let's go to a really quick break, because if you thought that my rant was over, my friend, you were wrong. Don't go anywhere. All right, guys, we are back, and I don't know if you're as impressed as I am with their high kick that goes straight

down into the splits. But there is evidence all the way through the show that this is an unsafe working environment for women in every single way. In fact, one of the veterans is talking about having a hip replacement, but just wants to see out one more season before having to go through such a traumatic surgery. In addition to all of this, there are experiences of assault and stalking by these women due to their job, alongside daily

objectification they experienced due to it. One of the things that absolutely sent me was that they have no touch policy for the cheerleaders when getting photos with fans, right, So that makes sense, like, obviously they are not there to be touched by men. They are not there to be touched by anybody. But throughout the entire series, when we see the cheerleaders taking photos with fans, the DCC team hand the men of football and there's a reason

for it, right, and it's absolutely messed up. It's to prevent the fans or the men taking photos with them from touching the women inappropriately. And we know that this has come from experience, right. The football didn't just happen because they questioned men. The football came because men were taking advantage of the situation. In fact, in one episode, a man says, well, getting a photo at a meet and greet event with the girls, can I put an

arm around you? And a security guard promptly replies, hands on the football. A security guard later adds that it's a no touch policy and that they always bring footballs with them because if a man doesn't get this, if a man doesn't feel comfortable standing with his hands to the front or the side, they give him the option of holding the football, as though he wouldn't know what to do with his hands apart from touch these women.

It gives me the biggest dick in the entire world, and it takes some of the shine away from being a cheerleader in this space. Are we remembering here that they also get paid minimum wage. I don't know if we need to go back to that. But not only are they being put through these trials and tribulations, they're literally being abused. They're in an unsafe work environment, and they're expected to just be happy with minimum wage because

it's essentially all for the glory. On top of this, these women are athletes and their work is physically dangerous and damaging. If you watch the series, you know that most cheerleaders after their seasons, after they retire, end up having to get some type of reconstructive surgery. The team doesn't provide them with any health insurance. The injuries that

the cheerleaders are left with are intense. We're talking things like reconstructed hips, not just like a little torn acl One of the retired veterans featured, so Caroline, for those of you who follow the show, who is the older sister of Anna Kate who gets through the audition process. Don't worry, she not only had to undergo one giant surgery,

she had to undergo two after she retired. During her last year on the team, she found out she needed a whole hip reconstruction surgery, but she chose to put it off so that she could continue cheer for the team. She later had to go into surgery for her left foot, which left her wearing a moonboot to recover. None of it was covered by the team, none of it was covered by insurance, and she couldn't work the entire time.

Then there are the dreaded split jumps that every single DCC member has to perform during the thunderstruct routine, which causes permanent hip damage for most of them. Look, the last thing I wanted to talk about is the expectation that these women have to do their jobs and be

saints at the same time. These women are expected to reach absolutely impossible body standards, be the absolute best dancers in the entire world, have perfect hair, perfect makeup, and they are also expected to be nice to everybody at all times. They're meeting fans constantly, they're holding dance sessions at nursing homes, they're visiting children in hospitals, and then they're held to the unreachable moral standards and scolded when they fall short. Excuse me, but this is her literal job.

She is working. She is learning more than fifty routines for minimum wage. She doesn't owe thanks to anybody, especially the director of the DCC or. I feel like I've ranted far too much. But the fact that the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader team has not changed since nineteen seventy two and all of this is just part of the tradition and it's a privileged to be part of the team has driven me insane, which is why we're having this cute little Saturday rand. But I will wrap it up

there because enough is enough. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching that show. I love a bit of drama. You all know that my favorite show in the entire world is The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. So if that says anything about the type of content I like to consume, please don't judge me. But at the end of the day, I think we need to be watching these shows with a really critical eye and a really critical lens to make sure that we are not

normalizing these behaviors. They are absolutely disgusting, and I think that while the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders show has been fantastic to watch and clearly has been really engaging. It's cracked open a conversation on just how problematic they are and on how a lot of the expectations that are sexist, misogynistic, outdated and highly problematic are put on not just the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, but women as a whole. So guys,

have a good Saturday. I hope I haven't brought down the mood, but instead found a heap of friends who are on the same page as me.