A Barbie who puts out: Adolescent cheerleaders contend with standards of femininity in high school and in sport

This paper examines the ways adolescent cheerleaders contend with cultural standards of femininity in high school and in sport. The findings presented derive from feminist multi-methodological research conducted with secondary school cheerleaders. Conversations with students, questionnaires, individual interviews, small and large group discussions, participant observation, and content analysis were conducted. Eighty-five adolescents directly participated in the study. Gender hierarchy and hegemonic masculinity are analysed, as they are lived and understood by teenaged women. Lessons concerning beauty and sexuality are conceptualised as components of a hidden curriculum present in Canadian high schools. Cheerleading is established as an extracurricular activity in which this hidden curriculum plays out. 'The Cheerleader' is portrayed as an icon of adolescent femininity. Similarly, through an analysis of teen discourse, Barbie is depicted as a synthetic version of 'The Picture-Perfect Woman' because she epitomises several key elements of femininity including youth, beauty and whiteness. This research suggests that young women feel enormous pressure to comply with strict beauty and sexuality standards. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...