The thing I found the most sad while watching the documentary series was that it seemed like none of the women had moved on. All the mothers were previous cheerleaders that had pushed the title onto their daughters, and the cheerleaders that quit didn’t know what to do next in life and were afraid that they’d reached their peak. It was like once you became part of the Dallas cowboys cheerleaders it stuck with you for the rest of your life. And that does’nt seem healthy.
Unfortunately, that's a case in a lot of performing careers. Ballerinas, gymnasts, singers, pageants all are rife with stage mamas who demand that their children do what they couldn't. They push their children into these if they show even a hint of talent and God help their kids if they fail.
I’ve met retired pro footballers and they are the same way… they’ll be telling stories and living in the good old days forever. It’s sad to not see the beauty of the moment
"It was never about money" --- this line angers me so much. They get so much money off of them. If it isn't about money, why not pay them properly? Out of respect for their hard work?
I don’t think that being very much involved in something requires a huge payment. That’s basically how every involved sports club work (Europe) for example. BUT. You hit the nail on the head with this comment ”they get so much money off of them”. This fact is why they should get a proper wage. But then again, I guess they legally do and it’s treated like a minimum wage job.
And the audacity of those words coming out of the mouth of Charlotte Jones, a hundred-millionaire and the daughter of a billionaire.... that made me see red
Yeah the Buffalo Bill's cheering squad, The Buffalo Jill's, was suspended after they sued the team for not paying them for over 840 hours of work and argued that they were misclassified as independent contractors. The lawsuit lasted 8 years (settled in 2022) and even after the settlement Buffalo hasn't brought back the Jills
Honestly, it's up to the fans. If the fans boycott until the pay rises, owners will listen. Nothing else will work since although they say the cheerleaders should do it not for money, you can be sure as heck the owners are doing it for that reason.
@@charlotteclarke868 well, the fans _could_ do more... but really, the ENTIRE american system is FUBAR. every sector SHOULD have a union, and if not, forming one should NOT be the basis for dismissal under legal penalty. this is such a basic labour right that i can't fathom how americans could just keep on going on for decades without it. so many companies just whack unions like it's an afterparty, it's disgusting. i think it may be similar to fans of any other form of entertainment boycotting their fave hobby/media until they pay the workers/creators. but i doubt that sports fans are gonna have the same values as say, broadway fans or something. ultimately, the NFL can always just do without cheerleaders since that isn't even their main "product". the imbalance of power is immense... and i think cheerleaders themselves should just boycott the job altogether. ex-cheer mothers need to deconvert themselves and advocate for their daughters instead of pushing them to "take over" their spots. this stinks so heavily of the pageant circuits... i wonder how much uglier things could get beneath the surface.
It disgusts me how dismissive the older cheerleaders can be, saying the ones asking for money aren't "seeing the bigger picture." Like, fuck off, the amount of money in football IS the bigger picture. No one should have to grovel for better pay, but it's even worse when the pay is literally right there, given to pretty much everyone BUT the cheerleaders.
Right?! Like dude, “It’s not a big deal!” If it isn’t a big deal, then why are football players paid millions dollars, just for kicking and throwing a ball around!
“Younger ones now think of it as a job, we thought of it as a privilege.” Yeah, probably because you were privileged enough to not need it as a job. Times change, and people have different circumstances than you: shocking, I know.
Wrong. The young ladies were required to be have a full time job, be a full time student or be a full time mom. No exceptions. Under Suzanne Mitchell there were certain careers off limits. You might have a degree in journalism - you were not allowed to work in the media.
in an ideal world yes. sadly, we live in a world where some companies hire less women, much less women who are married or are in a relationship, to avoid paying for maternity leave
exactly. the only reason it isn't seen as labour is because women being beautiful is considered inherent to womanhood. It's like the tax we pay to dare to be female
As someone who grew up and currently lives in the Dallas area, I love seeing outsider perspectives (Non-US perspectives especially) on the culture that surrounds the Dallas Cowboys. I don't like the Cowboys. I dislike the NFL in general due to the exploitative nature of the sport and the college football culture that feeds into the NFL. It is very validating when other people see and talk about Jerry Jones (who is loved and worshiped in Dallas) and others in the Cowboys Executive Offices as the evil men that they are. When the lawsuit in 2018 from the former cheeleader was making the news rounds, Jerry would threaten to keep players from talking to reporters of any news station that sounded like they were sympathetic to the woman suing them. He does that even now when he is under controversy or being sued for paternity (something that has happened more than a few times). The Cheeleaders are treated like property by the fans. The amount of times I've heard men I've worked with talk about copping a feel when they are taking pictures with the cheerleaders and getting away with it because they women are not allowed to complain makes me sick. When I've tried to appeal to these men, asking if they would be okay if their daughter was a part of the DCC and was groped by a stranger, and almost all of them said they would be proud that their daughter made the team. They would always skip over the question of their daughter being assaulted in the same manner they just assaulted someone.
What kind of work place do you work in? In the UK in many companies people would now days (post #Metoo) you would be pulled into HR and can’t talk like that in the work place but guess it depends on where you work
@DisabledAtDisney this was well before #metoo. Some of these stories date to before social media in the Cowboys heyday of the 90s (I'm old af). I've been lucky that in the last 10 years, I'm working with more respectable people.
Thanks for sharing I liked reading your comment. I'm Australian so it is weird with America in general because your culture isn't ours...but is? If that makes sense? Like an uncanny valley.
The treatment/exploitation of Dallas Cheerleaders sounds very similar to how Japanese/Korean idols are treated/exploited. Especially trainee culture. Oppressive agencies, inadequate compensation, constant weigh-ins and body critiques, parasocial relationships leading to stalkers that you still have to be nice to, presenting as sweet and innocent but also sexual. I wonder if the DC’s have a dating ban.
@@fatimahanwaar306idk how that's similar since the cheerleaders can date regular people? Or anyone outside that organization? Sounds actually pretty legit, work relationships would be a nightmare to deal with, it's probably just so the organization can avoid lawsuits left and right
@@sonder8310 the workplace relationships point is absolutely fair, but so much of the burden is put on the cheerleaders in this situation. The men on the teams are basically expected to try and break this rule, while the women are expected to be the responsible ones and say no. And no fraternization policies go further than just no dating: the cheerleaders can get in trouble if they so much as open or respond to a dm from a player, or if they happen to show up at the same bar/party/other event as a player. It's happened on DCC making the team before
@@elizzabugg5358 I didn't know that the burden was on the women. Not surprising tho. Thanks for informing me on this! Still think tho it's a reach to compare it to a Kpop dating ban. Just two very different things.
"She's got a little more weight in the face" "I noticed that too. That's heartbreaking" is already a vile way to talk about a person but that their "fix" is basically she'll have to develop an eating disorder or lose her job...these people are sick
I know, it's a bonkers line! As if she was dead or severely injured and irredeemable, treating it like just a fact of life that once the girl's a bit rounder she's just a waste. Incredible!
they ended up eliminating her shortly after they talked about her like that. she didn’t even make it to the training camp, even though it would have been her second year as a dcc
@@Trash-Garbage-Trash could be loads of different things! I get "puffy" when I'm very tired because I have blood pressure issues and inflammatory conditions. They dismiss her because of her cheeks, but she could also have medical issues (some even caused by straining her body working for them!) It's a terrible statement they make for so many reasons
If you watched the series you will be very familiar with Kelli talking about the DCC 'look'. Kelli LOVED a girl with 'the look'. She'd keep weaker dancers bc they had it & cut stronger ones bc she thought they just 'don't look like a DCC'. AKA they didn't have long blonde hair, weren't extremely thin, & weren't gorgeous by white Southern Christian standards.
I can't stand to see older women gatekeeping younger women from making money. It's worse because they know how much harder the struggle can be and choose to not care or be willing to spread the wealth.
I think a lot of them are like, "I struggled and suffered to get to where I am today; why should you have it any easier?" I loved watching "Making the Team," and seeing women get to the end and making the team, but the women trying out do get a lot of criticism. And there was a lot of talk about having to have a full time job to afford being a DCC, having an excellent memory for dance routines, wearing the uniform and being able to do the kick line without bringing the women next to you down. You can't be too tall, too short, too top heavy or too bottom heavy. All that comes into fitting the uniform too.
The one thing that stuck with me during the Netflix series is how one girl decided to postpone surgery on her hip to do a fifth year as a dcc. Girl why🤦
It was scary to hear how hip issues are common for women in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Any pro sport will entail some kind of injury/body issue but it seemed extreme 😬
for the record, according to my sister, a cheerleader, almost all cheerleading scholarships go to men. female cheerleaders are a dime a dozen. it's much more rare for men to be cheerleaders. but in all top top level competitive cheer, the squad needs to be 1/3~1/2 male in order to do the stunts necessary to win competitions. And you need male strength to perform these stunts to the top ability.
Just like the male ballet dancers. Gay men need their own all male cheerleader and ballet groups bc I get pissy seeing any men in either of those groups. I didn’t come here to see you overpayed overloved boys, get lost
I know I'm leaving a lot of comments, but this also made me think of a part in Mina Le's recent video on WAGs where someone suggested that the presence of hyperfeminine women at sporting events is demanded by the need to uphold heteronormative masculinity. By introducing thin dainty femmes to juxtapose/accentuate the hypermasculinity of the players, both the players and the male spectators are able to enjoy the homoeroticism found in sports without having to question their sexuality or gender.
This just made something click for me. I'm a femme trans man and I've felt even less safe in male-dominated spaces even though I don't really pass yet. I put it down to transphobia but I didn't understand how that transphobia was working until now. I think patriarchal men are willing to accept femininity in their spaces provided it's directly for the purpose of pleasing them. Queer femininity is expressly not for cishet men and me being femme and trans makes it clear I'm not catering myself to their wants and needs. This really put a lot into perspective for me
I was reminded of that too! & when applied specifically to American football it plays into the trope of jock-cheerleader relationship that is everywhere in American tv - even if it's in their contract not to date the players, the audience might assume it or just have it in the back of their mind & then the player gets even protection from accusations of gayness without having to put in the effort unlike soccer
Mina Le? Really lol she puts a lot of effort into her videos and production I love her style as well but I don’t think her commentary is up to par on a lot of things as soon as you start asking questions and thinking about stuff. I watch her just because I know I will disagree with her a lot and I’m curious about different perspectives even if I don’t agree . She’s interesting I’ll say that 😅 . Interesting topic overall regardless
The young ladies are rquired to have a job outside of the 8 month obligation. They make more than the average family in the US with their 8 month contract.
THANK YOU, it genuinely baffles me so much that during nfl games when the DCC cheerleaders perform they always cut to the football players plus the fact that while their performing the players don’t clear the field?? Like what! It’s genuinely insane that they can’t give them just 5 minutes to perform despite the fact that they promote these girls like their the pride of joy of American football.
Literallyy I was watching a video of the DCC girls performance and there were guys in the back next to them playing football while they performed. it drove me insane cause they are also athletes
@@hockeygrrlmuseI actually think the no fraternization clause is required. Not having them is just ASKING for chaos and lawsuits. That’s why the cheerleaders have such a sanitized image, you don’t see them draped over athletes. However, not having people clear the field is terrible and disrespectful.
professional american football is full of unnecessary contradictions like that; why bother having highly-trained cheerleaders and marching bands if you're just going to cut away to adverts, football players, or the announcers yapping at each other the second they're on the field?
Anisha is absolutely stunning with a supermodel body and an amazing dancer! She could have nailed that kick in like a week with training. When they dropped her I thought this shit is totally rigged.
Rigged in that they probably only have so many spots for woc. Anisha is beyond stunning with huge charisma- the fact they didn’t push her through can only be because of her race.
@@ErgoVelouria I agree. I think when people perceive a challenge to the "standard" they have been part of and maintain, they will always find a reason to push you aside. However, based on the what we saw of her I question how much she has compromised through out her life to "fit in". Notice her religion was mentioned. She converted from Hindu to Catholicism when she got married. I think her career was a threat. As a woman it would have been more accepted for her to be a dental tech as to not be intimidating to both men and other women.
@@emilietambe1051 I 💯% agree with your take. The fact that she is a dental surgeon was too much for the management of DCC cheerleaders. They probably thought that she would be harder to breakdown and control. Anisha has a healthy level of self-esteem. That is incompatible with DCC.
@@emilietambe1051 that religion conversion was so sad. Did all of that and they still tossed her aside like trash. Hopefully she goes back to appreciating her race and culture instead of trying so hard to fit in somewhere they don’t even want her 😔
I cannot even explain how pissed I was watching Anisha cut for…. nothing? It very much felt like she was never going to good enough as a non-white dancer. Also the girl that got cut for being too short, and they muse “maybe we should have a height rule” as if that was not something you should have thought of BEFORE getting this girl to the finals! I know these are minor things, but it just seemed so openly, blatantly cruel.
I got really angry about that too. What stood out to me was the number of times they said that the kick line was the most important thing and put girls through to the training camp… but then subsequently dropped them for not being able to perform kicks well enough. How about specifically testing their kicks and flexibility at the very first stage if it’s the most important thing?! There was an awful lot of moving the goalposts in the selection process which seemed extremely unfair on the women. I felt so bad for Anisha particularly. An absolutely wonderful performer and dancer and had such a positive attitude. I really felt for Victoria too. She seemed so sweet and vulnerable and to basically be getting bullied by the coaches. She was asking all the right questions of the coaches and they were giving her almost zero in helpful feedback. Possibly it was editing that made that seem worse but how it was presented they seemed to almost hate her.
not to mention that the short girl that got cut uprooted her entire life to move to Dallas, got a remote job and extra lessons so she could get into the team. They probably only got paid AFTER they make the team and I wonder how much debt this girl got into for nothing.
This show is such a microcosm of so many structural issues within North American society. I'm really glad you did a deep dive on this because so many articles/reviews were lacking or only really focusing on the work of the director. I think it's important to note that this is what the DCC machine WANTED and ALLOWED us to see. All the comments around weight and appearance, all the framing around pay and safety. This was what DCC felt was acceptable to put out and stand behind. And it still came out feeling and looking like a rotted, oppressive institution. I honestly felt happy for the girls who eventually didn't get in, because they were spared even more time boiling in this crab pot.
It was a PR puff piece. Even when Netflix were giving trigger warnings for some episodes I was wondering why because they don’t actually delve deep into the things that matter pertaining to the horrors these women face at the hands of obsessive fans.
I was frustrated to see the show include shots of the women getting into their cars while also including a section where Kelsey reveals she was stalked and someone put an AirTag on her car. Like cmon
great video! it really is disturbing to see how bitter some members of older generations are when it comes to efforts made by younger generations to advocate for themselves. i know there's already talk about that in relation to people just trying to afford college and housing, but it hits even harder for these cheerleaders under close scrutiny
Don’t mistake “older generations” with “older generations in the organization”. Women have fought for decades for better working conditions, equal pay, recognition for hard work. Those older generations made it possible for younger generations to keep up the fight. Once upon a time, women could not even open a bank account without a man’s signature. Those in the organization, however, have a stake in keeping the status quo. It is shameful.
college cheerleader here and my heart sung hearing you bothered that not only the TV feed but also the big screens at games will not even show cheerleaders while we perform between plays or at halftime, it is so frustrating!!
It was so hard watching Victoria in the doc, struggling to please her mom and Judy and Kelly but never getting their approval. You could tell the environment of the DCC was so unhealthy for her, and yet she couldnt seem to walk away. It was like watching someone trapped in an abusive relationship and I think in a lot of ways - it was!
I know they kept saying it was because she didn’t have any friends. But then there’d be moments where we see her talking and be friends with the girls. I feel like they were purposely putting in shots where she was just keeping to herself to make it seem like she had no friends.
@@lunasmith2568 So true, they made it seem like she was a loner and the judges kept telling her that they couldn't make her team leader because she wasn't interacting with the group enough. I honestly think she got a bad edit maybe? But there was also the scene with her birthday and it was just her and her mom... I just really felt for her and I hope she's doing good now
@@blugreen123 Apparently she grew up with Kelly, and was very close to her. But I def got the vibe that Victoria was never "good enough" for them, and that was really sad. She's really talented and I think the whole organization just put her down.
It's super interesting, cheerleading and dance team kind of used to be lumped into one sport for a long time before the acrobatics of cheer really developed. DCC never rebranded as "Dallas Cowboy Dance Team" because I guess that doesn't roll off the tongue.
That reality show was absolutely horrifying. They did an episode where they all got body fat percentage tests, and the doctor told one of the girls that she needed to gain weight immediately and was far too underweight and the coach was like "Okay but the doctor doesn't understand, you look fine and you shouldn't gain weight." The way female athletes are treated in all sports but especially dance and cheer is absolutely horrifying. They should be paid so much more. They should have a union. But of course the constant supply of exploitable young women in this particular industry means they can grind them up like meat and spit them out broken and it doesn't matter, there's always a huge pool of dancers willing to destroy their bodies. They make them do that jump split on outdoor sports fields in the winter. When I was a performer, my company would cancel outdoor performances if it was too cold. Because it's too dangerous to train and perform in the cold in a sport requiring that much flexibility. I also didn't see their flexibility training schedule but to me, it seemed like they were inadequately trained. We would do 2-3 deep flexibility-only training sessions a week. You shouldn't even be trying to perform a move like that without having an extremely deep oversplit. It's absurd what those girls are put through and they're all so young. This was a very good and necessary video.
Sorry, I'm really mad. Exercise science has developed so much in the past few decades and I could tell just watching these girls that they are being inadequately trained! That their coaches aren't keeping up with the science and protecting their health but using oldschool training techniques that lead to multiple torn labrums and hamstrings. They're just relying on their youth to be able to handle these things and that doesn't work.
you put it perfectly. it's especially sad that most of the women need to have major surgeries for their hips/knees later on because of how often they have to jump split. Their lack of flexibility training definitely has to be part of that. It's insane that their surgery costs aren't even covered by the company considering DCC is the direct reason they need them
If it was treated like an actual job, like NFL players are, they would have way more time for training. They would have the time to do the deep flexibility training. If they didn’t have to also work full or part time jobs, they would have more time for training as well as rest and recovery. They would also be more able to keep up with their physical training in off season.
honestly after watching the documentary i genuinely just couldn't understand why these women were putting themselves through this.... how is this worth it in any way.... and i think it's the combination of really wanting something and being exhausted from constantly trying to meet these ridiculous standards. if i was worrying about my weight and my hair and makeup in my time off from my job i would also not have any time to think about why i'm being treated so poorly in the first place. it's horrific.
It's also grooming (not necessarily sexual although that too). I can assure you most of them come from a very specific background that made them idealise belonging to that group. It is like people who work two jobs in order to become Hollywood background actors or Broadway. Even academia works like this to a certain extent. The aspiration starts young and is reinforced every step of the way, the more you climb that ladder the more you are reassured you are "worthy" and others are not. That's also the reason the older cheerleaders behave as they did, the young ones are showing weaknesses, they are being "unworthy". Cheerleading becomes a core identity basically... and a lot of people will burn a lot of cash and bridges and opportunities and relationships for identity. The money is probably the least of many of their issues, do they even have a life/identity outside of cheerleading? Do they have identity safety networks to fall back on? Would they be (emotionally) destroyed by leaving?
Coming from somebody who used to dress and present in a way that got me a lot of positive male attention: it's because it gets you a lot of benefits and you get punished for breaking away. People (men in particular, but women too) were generally much, much nicer to me when I was a hyperfeminine woman who could fulfil their tradwife fantasies. You really feel the lack of kindness when you stop. I still feel a horrible sense of guilt and shame when I think of the dresses I don't wear any more, because I know plenty of women would kill to fulfill beauty standards like I did. I'm made to feel like I'm throwing away a great gift of beauty
My sister in law is an ex DCC and during her time there, her mental health suffered a ton. She was SA'd, barely got paid, and was perpetually sexualized.
The problem I have with DCCs wages is that it's just not about the training/game working hours they should be payed for. It's the use of their image, brand representation, creating a community that makes fans feel belonging, ert. There's so much intangible value they provide. That's why profesional athlets are payed so much.
It does add to weight gain! Muscle tissue is denser than fat, so you can be thinner and also heavier than you were before. Absolutely ridiculous to police both, on top of said policing of either being gross. And on they subject, ACAB 😊
the cult of beauty. women would join this team even if they got zero pay. you receive validation that you are THE american beauty standard. that is priceless.
It was the same with Playmates. The money wasn’t great but meeting that beauty standard was priceless. To be immortalized in those spreads were priceless.
@@Lrrrrrrrrrr ballet is a beautiful art form its very underpaid and strict but not as bad as cheerleading imo a lot of ballerinas love ballet for what it is not cause of a beauty standard
Trying to find the words to express my anger at the treatment these women endure. The fact that it is other women building them up and breaking them down the most twists the knife. How dare millennials and gen z people want to get paid so we can afford basic necessities. Not to mention afford all the things that the organization refuses to pay for.
crying at the description. a 11/10 video !! honestly uncovered a side of american culture/life i never think about and yet i was sat listening and learning the whole way (watched all the ads too). a testament to the work u put into this and ur power... omg.
This was actually one of the few rules I kind of understood. Because the DCC is first and foremost a brand, they don’t want any imagery in their uniforms that they can’t control. When I worked at Disney, we couldn’t keep costumes. We borrowed them like library books.
One of the things that struck me about this docuseries was that the women were simultaneously sexualized and infantilized. Judy & Kelly always referred to the cheerleaders as "girls" instead of "ladies," along with requiring that the DCC's sign a code of conduct and allow their social media to be monitored. But yet they have to wear those skimpy uniforms and be featured in "bikini girl" calendars and posters. 😐
I don’t like what your comment is implying. Feminism has spent the last several years pushing the fact that wearing “skimpy” clothing doesn’t automatically make someone hyper sexual. But your comment is saying the opposite. Being hyperfeminine and showing skin shouldn’t automatically sexualize a woman. People keep complaining about this belief but then turn around and reinforce it.
Something particularly frustrating about this whole thing is Charlotte Jones, daughter of Dallas Cowboys CEO Jerry Jones, has made incredible strides as a woman in a corporate sports field but has used none of her unique position as both his daughter and head of multiple departments to fight for any of these cheerleaders. She could do so much to help champion and make changes for both their compensation and health and instead actively chooses to perpetuate the same abuses of power that has gone on since DCC's conception. Like, wtf Charlotte????
She’s a nepo baby and created to uphold the old patriarchal values of the DCC as an institution. You’re right, it’s sad, but also part and parcel of how these institutions co-opt people who SHOULD be more sympathetic to those at the bottom of the ladder
I found her the most disturbing of all the women on the show like if it was her daughter dancing for DCC no way would she tolerate getting paid what this lady probably spends on shoes per game it's just inhumane and they know this
My mum was homeless at 15 and had a better financial life and job opportunities than me who has a university degree and a roof over my head. You used to be able to work an internship for low money and life was still ok. Now you can have a good job and still struggle
All of this. Now business are starting to say they care more about experience than degrees!!!!!! People are out here with multi degrees and no job. It’s absurd.
Working at Hooters was the exact same in the early 2000’s when I worked there. We only got the 50% employee discount on salads, not wings or fries or hamburgers. You had to pay full price for those as a Hooters girl. The shorts had a variation of the following sizes: xxxs, xxs, xs, s. If your buttcheeks hung out of the shorts, you were in violation. And if you outgrew the largest size, small, then they’d find reasons to fire you if you didn’t lose the weight. We also got in trouble if we didn’t wear enough makeup, we had to check our makeup throughout our shift, and before each shift we had to do a full spin and get inspected by the shift manager (who was usually male) to inspect hair, nails, uniform, and body. Ugh. I don’t miss that.
i hate that there are workplaces like this that are put together with the express purpose of sexualising women. for example, why can’t society give credit and recognition and respect to a female dominated sport without it being sexualised?
Always so disgusting to see women destroying others for their weight in these situations while being BIGGER than the women they’re shaming😞 cruel projections of their own insecurities
The moment I watched the documentary, I was waiting for video essays on it. So much to unpack, it was so sad to watch the pressure these women are under. Also the culture regarding how they’re treated by male fans.
And then that continues to prioritize women who have financial support from other sources, just like unpaid or low-paid internships sort out any applicants from non-wealthy backgrounds.
The way the coaches referred to them eating as ‘fuelings’ reminded me of the MLM company Optavia. (They call their food products ‘fuelings’ there & I’ve seen people suggest it is because the company can’t legally say that their products are food or something). It really wouldn’t surprise me if the DNCC was encouraging the Cheerleaders to use some MLM/shady meal planning company to meal prep
The cheerleaders also remind me of like the Playboy bunnies where it's considered an honor just to be a part of it and that should just be enough instead of being properly financially compensated, which is a joke. Pay these ladies damnit!
i was so upset they cut Anisha, especially so early, because she was one of the most entertaining and talented dancers. I refuse to believe their excuse of ''you'll not be able to learn to point your toes in time'' was such a weak reason to cut her. With her amount of skill, she absolutely could have improved her kicks to their standards before the games started. I hope she gets other dancing opportunities in the future, she's such a great performer :( I also noticed that the WOC cheerleaders didn't get nearly as much screentime as their white teammates, which made me kinda sad. They were never really focused on outside of brief shots/conversations Also also: that one scene with the conversation between the cameramen/crew where they were asked to ''choose their favourite cheerleader'', asked how to get closer to them, and said ''the Cowboys can't date them but there's no rule for you'' was so gross and felt really icky. I have no idea why it was even included, it added nothing to the documentary and was played off as a joke. Baffling lmao (especially considering the SA situation was in that same episode iirc?? Feels very tone-deaf and disrespectful to the cheerleaders, especially Sophy.)
My little brother's favorite middle school teacher was also a Dallas cheerleader. She had a hugely demanding full-time job to support herself because being a Dallas cheerleader wouldn't cut it. Horrifying.
Excellent video-essay. From US, played football through high school, offered "academic" scholarships at small colleges to continue playing (i.e. I was decent but not a big deal by any stretch of the imagination) but my body was wrecked (I hid injuries for reasons that don't seem to make any sense now) and it really wasn't fun anymore. Lucky that I didn't require these scholarships to continue education. Looking back at the treatment of myself and teammates by some of our coaches and some of our teammates makes me wonder why we were willing to accept that treatment when (literarily) none of us were serious professional prospects (this was not a high-quality football league, but it was a path for scholarships and post-graduate high school athletes to get into "better" if not Ivy League schools... there were no cheerleaders). I had some fun and did make friends through the activity, but I do look back sometimes and ask, "WTF?" I can only imagine what these sort of reflections are like for former cheerleaders, and I am guessing they are darker conversations. I don't believe I am making this up, but I couldn't find supporting evidence to back up the memory. You make a point later in the video that on TV, NFL cheerleaders barely get any coverage. I remember asking my parents at one point (late 80s?) why they didn't show cheerleaders as much as they used to. Whether it is positive or negative that I noticed I will leave up to your own judgment, but the answer I was given is that the cheerleaders had tried to bargain for compensation due to the amount of screen time they were given. The reaction, seemingly by response of the television networks, was to limit the amount of time that cheerleaders are televised. The idea from the question and answer that I walked away with is that TV networks (unless otherwise negotiated like Thanksgiving Day game halftime shows [Dallas and Detroit always play on the very US holiday of Thanksgiving]--and the Super Bowl) can only show cheerleaders for a limited amount of time until they are required to increase financial compensation... so they only televise cheerleaders up to the maximum amount of time until they have to pay a higher cost for screen time. Whether it was the front offices or the cheerleaders themselves who were doing the bargaining, I don't know, though I remember at least being told that it was the cheerleaders (my parents may have been mistaken and they both followed football, especially my mom). Again, this is a memory and I couldn't find the evidence, but I think it would still speak to the socio-economic exploitation model that you illustrate here (and has been structurally ingrained in the culture to the detriment of countless people). I don't believe dance, cheerleading and sport (if there really are very clear distinctions between them) are all nonsense that entrap the majority of participants and spectators in pure exploitation, but the amount of dehumanization and lack of ethics involved in these endeavors... that is a serious problem you are well to point out. Thanks for your work in demystification and hope your compensation is commensurate to your fine efforts.
I've played competitive ice hockey and seen a lot of the same pressure there, and recently, watching the Athlete A documentary about the USA Gymnastics cover-up of sexual abuse is that same environment taken to an even greater extremes. Especially given that poor kids see sports as a way to escape poverty and get financial stability, it's really disturbing to see how prevalent exploitation and abuse and pushing through injury all are, even before kids are legal adults, and definitely before they understand their rights and their human worth.
I used to think Cheerleading was only on movies, I'm not from US but when I was 15 I moved to California for a year and discovered that it is a real thing, but I always saw the Dallas Girls more like a Dance team more than a cheerleading team, and I also thought it was for like, college and High School, not a career (which seems to not be a good one tbh). Woman's sports in general have very stupid rules, like Gymnastics, I remember having my hair pulled back so tight because if got loose I would lose points, the collant could not move an inch because you can't get wedgies, no bra straps, no underwear apparent...it's all so useless and stupid. ps: These old ladies are kind embarrassing, it's like they are stuck in time.
The feminist voice we need - as a Texan, thank you for vocalizing such a public problem. P.S. I’m a flight attendant for United airlines - under contract negotiations. It would be amazing to hear someone cover the archaic union laws we’re under and the struggle that we all face to get what we’re worth.
On the cheerleaders of color thing: I noticed that NONE of the legacy cheerleaders who were showed/showed up were non-white. No matter the time period. Which makes me question turnover rates, satisfaction, and overall culture specifically related to COCs.
Gross to see so many coaches and managers ready to tear down anyone slightly below them. I couldn't believe the attitudes of the older women gawking at them "forgetting what it's about." Just insidious😖 Still I do wonder what it would be like to be one of those older women and eventually wake up to realization that you've spent your life being sculpted into an idealized extension of the patriarchy. Like I don't think they're like entirely oblivious to it-- I'm sure they all have their own unspoken ways of coping and justifying the ongoing abuse. Maybe the inner turmoil that a major shift in mindset would bring is (at least subconsciously) part of the reason it becomes increasingly harder for people to question these things as they get older😣 I doubt these women were born wanting to disempower other girls when they grew up. It's sad😒
i feel really lucky that my family was never into american football. two of my brothers played soccer and my mom was a big chicago cubs fan so we went to a few baseball games, and while baseball certainly has its own patriotism, i don't think anything touches the hyper masculinity of football. so many people are tied to their tvs and alcohol on sundays and my family just does whatever we want. i hope the best for these women, it's disgusting to hear that the nfl doesn't appear to have any funds to spare in their billions for these hard working employees.
My grandparents like the NFL, but it's primarily the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals for us. I'm also primarily a Phoenix Suns fan myself, though I also enjoy the Arizona Diamondbacks as well. The point is I'm more glad to not be into the Dallas Cowboys much, if at all, myself.
It is so weird that people are finally talking about how weird the Dallas cowboy cheerleader thing is. I grew up in a Dallas suburb, my second grade teacher’s husband was a DCC magazine salesman. Every month, she would give those magazines to us. Second graders- 8 year olds in 2008. It was deeply problematic, but somehow made sense in the north Texan Republican hypocrisy.
as someone from dallas im glad ppl are finally showing some light on this stuff crazy they only recently took the earlier seasons of dallas cowboys cheerleaders of hulu
I just saw that Jinelle Esther who I believe was a DCC for 6 or 7 years and she and her wife celebrated their anniversary not too long ago! I believe they were dating when she was on the team, although it wasn’t talked about on Making the team
I did not realize until the part with noah about naming cheerleaders is that i do not like football. I don't know how it is played, don't know anything about it. BUT I can name some NFL players, and I don't know a single cheerleader's name.
I was waiting for this, the Netflix documentary made me so mad. There were so many scenes that showed how disgusting the culture around these women is. For example the tour that lead into their locker rooms- the male tour guide that outright told the men to ogle the pictures of the girls ("do you like a blonde, a brunette, like her smile?") and then asked them to pick a favorite.
Very interesting video! I'm from Germany and had never heard of the DCC before. However, I like watching cult documentaries - I think that explains why this series was suggested to me. I don't even know where to start with all the things I find problematic. The blatant body shaming, the extreme religiosity, the talk of the "greater purpose", why the women aren't paid properly even though the organization has literally billions, etc. etc. This extreme superficiality, the high-pitched sweet voices, the orientation towards the male gaze alone, all things that I find very unpleasant to watch. And, contrary to what the protagonists think, not "the whole world" is interested in them.
In elementary school, my grade went on a field trip to the Dallas cowboy stadium, and part of that trip was to tour the locker rooms of the football players and the cheerleaders. When we got to the cheerleaders, all I could think about was 1. Where do the boy cheerleaders get ready? And 2. Who are these people? I didn’t know a single cheerleaders name nor face prior to the field trip as someone who has lived in Texas my whole life with a family who loved the Dallas cowboys. I still don’t. I thought maybe it was because I didn’t like football much, but when I asked my peers, they said they didn’t know any of the cheerleaders either, but some of them could name every single football player if asked. A lot of the girls I asked even said they wanted to be a DCC before I asked if they knew any, which they did not. All this to say, I never really heard people talk or care about specific cheerleaders before, even with the knowledge of them existing before hand. It’s interesting to hear about them now.
I remember watching the show, "Making the Team" and seeing the episodes where the women would be brought to the grocery store to show the nutritionist what they ate in a day. The perfectly good, unopened food would be tossed in a garbage can.
THANK YOU!!! As someone who genuinely loves to watch cheerleaders and who wishes the football culture was more like highschool (where cheerleaders and highsteppers could be all different body types and its more of a fun thing than a cultish thing but alas not everything can just be a fun thing) I'm so disgusted with the way these women are treated and I hope they're all able to be successful in life beyond their cheer.
I found a lot of this documentary so outrageous that it almost felt like watching a mockumentary. (I kept thinking about the film Drop Dead Gorgeous.) “They come here for something more than the money.” Yes. Things like hip surgery in their twenties…
The amount of hospital visits they have to take after all that hard physical labour and they still get paid dirt … how do they even pay for their hospital bills
@@eunhaelee1628 For me it was more the fact these are dedicated dancers who have already trained since year dot and put everything into becoming as skilled as possible their entire childhoods and beyond with no compensation before they even step a foot inside the audition room. They’re expecting professional dancers for minimal pay while upholding another job. Maximum commitment with minimum pay. What got me was when Judy confesses that in her time they didn’t even have to do jump splits. But by god why on earth are the candidates daring to show fatigue doing so over and over. I was shocked that they’re expecting such a professional level when the coaches couldn’t do half of what they expect from the team themselves. Sickening.
I love your video essays so much. Loved this deep dive and actually haven’t seen any commentary on cheerleading yet somehow?? glad yours was my first as you spoke so eloquently and expressed everything so well. thank you for this video
as somebody who lives in the part of dallas that jerry jones is from i will enjoy any video that goes after jerry jones and the operation his family runs. so much exploitation that is ignored because of the culture around football here in texas
HP is a beautiful-looking, well-manicured place, but I can't imagine living there. Same thing with being a cheerleader for the Cowboys. Glamorous on the outside, with a deep-seated unhappiness and hollowness on the inside. Like being a bird in a golden birdcage.
@@GiggleHertz64 living here has had some benefits and i'm so glad to have gotten the education i did here, but being a middle class person surrounded by millionaires and people who vacation in europe every summer has always made me feel like an outsider. the culture of competition makes it so that no connection feels real. and seeing my parents take up second jobs and side hustles to afford to live here while having to put on a facade so other parents don't pity us will always hurt. my family is leaving as soon as the nest is empty for sure
There’s actually two girls in the documentary series that I already knew of who were already pretty well known dancers. Leah Roga who got cut halfway through (former UCLA dance team member and former NBA dancer) and Sophia Laufer (the girl who was SA’d at the end. Sophia used to dance at a very well known studio in Los Angeles called “The Rage Entertainment Dance Complex” alongside her older sister Kyla, and they were both part of a very successful dance team “Floor Rookies” as well as “TJ and the Lil Mamas” when they were much younger, especially having performed on SYTYCD as guest stars with their teams. So both Leah and Sophia definitely deserved their spots, and are such hard workers.
I’ve been waiting for someone to do a video essay on this! Feeling excited, and sad, cause jeez that docuseries was hard to watch at times; even though it was presented as quite happy and amazing, it didn’t really feel that way, more corporate and cold
@@bbarsell I think I'm absolutely not surprised that this pocket of misogyny is held up by women under the guide of a privileged opportunity. It really grinds my gears when people use honor and privilege to make sure people aren't paid what they are owed. It's criminal that they have to pay (net wise with hair makeup and time) to be in such a coveted group when they should be the ones getting big stacks for the risks they take and danger they are putting themselves in
I watched that show and there was something rubbing me the wrong way yet I could not put a finger on it. Your video perfectly summed up everything that was wrong with it. Kelly and Judy really pissed me off all the time, they really seem heartless and care more about the brand than about the girls. Bonus points for the scene were Kelly's daughter calls her to ask her to come with her to wedding dress shopping and Kelly's answer is not to make her cry because she has her makeup on 💔
I wish they would all boycott their employer all at once. The way they are treated, exploited, and underpaid is unacceptable and unnecessary-especially in 2024. Please consider boycotting, if none/most of you don’t apply of if you choose to quit, they will be left with no dancers and be forced to make changes. Much love and support, you guys deserve so much better.
LMAO at 'there's not even a whisper of queerness" and yes american patriotism/nationalism displayed at sport events and even everyday events is astoninghsly absurd. the songs my elementary choir would sing in assemblies, we learned the song of every military branch, random patriotic songs. it truly is brainwashing. lastly one of my favorite things about living abroad (outside the us) is being able to completely ignore anything football related/the superbowl. it's glorious
The more you explain how it works the least I understand why anyone would think it’s a good idea for the short or long run. You never know if it will be a long time job, it fucks you up mentally, it fucks you up physically in a country where public healthcare does not exist, it’s impossible to save or maybe even live with the salary. Like, it just does not seem like a win in any part. It only seems like a win in the status it may give you but I am not even sure.
i think it’s so disrespectful that when the cowboys cheerleaders do their “thunderstruck” entrance, they don’t even get a full 4 minutes on the big screen! it cuts to old player clips every 10 seconds. also the players often get in the way, like get off the field you had all morning to warm up!
37:58 I think about that moment in the documentary so often. I could not sit there and smile and be super sweet while signing a photo of me in a swimsuit to give to some random old man, especially knowing I wasn’t even going to get a cut of the sales.
AHHH I'm so happy to see this video. I had to stop watching the documentary because I didn't want to be a part of the worker exploitation. Someone needs to start a boycott to get them unionized.
It’s so hard to explain this mindset if you’re not a dancer from the south. I’m not justifying it, but I definitely was very obsessed with being a DCC at one point in my life, but even though I was very in shape as a dancer, I was definitely too “thick” for them and refused to embarrass myself 🤣🤣
Though I wasn’t a cheerleader I was in the color guard all 4 years of HS and the parallels were definitely there where we were expected to have these huge smiles from the second we stepped on the field until the second we got off the field. We would also pretty much always get catcalled and jeered at by both the home and away football teams as we marched around the track before the national anthem. Even during the game when we were in the stands playing tunes the band was allowed to sit down and take off their uniform jackets if it was hot (or put on coats if it was cold) while we werent allowed to modify our uniforms at all (put on jackets or during the winter) regardless of the weather despite our uniforms being usually made of this thin almost spandex material that was super skin tight and would show any amount of bloating or even particularly defined muscles (I had big-ish muscles and always got reprimanded for not looking “delicate” enough on the field). We weren’t allowed to sit down, we had to be smiling and cheering and “hyping up the crowd” the whole time. Also in terms of the appearance we had to look identical in terms of hair and makeup regardless of what actually suited our features or hair types (I’m half black and at least at my HS in NC the hair aspect was super sucky cause my hair wouldn’t do the sleek long ponytails that flowed down our backs in delicate curled ringlets). Our uniforms themselves were terrible as I mentioned they were thin and showed everything so we had to wear full on layers underneath of like leggings and stuff which again all had to perfectly match and despite us constantly complaining to our band director our uniforms never changed as there was never enough “funding” despite the band getting new uniforms I think my second year (admittedly tho the band got almost no funding in comparison to the football team despite them losing majority of their games throughout all 4 of my years). Even during band camp and during practices the band would be allowed to practice inside with ac while we had to be outside even when it got super hot (again NC summer heat) and we also weren’t allowed to wear “revealing” clothes to practice (athletic shorts, exposed sports bras, etc.). Also we often had to deal with band members and members of the sports teams coming to gawk at us when we’d stretch during practice and our guard coach would have to constantly be getting them to leave us alone. We were also generally just not treated as a part of the marching band by the rest of the school (at competitions usually only our guard would place yet they would never say it during morning announcements) and just overall our hard work got completely dismissed cause we wore sparkly outfits and waved pretty flags. I’d also like to add I was also a member of the JROTC drill team (essentially we marched) and the drill team got soooo much more respect from the school despite the fact that realistically guard was so much more work and required so much more of us than drill team ever did. There’s probably more I’ve forgotten but yea just thought I’d share my experience (btw I graduated hs in 2022 so not very long ago just to show that it’s still an issue even in recent years)
Omg I did color guard too and graduated the same year as you. I definitely believe that guard is a sport but one time my coach told me to not advocate for that in the school because it would be one of the first sports to be cut if need be, like I believe gymnastics was unfortunately cut. Believe me, I loved doing color guard even wish to still be doing it to this day, its the only thing that kept me in high school till the end after covid. But within my team the coaches and their children and family members would be a part of the team, and you can sense the amount of favoritism that they would give to their daughters. I still adore my coaches dearly and the experiences we've had along with the opportunities I was given during hs, but the family members were still given a lot of the lead parts in our shows, they are great performers don't get me wrong, but you can sense it was favoritism. I knew that at the time but didn't care too much simply because I enjoyed doing what I was doing. Our band director, mainly in my senior year, was such an asshole to us for no reason and would only yell at the color guard but no one else and he wasn't afraid to degrade us and yell at us in front of a lot of people. Part of me thinks because during the outdoor season WE were the stars of the halftime show, your band is just in the background noise sir, we were the only reason people had eyes on our show not your band lol. Thats my take on that!! Either way I loved guard and would still do it to this day if I had the chance.
The NFL players pee themselves on the benches and sidelines. I'm not joking. They "can't go to the bathroom" during the game so they pee themselves. I don't know any other sport where thats "okay" let alone allowed. They then go and play in those same pants......
Cyclists do the same thing on long races 😅 but I think it's crazy they do that in the NFL because they're probably 20 feet from a bathroom, whereas in a 200km+ cycle race you might legitimately not have a place or a chance to go pee (although it's still a bit mank)
This was my 1st video for you. Immediate subscribe. You said something I will take with me forever: "White women are often the sleeper agents of the patriarchy." Because it's so true. Historically speaking, white women are more protected and valued by the patriarchy. Meanwhile, the feminist movement was historically focused on the liberation of white women. That's why focusing on the plights more unique to black/brown women and trans women is so important now: the movement needs to include every fem-identifying individual, alongside our cis/het male and nonbinary allies to back us up in our fight.
I would’ve loved to hear you talk about the money that the Department of Defense has funnelled into paid patriotism in American sport. It’s so interesting and disturbing.
i'm kind of amazed that there was no mention of propaganda in the section about patriotism. that's what it is that's the whole point of the patriotism. i can't believe no one told you that! like seriously the military pays the nfl to feature the propaganda, that's the whole reason why colin kaepernick's protests of the national anthem were such a huge conspiracy- the military was paying them and he protested the usa itself, and brought a lot of attention to his protests no less. they were paying for propaganda and got called out for their evils instead.
oops i forgot to add this video is so good and such a concise summary of misogyny, thank you so much for the hard work you put into this video. i sent it to my partner!
loved you from your challengers video and coming back w my hidden hyperfixation bc i cant stop thinking about these women! im so happy kelcey is retired! it seemed like her legacy will always live on from the doc. also victoria leaving for GOOD and moving back to nyc to pursue dancing/audition for the rockettes is HEALING! oh gosh the new age w reece, madeline, and now charly and kelly making the team this time around but now reece is their 1st year vet, is v inch resting and i truly hope the best for these women. i dont really trust kelli, charlotte, judy and jerry
American football is a form of manifest destiny. It is sinuously intertwined into US's ethos. From the outside it serves the place of a cult where young bodies are ritually sacrificed. Its processes upkeeps the gender roles and social structures. And, at the same time, it distroyes people's lives. As a woman that has practiced competitive gymnastics, aesthetic sports are undervalued, especially when it is women doing the routines. It's never about looking like its laboured for women, it has to look flowy and effortless, while we are in pain, the thendons are snaping and the scalp itches from the amount of hair spray.
The way Sophy was treated was disgusting. Kelli seemed surprised when she wanted to press charges. The ONLY thing she cares about is her and the Cowboys reputation. I wonder how much the police were paid off to say "there is just not enough evidence" and drop the whole thing. Smh.
While watching this series all I could think was of how it felt so culty. They don’t get paid much and are indoctrinated into this culture that convinces them that’s totally okay because it’s not about the money…. Even though it’s a job and they need to take off from their jobs to make sure they’re there for every game in the season. Don’t even get me started on the harmful split jump and the culture that appears to encourage ED brain (felt so bad for Victoria). Also, as someone who’s cheered and done ballet, if a costume is custom made for you, you keep it, period. Found it strange that they had to give everything back even though it was to their measurements. Lastly, there needs to be a movie akin to Concussion for how many hip replacements those improper split jumps have caused. Also, love the “naturally beautiful” part you added at the beginning considering how much those girls likely spend on grooming 😅
I found the argument that the girls shouldn’t be paid much because they earn it back in sisterhood and the fact it’s a big opportunity in dance so wildly misogynistic. You could apply the same argument to the football players, they would definitely still be there if they got paid minimum wage bc it’s a prestigious position but obviously they don’t. So much brainwashing it’s so exploitative
![[#2024MAMA] BIGBANG (빅뱅) - 뱅뱅뱅 (BANG BANG BANG) + FANTASTIC BABY | Mnet 241123 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EQsYfiPR9uM/mqdefault.jpg)
The thing I found the most sad while watching the documentary series was that it seemed like none of the women had moved on. All the mothers were previous cheerleaders that had pushed the title onto their daughters, and the cheerleaders that quit didn’t know what to do next in life and were afraid that they’d reached their peak. It was like once you became part of the Dallas cowboys cheerleaders it stuck with you for the rest of your life. And that does’nt seem healthy.
Unfortunately, that's a case in a lot of performing careers. Ballerinas, gymnasts, singers, pageants all are rife with stage mamas who demand that their children do what they couldn't. They push their children into these if they show even a hint of talent and God help their kids if they fail.
Broke my heart to see Victoria openly acknowledging that her ED was largely due to DCC, but then still wearing a Cowboys shirt in the interview☹
I’ve met retired pro footballers and they are the same way… they’ll be telling stories and living in the good old days forever. It’s sad to not see the beauty of the moment
It's almost like living their dream was one big ongoing trauma they can't break free of.
If you have paramount plus i they have over 20 seasons of making the team starting in 2003 into present
"It was never about money" --- this line angers me so much. They get so much money off of them. If it isn't about money, why not pay them properly? Out of respect for their hard work?
Exactly and the "they should be grateful they're here." Sickening
I don’t think that being very much involved in something requires a huge payment. That’s basically how every involved sports club work (Europe) for example. BUT. You hit the nail on the head with this comment ”they get so much money off of them”. This fact is why they should get a proper wage. But then again, I guess they legally do and it’s treated like a minimum wage job.
And the audacity of those words coming out of the mouth of Charlotte Jones, a hundred-millionaire and the daughter of a billionaire.... that made me see red
I actually never heard of these cheerleaders until youtubers started talking about this doc.
They don’t respect the cheerleaders or their hard work. It’s disgusting how little professional cheerleaders are paid.
Some cheerleaders tried to unionize. They were all fired. This was years ago and im glad this is getting more attention.
Yeah the Buffalo Bill's cheering squad, The Buffalo Jill's, was suspended after they sued the team for not paying them for over 840 hours of work and argued that they were misclassified as independent contractors. The lawsuit lasted 8 years (settled in 2022) and even after the settlement Buffalo hasn't brought back the Jills
@@hlywrdthat’s right I’m from Buffalo ny I always wondered why the bills didn’t have cheerleaders I researched and found out this is exactly why 😭👎🏾
Fucking disgusting and painfully logical from an amoral financial perspective.
Honestly, it's up to the fans. If the fans boycott until the pay rises, owners will listen. Nothing else will work since although they say the cheerleaders should do it not for money, you can be sure as heck the owners are doing it for that reason.
@@charlotteclarke868 well, the fans _could_ do more... but really, the ENTIRE american system is FUBAR.
every sector SHOULD have a union, and if not, forming one should NOT be the basis for dismissal under legal penalty. this is such a basic labour right that i can't fathom how americans could just keep on going on for decades without it. so many companies just whack unions like it's an afterparty, it's disgusting.
i think it may be similar to fans of any other form of entertainment boycotting their fave hobby/media until they pay the workers/creators. but i doubt that sports fans are gonna have the same values as say, broadway fans or something. ultimately, the NFL can always just do without cheerleaders since that isn't even their main "product".
the imbalance of power is immense... and i think cheerleaders themselves should just boycott the job altogether. ex-cheer mothers need to deconvert themselves and advocate for their daughters instead of pushing them to "take over" their spots. this stinks so heavily of the pageant circuits... i wonder how much uglier things could get beneath the surface.
It disgusts me how dismissive the older cheerleaders can be, saying the ones asking for money aren't "seeing the bigger picture." Like, fuck off, the amount of money in football IS the bigger picture. No one should have to grovel for better pay, but it's even worse when the pay is literally right there, given to pretty much everyone BUT the cheerleaders.
Right?! Like dude, “It’s not a big deal!” If it isn’t a big deal, then why are football players paid millions dollars, just for kicking and throwing a ball around!
@@queenbee3561And speaking at colleges they didn't attend. I have a feeling that has happened with the Dallas Cowboys.
@@roxassora2706You might have a point there
same women who probably bought their homes for 3 cents and a cheese string telling women in 2024 to “not worry about money”
@@angel-xi6ie I hate those women with every fiber in my being! They're sellouts!
“Younger ones now think of it as a job, we thought of it as a privilege.”
Yeah, probably because you were privileged enough to not need it as a job. Times change, and people have different circumstances than you: shocking, I know.
This!
Also they’ve brainwashed the younger ones to think that it’s a Privelage
Wrong. The young ladies were required to be have a full time job, be a full time student or be a full time mom. No exceptions. Under Suzanne Mitchell there were certain careers off limits. You might have a degree in journalism - you were not allowed to work in the media.
Why even do this when the pay is bad?
@@emilyau8023the prestige. The title. Once you make something valuable to people they’ll accept a lot to be a part of it.
Jobs should pay for grooming time if they require you to be highly groomed. Flight attendants, bank tellers, etc it’s so sexist
As a former flight attendant, I agree 100%
@@lidu6363As a non flight attendant, do mainly men understand how long it takes to get ready?
in an ideal world yes. sadly, we live in a world where some companies hire less women, much less women who are married or are in a relationship, to avoid paying for maternity leave
They get hair and nails done for free. They used to get tanned for free, but idk if that’s still true
exactly. the only reason it isn't seen as labour is because women being beautiful is considered inherent to womanhood. It's like the tax we pay to dare to be female
"She's not at her trimmest state" ~Zooms in a skinny belly with abs lines~ 🙄
And these comments were constantly made by women and men who themselves didn’t even come close to the beauty standards they set for those women.
And you can be sure that if their abs had been showing more, they would be criticised for looking too masculine or something.
@@Sajirah according to their own standards they're downright ghoulish. their attitudes definitely fit the part, at least.
As someone who grew up and currently lives in the Dallas area, I love seeing outsider perspectives (Non-US perspectives especially) on the culture that surrounds the Dallas Cowboys. I don't like the Cowboys. I dislike the NFL in general due to the exploitative nature of the sport and the college football culture that feeds into the NFL. It is very validating when other people see and talk about Jerry Jones (who is loved and worshiped in Dallas) and others in the Cowboys Executive Offices as the evil men that they are.
When the lawsuit in 2018 from the former cheeleader was making the news rounds, Jerry would threaten to keep players from talking to reporters of any news station that sounded like they were sympathetic to the woman suing them. He does that even now when he is under controversy or being sued for paternity (something that has happened more than a few times).
The Cheeleaders are treated like property by the fans. The amount of times I've heard men I've worked with talk about copping a feel when they are taking pictures with the cheerleaders and getting away with it because they women are not allowed to complain makes me sick. When I've tried to appeal to these men, asking if they would be okay if their daughter was a part of the DCC and was groped by a stranger, and almost all of them said they would be proud that their daughter made the team. They would always skip over the question of their daughter being assaulted in the same manner they just assaulted someone.
What kind of work place do you work in? In the UK in many companies people would now days (post #Metoo) you would be pulled into HR and can’t talk like that in the work place but guess it depends on where you work
Fellow Dallas bred and resident here and I agree 100%!
@DisabledAtDisney this was well before #metoo. Some of these stories date to before social media in the Cowboys heyday of the 90s (I'm old af).
I've been lucky that in the last 10 years, I'm working with more respectable people.
@@jessrl8025 Your "in the last 10 years" is just really sad and, now that I think about it, actually kinda terrifying.
Thanks for sharing I liked reading your comment. I'm Australian so it is weird with America in general because your culture isn't ours...but is? If that makes sense? Like an uncanny valley.
The treatment/exploitation of Dallas Cheerleaders sounds very similar to how Japanese/Korean idols are treated/exploited. Especially trainee culture. Oppressive agencies, inadequate compensation, constant weigh-ins and body critiques, parasocial relationships leading to stalkers that you still have to be nice to, presenting as sweet and innocent but also sexual. I wonder if the DC’s have a dating ban.
the cheerleaders aren't allowed to interact with the players it works similarly to the dating ban in the K-Pop industry
@@fatimahanwaar306idk how that's similar since the cheerleaders can date regular people? Or anyone outside that organization? Sounds actually pretty legit, work relationships would be a nightmare to deal with, it's probably just so the organization can avoid lawsuits left and right
@@sonder8310 the workplace relationships point is absolutely fair, but so much of the burden is put on the cheerleaders in this situation. The men on the teams are basically expected to try and break this rule, while the women are expected to be the responsible ones and say no. And no fraternization policies go further than just no dating: the cheerleaders can get in trouble if they so much as open or respond to a dm from a player, or if they happen to show up at the same bar/party/other event as a player. It's happened on DCC making the team before
@@elizzabugg5358 I didn't know that the burden was on the women. Not surprising tho. Thanks for informing me on this! Still think tho it's a reach to compare it to a Kpop dating ban. Just two very different things.
@@sonder8310Well there are some overlapping similarities, which is why.
"She's got a little more weight in the face" "I noticed that too. That's heartbreaking" is already a vile way to talk about a person but that their "fix" is basically she'll have to develop an eating disorder or lose her job...these people are sick
I know, it's a bonkers line! As if she was dead or severely injured and irredeemable, treating it like just a fact of life that once the girl's a bit rounder she's just a waste. Incredible!
Also "weight in her face" can be a sign of bulimia, puffy cheeks are a common symptom of bulimic behaviors!
they ended up eliminating her shortly after they talked about her like that. she didn’t even make it to the training camp, even though it would have been her second year as a dcc
@@Trash-Garbage-Trash could be loads of different things! I get "puffy" when I'm very tired because I have blood pressure issues and inflammatory conditions. They dismiss her because of her cheeks, but she could also have medical issues (some even caused by straining her body working for them!) It's a terrible statement they make for so many reasons
If you watched the series you will be very familiar with Kelli talking about the DCC 'look'. Kelli LOVED a girl with 'the look'. She'd keep weaker dancers bc they had it & cut stronger ones bc she thought they just 'don't look like a DCC'.
AKA they didn't have long blonde hair, weren't extremely thin, & weren't gorgeous by white Southern Christian standards.
I can't stand to see older women gatekeeping younger women from making money. It's worse because they know how much harder the struggle can be and choose to not care or be willing to spread the wealth.
I think a lot of them are like, "I struggled and suffered to get to where I am today; why should you have it any easier?" I loved watching "Making the Team," and seeing women get to the end and making the team, but the women trying out do get a lot of criticism.
And there was a lot of talk about having to have a full time job to afford being a DCC, having an excellent memory for dance routines, wearing the uniform and being able to do the kick line without bringing the women next to you down. You can't be too tall, too short, too top heavy or too bottom heavy. All that comes into fitting the uniform too.
Listen, we women are often our own worst enemy in the workplace. Regardless of age.
@@Daniela-Christianson Don’t include us all. I love helping other women as long as they aren’t mean.
The one thing that stuck with me during the Netflix series is how one girl decided to postpone surgery on her hip to do a fifth year as a dcc. Girl why🤦
Allat to not even be paid properly 😭 that's so sad
It was scary to hear how hip issues are common for women in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Any pro sport will entail some kind of injury/body issue but it seemed extreme 😬
Because it‘s a ✨cult✨…
tbh all athletes have this mentality when they love what they do
for the record, according to my sister, a cheerleader, almost all cheerleading scholarships go to men. female cheerleaders are a dime a dozen. it's much more rare for men to be cheerleaders. but in all top top level competitive cheer, the squad needs to be 1/3~1/2 male in order to do the stunts necessary to win competitions. And you need male strength to perform these stunts to the top ability.
Interesting. And sad.
@@rin-eri WHAT
@@rin-eri oh my god
Just like the male ballet dancers. Gay men need their own all male cheerleader and ballet groups bc I get pissy seeing any men in either of those groups. I didn’t come here to see you overpayed overloved boys, get lost
Underrepresented demographics require help to achieve equality.
I know I'm leaving a lot of comments, but this also made me think of a part in Mina Le's recent video on WAGs where someone suggested that the presence of hyperfeminine women at sporting events is demanded by the need to uphold heteronormative masculinity. By introducing thin dainty femmes to juxtapose/accentuate the hypermasculinity of the players, both the players and the male spectators are able to enjoy the homoeroticism found in sports without having to question their sexuality or gender.
Interesting
This just made something click for me. I'm a femme trans man and I've felt even less safe in male-dominated spaces even though I don't really pass yet. I put it down to transphobia but I didn't understand how that transphobia was working until now. I think patriarchal men are willing to accept femininity in their spaces provided it's directly for the purpose of pleasing them. Queer femininity is expressly not for cishet men and me being femme and trans makes it clear I'm not catering myself to their wants and needs. This really put a lot into perspective for me
I was reminded of that too! & when applied specifically to American football it plays into the trope of jock-cheerleader relationship that is everywhere in American tv - even if it's in their contract not to date the players, the audience might assume it or just have it in the back of their mind & then the player gets even protection from accusations of gayness without having to put in the effort unlike soccer
Mina Le? Really lol she puts a lot of effort into her videos and production I love her style as well but I don’t think her commentary is up to par on a lot of things as soon as you start asking questions and thinking about stuff. I watch her just because I know I will disagree with her a lot and I’m curious about different perspectives even if I don’t agree . She’s interesting I’ll say that 😅 . Interesting topic overall regardless
Oop 🫢
So similar to kpop girl groups. Issues like payment, stalkers, weight, makeup, feminine visual expectations etc
the parasocialism too it seems. i see no reason for them not being able to talk to the NFL players other than that :/
I've been waiting for someone to review this show, let's get justice and fair pay for these women!
I've seen a bunch of reviews online. Even one from a licensed therapist. It was very insightful.
The young ladies are rquired to have a job outside of the 8 month obligation. They make more than the average family in the US with their 8 month contract.
They would have to demand it for themselves as well
Those older cheerleaders kind of would fit into an MLM
@@mr.bigtex3544no they dont that’s a lie 😂 plus they live in Dallas it’s expensive to live there
THANK YOU, it genuinely baffles me so much that during nfl games when the DCC cheerleaders perform they always cut to the football players plus the fact that while their performing the players don’t clear the field?? Like what! It’s genuinely insane that they can’t give them just 5 minutes to perform despite the fact that they promote these girls like their the pride of joy of American football.
All while not allowing them to even talk to the players... the disrespect is stunning.
Literallyy I was watching a video of the DCC girls performance and there were guys in the back next to them playing football while they performed. it drove me insane cause they are also athletes
@@hockeygrrlmuseI actually think the no fraternization clause is required. Not having them is just ASKING for chaos and lawsuits. That’s why the cheerleaders have such a sanitized image, you don’t see them draped over athletes.
However, not having people clear the field is terrible and disrespectful.
professional american football is full of unnecessary contradictions like that; why bother having highly-trained cheerleaders and marching bands if you're just going to cut away to adverts, football players, or the announcers yapping at each other the second they're on the field?
Anisha is absolutely stunning with a supermodel body and an amazing dancer! She could have nailed that kick in like a week with training. When they dropped her I thought this shit is totally rigged.
Rigged in that they probably only have so many spots for woc. Anisha is beyond stunning with huge charisma- the fact they didn’t push her through can only be because of her race.
@@ErgoVelouria I agree. I think when people perceive a challenge to the "standard" they have been part of and maintain, they will always find a reason to push you aside. However, based on the what we saw of her I question how much she has compromised through out her life to "fit in". Notice her religion was mentioned. She converted from Hindu to Catholicism when she got married. I think her career was a threat. As a woman it would have been more accepted for her to be a dental tech as to not be intimidating to both men and other women.
@@emilietambe1051 I 💯% agree with your take. The fact that she is a dental surgeon was too much for the management of DCC cheerleaders. They probably thought that she would be harder to breakdown and control. Anisha has a healthy level of self-esteem. That is incompatible with DCC.
@@emilietambe1051 that religion conversion was so sad. Did all of that and they still tossed her aside like trash. Hopefully she goes back to appreciating her race and culture instead of trying so hard to fit in somewhere they don’t even want her 😔
she was stunning but the were right about her feet. The DCC loves girls like Anisha, they love to have eye candy for all men 😂😂😊
I cannot even explain how pissed I was watching Anisha cut for…. nothing? It very much felt like she was never going to good enough as a non-white dancer. Also the girl that got cut for being too short, and they muse “maybe we should have a height rule” as if that was not something you should have thought of BEFORE getting this girl to the finals! I know these are minor things, but it just seemed so openly, blatantly cruel.
I got really angry about that too.
What stood out to me was the number of times they said that the kick line was the most important thing and put girls through to the training camp… but then subsequently dropped them for not being able to perform kicks well enough. How about specifically testing their kicks and flexibility at the very first stage if it’s the most important thing?!
There was an awful lot of moving the goalposts in the selection process which seemed extremely unfair on the women.
I felt so bad for Anisha particularly. An absolutely wonderful performer and dancer and had such a positive attitude.
I really felt for Victoria too. She seemed so sweet and vulnerable and to basically be getting bullied by the coaches. She was asking all the right questions of the coaches and they were giving her almost zero in helpful feedback. Possibly it was editing that made that seem worse but how it was presented they seemed to almost hate her.
not to mention that the short girl that got cut uprooted her entire life to move to Dallas, got a remote job and extra lessons so she could get into the team. They probably only got paid AFTER they make the team and I wonder how much debt this girl got into for nothing.
I went to high school with her. She’s always had drive and is a really nice person. She also DEFINITELY had the skills and talent.
@@yamsnmacshe’s an Indian 😂 no one likes or respects them
This show is such a microcosm of so many structural issues within North American society. I'm really glad you did a deep dive on this because so many articles/reviews were lacking or only really focusing on the work of the director. I think it's important to note that this is what the DCC machine WANTED and ALLOWED us to see. All the comments around weight and appearance, all the framing around pay and safety. This was what DCC felt was acceptable to put out and stand behind. And it still came out feeling and looking like a rotted, oppressive institution.
I honestly felt happy for the girls who eventually didn't get in, because they were spared even more time boiling in this crab pot.
It was a PR puff piece. Even when Netflix were giving trigger warnings for some episodes I was wondering why because they don’t actually delve deep into the things that matter pertaining to the horrors these women face at the hands of obsessive fans.
One shudders to think about the things they keep behind closed doors 😣
I was frustrated to see the show include shots of the women getting into their cars while also including a section where Kelsey reveals she was stalked and someone put an AirTag on her car. Like cmon
And their apartments
great video! it really is disturbing to see how bitter some members of older generations are when it comes to efforts made by younger generations to advocate for themselves. i know there's already talk about that in relation to people just trying to afford college and housing, but it hits even harder for these cheerleaders under close scrutiny
Don’t mistake “older generations” with “older generations in the organization”. Women have fought for decades for better working conditions, equal pay, recognition for hard work. Those older generations made it possible for younger generations to keep up the fight. Once upon a time, women could not even open a bank account without a man’s signature. Those in the organization, however, have a stake in keeping the status quo. It is shameful.
college cheerleader here and my heart sung hearing you bothered that not only the TV feed but also the big screens at games will not even show cheerleaders while we perform between plays or at halftime, it is so frustrating!!
Exactly!! Can’t even give you the hard earned mentally and physically demanding routines 3 freaking mintues
It was so hard watching Victoria in the doc, struggling to please her mom and Judy and Kelly but never getting their approval. You could tell the environment of the DCC was so unhealthy for her, and yet she couldnt seem to walk away. It was like watching someone trapped in an abusive relationship and I think in a lot of ways - it was!
I never did understand why Kelly and Judy seemed to dislike Victoria. 🤔
I know they kept saying it was because she didn’t have any friends. But then there’d be moments where we see her talking and be friends with the girls. I feel like they were purposely putting in shots where she was just keeping to herself to make it seem like she had no friends.
@@lunasmith2568 So true, they made it seem like she was a loner and the judges kept telling her that they couldn't make her team leader because she wasn't interacting with the group enough. I honestly think she got a bad edit maybe? But there was also the scene with her birthday and it was just her and her mom... I just really felt for her and I hope she's doing good now
@@blugreen123 Apparently she grew up with Kelly, and was very close to her. But I def got the vibe that Victoria was never "good enough" for them, and that was really sad. She's really talented and I think the whole organization just put her down.
The whole American football culture with the cheerleaders gives me such cult vibes , it creeps me out so much
As a member of a collegiate cheer team it’s even more cult-like in the inside. It’s because all the pain we get put through literally trauma bonds us.
Gen Z snowflake!!
THANK YOU for mentioning that DCC is NOT the same as the sport of cheerleading.
Because they aren't 😭 cheerleading and dance are two very different things.
It's super interesting, cheerleading and dance team kind of used to be lumped into one sport for a long time before the acrobatics of cheer really developed. DCC never rebranded as "Dallas Cowboy Dance Team" because I guess that doesn't roll off the tongue.
It's unfair that these women continue to perpetuate this rigid structure but what's new. They didn't get to the top by trying to dismantle the system.
That reality show was absolutely horrifying. They did an episode where they all got body fat percentage tests, and the doctor told one of the girls that she needed to gain weight immediately and was far too underweight and the coach was like "Okay but the doctor doesn't understand, you look fine and you shouldn't gain weight."
The way female athletes are treated in all sports but especially dance and cheer is absolutely horrifying. They should be paid so much more. They should have a union.
But of course the constant supply of exploitable young women in this particular industry means they can grind them up like meat and spit them out broken and it doesn't matter, there's always a huge pool of dancers willing to destroy their bodies.
They make them do that jump split on outdoor sports fields in the winter. When I was a performer, my company would cancel outdoor performances if it was too cold. Because it's too dangerous to train and perform in the cold in a sport requiring that much flexibility. I also didn't see their flexibility training schedule but to me, it seemed like they were inadequately trained. We would do 2-3 deep flexibility-only training sessions a week. You shouldn't even be trying to perform a move like that without having an extremely deep oversplit. It's absurd what those girls are put through and they're all so young.
This was a very good and necessary video.
Sorry, I'm really mad.
Exercise science has developed so much in the past few decades and I could tell just watching these girls that they are being inadequately trained! That their coaches aren't keeping up with the science and protecting their health but using oldschool training techniques that lead to multiple torn labrums and hamstrings. They're just relying on their youth to be able to handle these things and that doesn't work.
you put it perfectly. it's especially sad that most of the women need to have major surgeries for their hips/knees later on because of how often they have to jump split. Their lack of flexibility training definitely has to be part of that. It's insane that their surgery costs aren't even covered by the company considering DCC is the direct reason they need them
Lollll they cant have a union they got fired (maybe sued i forgot) when they tried its a very nice industry
@@YoBruh-p2x Yeah some states allow companies to sue over losses related to unionization I believe? They often win. It sucks.
If it was treated like an actual job, like NFL players are, they would have way more time for training. They would have the time to do the deep flexibility training. If they didn’t have to also work full or part time jobs, they would have more time for training as well as rest and recovery. They would also be more able to keep up with their physical training in off season.
honestly after watching the documentary i genuinely just couldn't understand why these women were putting themselves through this.... how is this worth it in any way.... and i think it's the combination of really wanting something and being exhausted from constantly trying to meet these ridiculous standards. if i was worrying about my weight and my hair and makeup in my time off from my job i would also not have any time to think about why i'm being treated so poorly in the first place. it's horrific.
It's also grooming (not necessarily sexual although that too). I can assure you most of them come from a very specific background that made them idealise belonging to that group. It is like people who work two jobs in order to become Hollywood background actors or Broadway. Even academia works like this to a certain extent. The aspiration starts young and is reinforced every step of the way, the more you climb that ladder the more you are reassured you are "worthy" and others are not. That's also the reason the older cheerleaders behave as they did, the young ones are showing weaknesses, they are being "unworthy".
Cheerleading becomes a core identity basically... and a lot of people will burn a lot of cash and bridges and opportunities and relationships for identity. The money is probably the least of many of their issues, do they even have a life/identity outside of cheerleading? Do they have identity safety networks to fall back on? Would they be (emotionally) destroyed by leaving?
@@Soulcrash3great insight
Coming from somebody who used to dress and present in a way that got me a lot of positive male attention: it's because it gets you a lot of benefits and you get punished for breaking away. People (men in particular, but women too) were generally much, much nicer to me when I was a hyperfeminine woman who could fulfil their tradwife fantasies. You really feel the lack of kindness when you stop. I still feel a horrible sense of guilt and shame when I think of the dresses I don't wear any more, because I know plenty of women would kill to fulfill beauty standards like I did. I'm made to feel like I'm throwing away a great gift of beauty
My sister in law is an ex DCC and during her time there, her mental health suffered a ton. She was SA'd, barely got paid, and was perpetually sexualized.
thats horrfic, i hope shes doing okay
gosh that sounds absolutely terrible but what on earth is that red emoji thing next to your comment??
@@constantlybored I think it's a sad emoji? Like defeated? Idk lol it seemed fitting.
@@abbykaiherau7539 She is! Moved far away from Texas and hasn't looked back :)
@@cicischannel123-m1i oh lol it just felt so random to me when i read it😭
The problem I have with DCCs wages is that it's just not about the training/game working hours they should be payed for. It's the use of their image, brand representation, creating a community that makes fans feel belonging, ert. There's so much intangible value they provide.
That's why profesional athlets are payed so much.
Literally nobody pays attention to any of the Dallas cowboys cheerleaders let alone any professional cheerleader
31:13 Not to mention, they are probably gaining muscle from all the working out, etc. which could definitely add to weight gain.
It does add to weight gain! Muscle tissue is denser than fat, so you can be thinner and also heavier than you were before. Absolutely ridiculous to police both, on top of said policing of either being gross. And on they subject, ACAB 😊
@@emilyrlnyou damn right ACAB 🐷🐷
the cult of beauty. women would join this team even if they got zero pay. you receive validation that you are THE american beauty standard. that is priceless.
realllll
100% a cult, I agree. Ballet is a cult, and folklorico (Mexican dance especially at the professional level)
It was the same with Playmates. The money wasn’t great but meeting that beauty standard was priceless. To be immortalized in those spreads were priceless.
@@Lrrrrrrrrrr ballet is a beautiful art form its very underpaid and strict but not as bad as cheerleading imo a lot of ballerinas love ballet for what it is not cause of a beauty standard
"theyre not getting the bigger picture" of being exploited? of upholding the patriarchy? like. what?
they say that like being on the dcc is literal charity work. like it’s not like they’re saving starving children by allowing their own exploitation.
Trying to find the words to express my anger at the treatment these women endure. The fact that it is other women building them up and breaking them down the most twists the knife. How dare millennials and gen z people want to get paid so we can afford basic necessities. Not to mention afford all the things that the organization refuses to pay for.
'Afford basic necessities' they get paid $75,000 🤣 Tell me you've never actually experienced poverty without telling me....
The whole process kind of reminds me of the K-pop industry and how they train and eventually break idols
@@thedarkness111 source? In the video one of the girls said “15 dollars a game”
crying at the description. a 11/10 video !! honestly uncovered a side of american culture/life i never think about and yet i was sat listening and learning the whole way (watched all the ads too). a testament to the work u put into this and ur power... omg.
we're both such powerful girl boss brat boss babies
It baffles me that they aren’t allowed to keep the uniforms that are literally fitted to their specific body
This was actually one of the few rules I kind of understood. Because the DCC is first and foremost a brand, they don’t want any imagery in their uniforms that they can’t control. When I worked at Disney, we couldn’t keep costumes. We borrowed them like library books.
One of the things that struck me about this docuseries was that the women were simultaneously sexualized and infantilized. Judy & Kelly always referred to the cheerleaders as "girls" instead of "ladies," along with requiring that the DCC's sign a code of conduct and allow their social media to be monitored. But yet they have to wear those skimpy uniforms and be featured in "bikini girl" calendars and posters. 😐
I don’t like what your comment is implying. Feminism has spent the last several years pushing the fact that wearing “skimpy” clothing doesn’t automatically make someone hyper sexual. But your comment is saying the opposite. Being hyperfeminine and showing skin shouldn’t automatically sexualize a woman. People keep complaining about this belief but then turn around and reinforce it.
@@LoveK1but when your body is the commodity for men’s view hyper sexuality is viewed at a different standard then just ‘showing skin’
Something particularly frustrating about this whole thing is Charlotte Jones, daughter of Dallas Cowboys CEO Jerry Jones, has made incredible strides as a woman in a corporate sports field but has used none of her unique position as both his daughter and head of multiple departments to fight for any of these cheerleaders. She could do so much to help champion and make changes for both their compensation and health and instead actively chooses to perpetuate the same abuses of power that has gone on since DCC's conception. Like, wtf Charlotte????
She’s a nepo baby and created to uphold the old patriarchal values of the DCC as an institution. You’re right, it’s sad, but also part and parcel of how these institutions co-opt people who SHOULD be more sympathetic to those at the bottom of the ladder
I found her the most disturbing of all the women on the show like if it was her daughter dancing for DCC no way would she tolerate getting paid what this lady probably spends on shoes per game it's just inhumane and they know this
My mum was homeless at 15 and had a better financial life and job opportunities than me who has a university degree and a roof over my head. You used to be able to work an internship for low money and life was still ok. Now you can have a good job and still struggle
All of this. Now business are starting to say they care more about experience than degrees!!!!!! People are out here with multi degrees and no job. It’s absurd.
Working at Hooters was the exact same in the early 2000’s when I worked there. We only got the 50% employee discount on salads, not wings or fries or hamburgers. You had to pay full price for those as a Hooters girl. The shorts had a variation of the following sizes: xxxs, xxs, xs, s. If your buttcheeks hung out of the shorts, you were in violation. And if you outgrew the largest size, small, then they’d find reasons to fire you if you didn’t lose the weight. We also got in trouble if we didn’t wear enough makeup, we had to check our makeup throughout our shift, and before each shift we had to do a full spin and get inspected by the shift manager (who was usually male) to inspect hair, nails, uniform, and body. Ugh. I don’t miss that.
OMFG!!!! This was 15 years ago and not 50?!!!!???
i hate that there are workplaces like this that are put together with the express purpose of sexualising women. for example, why can’t society give credit and recognition and respect to a female dominated sport without it being sexualised?
@@SarahSwift-sc7hk crazy right?!?
Eeewww how awful!
Always so disgusting to see women destroying others for their weight in these situations while being BIGGER than the women they’re shaming😞 cruel projections of their own insecurities
I don't believe they're projecting, they simply know what the "look" of patriarchy is, to fabricate "perfection" for the male gaze.
The moment I watched the documentary, I was waiting for video essays on it. So much to unpack, it was so sad to watch the pressure these women are under. Also the culture regarding how they’re treated by male fans.
Using the term “heartbreaking” to describe a little roundness in someone’s face is unhinged
It's so competitive that even if they pay nothing, a lot of girls will still apply.
And then that continues to prioritize women who have financial support from other sources, just like unpaid or low-paid internships sort out any applicants from non-wealthy backgrounds.
The way the coaches referred to them eating as ‘fuelings’ reminded me of the MLM company Optavia. (They call their food products ‘fuelings’ there & I’ve seen people suggest it is because the company can’t legally say that their products are food or something). It really wouldn’t surprise me if the DNCC was encouraging the Cheerleaders to use some MLM/shady meal planning company to meal prep
The cheerleaders also remind me of like the Playboy bunnies where it's considered an honor just to be a part of it and that should just be enough instead of being properly financially compensated, which is a joke. Pay these ladies damnit!
i was so upset they cut Anisha, especially so early, because she was one of the most entertaining and talented dancers. I refuse to believe their excuse of ''you'll not be able to learn to point your toes in time'' was such a weak reason to cut her. With her amount of skill, she absolutely could have improved her kicks to their standards before the games started. I hope she gets other dancing opportunities in the future, she's such a great performer :(
I also noticed that the WOC cheerleaders didn't get nearly as much screentime as their white teammates, which made me kinda sad. They were never really focused on outside of brief shots/conversations
Also also: that one scene with the conversation between the cameramen/crew where they were asked to ''choose their favourite cheerleader'', asked how to get closer to them, and said ''the Cowboys can't date them but there's no rule for you'' was so gross and felt really icky. I have no idea why it was even included, it added nothing to the documentary and was played off as a joke. Baffling lmao (especially considering the SA situation was in that same episode iirc?? Feels very tone-deaf and disrespectful to the cheerleaders, especially Sophy.)
My little brother's favorite middle school teacher was also a Dallas cheerleader. She had a hugely demanding full-time job to support herself because being a Dallas cheerleader wouldn't cut it. Horrifying.
she was a teacher and a cheerleader at the same time, or did she retire from cheerleading and became a teacher?
I take it that she did the jobs simultaneously, unfortunately for her :/
I wonder why she was his favorite
@@gabrielle_toliverhow are they even able to do both?
Excellent video-essay. From US, played football through high school, offered "academic" scholarships at small colleges to continue playing (i.e. I was decent but not a big deal by any stretch of the imagination) but my body was wrecked (I hid injuries for reasons that don't seem to make any sense now) and it really wasn't fun anymore. Lucky that I didn't require these scholarships to continue education. Looking back at the treatment of myself and teammates by some of our coaches and some of our teammates makes me wonder why we were willing to accept that treatment when (literarily) none of us were serious professional prospects (this was not a high-quality football league, but it was a path for scholarships and post-graduate high school athletes to get into "better" if not Ivy League schools... there were no cheerleaders). I had some fun and did make friends through the activity, but I do look back sometimes and ask, "WTF?" I can only imagine what these sort of reflections are like for former cheerleaders, and I am guessing they are darker conversations.
I don't believe I am making this up, but I couldn't find supporting evidence to back up the memory. You make a point later in the video that on TV, NFL cheerleaders barely get any coverage. I remember asking my parents at one point (late 80s?) why they didn't show cheerleaders as much as they used to. Whether it is positive or negative that I noticed I will leave up to your own judgment, but the answer I was given is that the cheerleaders had tried to bargain for compensation due to the amount of screen time they were given. The reaction, seemingly by response of the television networks, was to limit the amount of time that cheerleaders are televised. The idea from the question and answer that I walked away with is that TV networks (unless otherwise negotiated like Thanksgiving Day game halftime shows [Dallas and Detroit always play on the very US holiday of Thanksgiving]--and the Super Bowl) can only show cheerleaders for a limited amount of time until they are required to increase financial compensation... so they only televise cheerleaders up to the maximum amount of time until they have to pay a higher cost for screen time. Whether it was the front offices or the cheerleaders themselves who were doing the bargaining, I don't know, though I remember at least being told that it was the cheerleaders (my parents may have been mistaken and they both followed football, especially my mom). Again, this is a memory and I couldn't find the evidence, but I think it would still speak to the socio-economic exploitation model that you illustrate here (and has been structurally ingrained in the culture to the detriment of countless people). I don't believe dance, cheerleading and sport (if there really are very clear distinctions between them) are all nonsense that entrap the majority of participants and spectators in pure exploitation, but the amount of dehumanization and lack of ethics involved in these endeavors... that is a serious problem you are well to point out. Thanks for your work in demystification and hope your compensation is commensurate to your fine efforts.
I've played competitive ice hockey and seen a lot of the same pressure there, and recently, watching the Athlete A documentary about the USA Gymnastics cover-up of sexual abuse is that same environment taken to an even greater extremes. Especially given that poor kids see sports as a way to escape poverty and get financial stability, it's really disturbing to see how prevalent exploitation and abuse and pushing through injury all are, even before kids are legal adults, and definitely before they understand their rights and their human worth.
I used to think Cheerleading was only on movies, I'm not from US but when I was 15 I moved to California for a year and discovered that it is a real thing, but I always saw the Dallas Girls more like a Dance team more than a cheerleading team, and I also thought it was for like, college and High School, not a career (which seems to not be a good one tbh). Woman's sports in general have very stupid rules, like Gymnastics, I remember having my hair pulled back so tight because if got loose I would lose points, the collant could not move an inch because you can't get wedgies, no bra straps, no underwear apparent...it's all so useless and stupid.
ps: These old ladies are kind embarrassing, it's like they are stuck in time.
The feminist voice we need - as a Texan, thank you for vocalizing such a public problem.
P.S.
I’m a flight attendant for United airlines - under contract negotiations. It would be amazing to hear someone cover the archaic union laws we’re under and the struggle that we all face to get what we’re worth.
On the cheerleaders of color thing: I noticed that NONE of the legacy cheerleaders who were showed/showed up were non-white. No matter the time period. Which makes me question turnover rates, satisfaction, and overall culture specifically related to COCs.
As always, excellent analysis. Also can we talk about the absolute ick of that locker room scene of the men on the stadium tour?
Oh God, that was horrible. The fact men were in the locker room and asking the guide on how to get close to them...
It made my skin crawl when they told them to stand and pose like their favorite girl 🤢
the quality of your video essays are insane!
thank you!!
Gross to see so many coaches and managers ready to tear down anyone slightly below them. I couldn't believe the attitudes of the older women gawking at them "forgetting what it's about." Just insidious😖
Still I do wonder what it would be like to be one of those older women and eventually wake up to realization that you've spent your life being sculpted into an idealized extension of the patriarchy. Like I don't think they're like entirely oblivious to it-- I'm sure they all have their own unspoken ways of coping and justifying the ongoing abuse. Maybe the inner turmoil that a major shift in mindset would bring is (at least subconsciously) part of the reason it becomes increasingly harder for people to question these things as they get older😣
I doubt these women were born wanting to disempower other girls when they grew up. It's sad😒
i feel really lucky that my family was never into american football. two of my brothers played soccer and my mom was a big chicago cubs fan so we went to a few baseball games, and while baseball certainly has its own patriotism, i don't think anything touches the hyper masculinity of football. so many people are tied to their tvs and alcohol on sundays and my family just does whatever we want. i hope the best for these women, it's disgusting to hear that the nfl doesn't appear to have any funds to spare in their billions for these hard working employees.
My grandparents like the NFL, but it's primarily the Buffalo Bills and Arizona Cardinals for us. I'm also primarily a Phoenix Suns fan myself, though I also enjoy the Arizona Diamondbacks as well. The point is I'm more glad to not be into the Dallas Cowboys much, if at all, myself.
It is so weird that people are finally talking about how weird the Dallas cowboy cheerleader thing is. I grew up in a Dallas suburb, my second grade teacher’s husband was a DCC magazine salesman. Every month, she would give those magazines to us. Second graders- 8 year olds in 2008. It was deeply problematic, but somehow made sense in the north Texan Republican hypocrisy.
as someone from dallas im glad ppl are finally showing some light on this stuff crazy they only recently took the earlier seasons of dallas cowboys cheerleaders of hulu
The scream I scrumpt at the Drake shot and Animal Crossing x Kendrick Lamar crossover
I just saw that Jinelle Esther who I believe was a DCC for 6 or 7 years and she and her wife celebrated their anniversary not too long ago! I believe they were dating when she was on the team, although it wasn’t talked about on Making the team
I did not realize until the part with noah about naming cheerleaders is that i do not like football. I don't know how it is played, don't know anything about it. BUT I can name some NFL players, and I don't know a single cheerleader's name.
I was waiting for this, the Netflix documentary made me so mad. There were so many scenes that showed how disgusting the culture around these women is. For example the tour that lead into their locker rooms- the male tour guide that outright told the men to ogle the pictures of the girls ("do you like a blonde, a brunette, like her smile?") and then asked them to pick a favorite.
Very interesting video! I'm from Germany and had never heard of the DCC before. However, I like watching cult documentaries - I think that explains why this series was suggested to me.
I don't even know where to start with all the things I find problematic. The blatant body shaming, the extreme religiosity, the talk of the "greater purpose", why the women aren't paid properly even though the organization has literally billions, etc. etc. This extreme superficiality, the high-pitched sweet voices, the orientation towards the male gaze alone, all things that I find very unpleasant to watch.
And, contrary to what the protagonists think, not "the whole world" is interested in them.
This whole video is a culture shock to me. The US is so freaking weird. I literally cannot fathom that it's a real country & not just a TV show.
Trust me, as an American, I can't fathom it either.
@@inuhime We are indeed a weird nation, speaking as another American.
It’s not just the US, women are exploited for their bodies all over the world.
In elementary school, my grade went on a field trip to the Dallas cowboy stadium, and part of that trip was to tour the locker rooms of the football players and the cheerleaders. When we got to the cheerleaders, all I could think about was 1. Where do the boy cheerleaders get ready? And 2. Who are these people? I didn’t know a single cheerleaders name nor face prior to the field trip as someone who has lived in Texas my whole life with a family who loved the Dallas cowboys. I still don’t. I thought maybe it was because I didn’t like football much, but when I asked my peers, they said they didn’t know any of the cheerleaders either, but some of them could name every single football player if asked. A lot of the girls I asked even said they wanted to be a DCC before I asked if they knew any, which they did not. All this to say, I never really heard people talk or care about specific cheerleaders before, even with the knowledge of them existing before hand. It’s interesting to hear about them now.
As someone from Arlington (town of the dallas cowboys/at&t stadium) this video was really cool to watch!
I remember watching the show, "Making the Team" and seeing the episodes where the women would be brought to the grocery store to show the nutritionist what they ate in a day. The perfectly good, unopened food would be tossed in a garbage can.
elle literacy u have been crushing it with original content and unique ideas. keep slaying.
omg thank you!!!!!
1:33 “not that kind of BTS” made me laugh because since becoming a fan of theirs I literally can’t read “bts” as “behind the scenes” anymore
😂 Same!!
Mad respect for this video. Bravo. So well produced and researched.
thank you so much!!
THANK YOU!!! As someone who genuinely loves to watch cheerleaders and who wishes the football culture was more like highschool (where cheerleaders and highsteppers could be all different body types and its more of a fun thing than a cultish thing but alas not everything can just be a fun thing) I'm so disgusted with the way these women are treated and I hope they're all able to be successful in life beyond their cheer.
I found a lot of this documentary so outrageous that it almost felt like watching a mockumentary. (I kept thinking about the film Drop Dead Gorgeous.)
“They come here for something more than the money.”
Yes. Things like hip surgery in their twenties…
The amount of hospital visits they have to take after all that hard physical labour and they still get paid dirt … how do they even pay for their hospital bills
@@eunhaelee1628 For me it was more the fact these are dedicated dancers who have already trained since year dot and put everything into becoming as skilled as possible their entire childhoods and beyond with no compensation before they even step a foot inside the audition room.
They’re expecting professional dancers for minimal pay while upholding another job. Maximum commitment with minimum pay.
What got me was when Judy confesses that in her time they didn’t even have to do jump splits. But by god why on earth are the candidates daring to show fatigue doing so over and over. I was shocked that they’re expecting such a professional level when the coaches couldn’t do half of what they expect from the team themselves. Sickening.
this show bummed me out so bad like i felt dead inside when it was over im so happy u made this video
This is a really good video. What really resonated with me as a trans woman was the part about how certain skills are expected to be inherent.
I love your video essays so much. Loved this deep dive and actually haven’t seen any commentary on cheerleading yet somehow?? glad yours was my first as you spoke so eloquently and expressed everything so well. thank you for this video
thank you, I appreciate it :)
as somebody who lives in the part of dallas that jerry jones is from i will enjoy any video that goes after jerry jones and the operation his family runs. so much exploitation that is ignored because of the culture around football here in texas
HP is a beautiful-looking, well-manicured place, but I can't imagine living there. Same thing with being a cheerleader for the Cowboys. Glamorous on the outside, with a deep-seated unhappiness and hollowness on the inside. Like being a bird in a golden birdcage.
@@GiggleHertz64 living here has had some benefits and i'm so glad to have gotten the education i did here, but being a middle class person surrounded by millionaires and people who vacation in europe every summer has always made me feel like an outsider. the culture of competition makes it so that no connection feels real. and seeing my parents take up second jobs and side hustles to afford to live here while having to put on a facade so other parents don't pity us will always hurt. my family is leaving as soon as the nest is empty for sure
There’s actually two girls in the documentary series that I already knew of who were already pretty well known dancers. Leah Roga who got cut halfway through (former UCLA dance team member and former NBA dancer) and Sophia Laufer (the girl who was SA’d at the end. Sophia used to dance at a very well known studio in Los Angeles called “The Rage Entertainment Dance Complex” alongside her older sister Kyla, and they were both part of a very successful dance team “Floor Rookies” as well as “TJ and the Lil Mamas” when they were much younger, especially having performed on SYTYCD as guest stars with their teams. So both Leah and Sophia definitely deserved their spots, and are such hard workers.
I’ve been waiting for someone to do a video essay on this! Feeling excited, and sad, cause jeez that docuseries was hard to watch at times; even though it was presented as quite happy and amazing, it didn’t really feel that way, more corporate and cold
Born and raised Dallas Texan LOCKING tf in rn
what did you think???
@@bbarsell I think I'm absolutely not surprised that this pocket of misogyny is held up by women under the guide of a privileged opportunity. It really grinds my gears when people use honor and privilege to make sure people aren't paid what they are owed. It's criminal that they have to pay (net wise with hair makeup and time) to be in such a coveted group when they should be the ones getting big stacks for the risks they take and danger they are putting themselves in
I’ve been turning away from harsher content lately for my mental health and your content is so refreshing
I watched that show and there was something rubbing me the wrong way yet I could not put a finger on it. Your video perfectly summed up everything that was wrong with it. Kelly and Judy really pissed me off all the time, they really seem heartless and care more about the brand than about the girls. Bonus points for the scene were Kelly's daughter calls her to ask her to come with her to wedding dress shopping and Kelly's answer is not to make her cry because she has her makeup on 💔
I wish they would all boycott their employer all at once. The way they are treated, exploited, and underpaid is unacceptable and unnecessary-especially in 2024. Please consider boycotting, if none/most of you don’t apply of if you choose to quit, they will be left with no dancers and be forced to make changes. Much love and support, you guys deserve so much better.
If they boycott, they’ll just get fired and replaced
LMAO at 'there's not even a whisper of queerness" and yes american patriotism/nationalism displayed at sport events and even everyday events is astoninghsly absurd. the songs my elementary choir would sing in assemblies, we learned the song of every military branch, random patriotic songs. it truly is brainwashing. lastly one of my favorite things about living abroad (outside the us) is being able to completely ignore anything football related/the superbowl. it's glorious
The more you explain how it works the least I understand why anyone would think it’s a good idea for the short or long run. You never know if it will be a long time job, it fucks you up mentally, it fucks you up physically in a country where public healthcare does not exist, it’s impossible to save or maybe even live with the salary. Like, it just does not seem like a win in any part. It only seems like a win in the status it may give you but I am not even sure.
I fear you underestimate women's ability to self-inflict pain for the sake of acknowledgement from men
i think it’s so disrespectful that when the cowboys cheerleaders do their “thunderstruck” entrance, they don’t even get a full 4 minutes on the big screen! it cuts to old player clips every 10 seconds. also the players often get in the way, like get off the field you had all morning to warm up!
37:58 I think about that moment in the documentary so often. I could not sit there and smile and be super sweet while signing a photo of me in a swimsuit to give to some random old man, especially knowing I wasn’t even going to get a cut of the sales.
thank you elle for dropping this right as i’m visiting my family in texas! not dallas though… never dallas
AHHH I'm so happy to see this video. I had to stop watching the documentary because I didn't want to be a part of the worker exploitation. Someone needs to start a boycott to get them unionized.
It’s so hard to explain this mindset if you’re not a dancer from the south. I’m not justifying it, but I definitely was very obsessed with being a DCC at one point in my life, but even though I was very in shape as a dancer, I was definitely too “thick” for them and refused to embarrass myself 🤣🤣
Though I wasn’t a cheerleader I was in the color guard all 4 years of HS and the parallels were definitely there where we were expected to have these huge smiles from the second we stepped on the field until the second we got off the field. We would also pretty much always get catcalled and jeered at by both the home and away football teams as we marched around the track before the national anthem. Even during the game when we were in the stands playing tunes the band was allowed to sit down and take off their uniform jackets if it was hot (or put on coats if it was cold) while we werent allowed to modify our uniforms at all (put on jackets or during the winter) regardless of the weather despite our uniforms being usually made of this thin almost spandex material that was super skin tight and would show any amount of bloating or even particularly defined muscles (I had big-ish muscles and always got reprimanded for not looking “delicate” enough on the field). We weren’t allowed to sit down, we had to be smiling and cheering and “hyping up the crowd” the whole time. Also in terms of the appearance we had to look identical in terms of hair and makeup regardless of what actually suited our features or hair types (I’m half black and at least at my HS in NC the hair aspect was super sucky cause my hair wouldn’t do the sleek long ponytails that flowed down our backs in delicate curled ringlets). Our uniforms themselves were terrible as I mentioned they were thin and showed everything so we had to wear full on layers underneath of like leggings and stuff which again all had to perfectly match and despite us constantly complaining to our band director our uniforms never changed as there was never enough “funding” despite the band getting new uniforms I think my second year (admittedly tho the band got almost no funding in comparison to the football team despite them losing majority of their games throughout all 4 of my years). Even during band camp and during practices the band would be allowed to practice inside with ac while we had to be outside even when it got super hot (again NC summer heat) and we also weren’t allowed to wear “revealing” clothes to practice (athletic shorts, exposed sports bras, etc.). Also we often had to deal with band members and members of the sports teams coming to gawk at us when we’d stretch during practice and our guard coach would have to constantly be getting them to leave us alone. We were also generally just not treated as a part of the marching band by the rest of the school (at competitions usually only our guard would place yet they would never say it during morning announcements) and just overall our hard work got completely dismissed cause we wore sparkly outfits and waved pretty flags. I’d also like to add I was also a member of the JROTC drill team (essentially we marched) and the drill team got soooo much more respect from the school despite the fact that realistically guard was so much more work and required so much more of us than drill team ever did. There’s probably more I’ve forgotten but yea just thought I’d share my experience (btw I graduated hs in 2022 so not very long ago just to show that it’s still an issue even in recent years)
Omg I did color guard too and graduated the same year as you. I definitely believe that guard is a sport but one time my coach told me to not advocate for that in the school because it would be one of the first sports to be cut if need be, like I believe gymnastics was unfortunately cut. Believe me, I loved doing color guard even wish to still be doing it to this day, its the only thing that kept me in high school till the end after covid. But within my team the coaches and their children and family members would be a part of the team, and you can sense the amount of favoritism that they would give to their daughters. I still adore my coaches dearly and the experiences we've had along with the opportunities I was given during hs, but the family members were still given a lot of the lead parts in our shows, they are great performers don't get me wrong, but you can sense it was favoritism. I knew that at the time but didn't care too much simply because I enjoyed doing what I was doing. Our band director, mainly in my senior year, was such an asshole to us for no reason and would only yell at the color guard but no one else and he wasn't afraid to degrade us and yell at us in front of a lot of people. Part of me thinks because during the outdoor season WE were the stars of the halftime show, your band is just in the background noise sir, we were the only reason people had eyes on our show not your band lol. Thats my take on that!! Either way I loved guard and would still do it to this day if I had the chance.
The NFL players pee themselves on the benches and sidelines. I'm not joking. They "can't go to the bathroom" during the game so they pee themselves. I don't know any other sport where thats "okay" let alone allowed. They then go and play in those same pants......
truly disgusting
Cyclists do the same thing on long races 😅 but I think it's crazy they do that in the NFL because they're probably 20 feet from a bathroom, whereas in a 200km+ cycle race you might legitimately not have a place or a chance to go pee (although it's still a bit mank)
the nfl makes all that money but cant put a couple porta potties on the sidelines?! ewwww
Wait what??????? Truly insane.
That’s why women need to stay out of men’s spaces lol football players don’t care
This was my 1st video for you. Immediate subscribe. You said something I will take with me forever:
"White women are often the sleeper agents of the patriarchy."
Because it's so true. Historically speaking, white women are more protected and valued by the patriarchy. Meanwhile, the feminist movement was historically focused on the liberation of white women. That's why focusing on the plights more unique to black/brown women and trans women is so important now: the movement needs to include every fem-identifying individual, alongside our cis/het male and nonbinary allies to back us up in our fight.
I would’ve loved to hear you talk about the money that the Department of Defense has funnelled into paid patriotism in American sport. It’s so interesting and disturbing.
i'm kind of amazed that there was no mention of propaganda in the section about patriotism. that's what it is that's the whole point of the patriotism. i can't believe no one told you that! like seriously the military pays the nfl to feature the propaganda, that's the whole reason why colin kaepernick's protests of the national anthem were such a huge conspiracy- the military was paying them and he protested the usa itself, and brought a lot of attention to his protests no less. they were paying for propaganda and got called out for their evils instead.
oops i forgot to add this video is so good and such a concise summary of misogyny, thank you so much for the hard work you put into this video. i sent it to my partner!
loved you from your challengers video and coming back w my hidden hyperfixation bc i cant stop thinking about these women! im so happy kelcey is retired! it seemed like her legacy will always live on from the doc. also victoria leaving for GOOD and moving back to nyc to pursue dancing/audition for the rockettes is HEALING! oh gosh the new age w reece, madeline, and now charly and kelly making the team this time around but now reece is their 1st year vet, is v inch resting and i truly hope the best for these women. i dont really trust kelli, charlotte, judy and jerry
ahhh thank you for returning, glad you enjoyed!!
American football is a form of manifest destiny. It is sinuously intertwined into US's ethos. From the outside it serves the place of a cult where young bodies are ritually sacrificed. Its processes upkeeps the gender roles and social structures. And, at the same time, it distroyes people's lives. As a woman that has practiced competitive gymnastics, aesthetic sports are undervalued, especially when it is women doing the routines. It's never about looking like its laboured for women, it has to look flowy and effortless, while we are in pain, the thendons are snaping and the scalp itches from the amount of hair spray.
👏
The way Sophy was treated was disgusting. Kelli seemed surprised when she wanted to press charges. The ONLY thing she cares about is her and the Cowboys reputation. I wonder how much the police were paid off to say "there is just not enough evidence" and drop the whole thing. Smh.
While watching this series all I could think was of how it felt so culty. They don’t get paid much and are indoctrinated into this culture that convinces them that’s totally okay because it’s not about the money…. Even though it’s a job and they need to take off from their jobs to make sure they’re there for every game in the season. Don’t even get me started on the harmful split jump and the culture that appears to encourage ED brain (felt so bad for Victoria). Also, as someone who’s cheered and done ballet, if a costume is custom made for you, you keep it, period. Found it strange that they had to give everything back even though it was to their measurements. Lastly, there needs to be a movie akin to Concussion for how many hip replacements those improper split jumps have caused. Also, love the “naturally beautiful” part you added at the beginning considering how much those girls likely spend on grooming 😅
I found the argument that the girls shouldn’t be paid much because they earn it back in sisterhood and the fact it’s a big opportunity in dance so wildly misogynistic. You could apply the same argument to the football players, they would definitely still be there if they got paid minimum wage bc it’s a prestigious position but obviously they don’t. So much brainwashing it’s so exploitative