Cheerleading

Cheerleaders from Port Charlotte High School in Port Charlotte, Florida

Cheerleading is a sport in which performers cheer on sports teams at games or compete in cheerleading competitions. Participants in cheerleading are known as cheerleaders. There are usually more females than males on the team. A popular implement for gaining cheer is the pom-pom.

The sport is sometimes criticized as public indecency because some cheerleading uniforms include very short skirts and otherwise excessively expose the participants' skin.^[1] In 2007, varsity cheerleaders at a California high school were suspended from school for lifting their skirts to show "Indians #1" spelled out on their undergarments.^[2] Some network administrators have even blocked access to websites related to cheerleading due to concerns of indecency. It is important to note, however, that some cheerleading squads have made good-faith efforts to reduce indecency, some to a higher extent than others.^[3] Despite indecency concerns, many Christian schools have cheerleading squads. There are many cheerleaders themselves who are Christians.