Apparently, the University of Washington cheer captains somehow missed the underlying moral clause in Bring It On. Based on a “tryout look” infographic the team posted Monday night on its Facebook as a guide to prospective Huskies, grunge babe Missy Pantone would certainly never have made the cut.
The offending poster, an illustration of 29 superficial hair, makeup and body requirements for squad hopefuls, was removed from the group’s page early Tuesday morning after it (aptly) attracted a flurry of negative backlash. Why the team didn’t anticipate specifications like “body do’s: natural tan, spray tan” and “makeup don’ts: nude lips” being called into question is beyond us.
Only two(-ish) times out of 27 do the authors of the poster concern themselves with athletic ability rather than appearance, asking that potential cheerleaders be “physically fit” with an “athletic physique.” If the remainder of the points — which focus on skin tone, makeup, hair and dress — are any indication, we’d guess that the team’s definition of “athletic physique” is pretty narrow.
“In response to a high volume of student questions about cheer and dance team tryouts, a member of the UW spirit leadership team created a graphic aimed at providing interested students information in preparation for the tryouts,” the University of Washington athletic department told People. “The graphic was removed immediately, after a UW athletic department official saw it and determined that some of the details and descriptions provided were inconsistent with the values of the UW spirit program and department of athletics.”
As a recent tweet by the UW Athletic department reads, “Growth is found in difficult moments.” Let’s hope that, from this debacle, the team learns to appreciate solely cartwheeling skills, not makeup expertise. College is stressful and socially challenging enough without campus groups perpetuating sitcom stereotypes of how one should look in order to gain acceptance. For the moment, University of Washington Huskies, no spirit stick for you.
[ via People ]
