Two Cheerleaders Shave Their Heads

The sports industry in the US ranks high in promoting and enforcing certain gender stereotypes. Men should like football, hot girls with rockin' bods are always cheerleaders, women don't understand sports, and, as a baseball fan, my favorite, if a man drinks a Budweiser at a game, and some model in a bikini will probably fawn over him. These all reinforce that females must be gorgeous, skinny, beautiful (such as the cheerleaders and beer models) and that men are more intelligent in areas that women just don't comprehend.

However, I was so happy to see two Indianapolis Colts cheerleaders breaking the stereotype, atleast to a certain degree. After the Colts coach was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago, the team began raising money, and as a challenge, two cheerleaders promised to shave their hair off if fans could raise $10,000.

The sportscasters only show their support of the girls without resorting to demeaning comments questioning their ability to be a cheerleader. So many women think their hair or certain physical features define their beauty; these cheerleaders, whose careers revolve essentially around being pretty and fit, are helping to break this gender expectation.