One Daily Universe reader recently submitted a letter to me, which I found to be particularly interesting considering a recent event. The letter: Megan Johnson from Calif., pointed out the irony inherent in Shade Clothing's sponsorship of the BYU cheerleaders. Shade Clothing claims to lead the market in modest fashion while the BYU cheerleaders wear sleeveless tops and short skirts. The event: Before football season really even gets going, University of Idaho cheerleaders spend $2,200 on new uniforms, because of complaints from fans that the old ones were too skimpy. While Bruce Pitman, dean of students at Idaho, admitted there were a number of fans who liked the NFL-style two-piece uniforms, the fact remains that enough spectators made enough noise to persuade the cheerleaders to cover up.
No fall semester is complete without at least a handful of letters to the editor regarding the immodesty of cheerleading uniforms. It's an issue that may seem tiresome, and yet, year after year, no significant changes are made. Having never been a cheerleader myself, I can only say with relative certainty that having a short skirt and sleeveless top is a fashionable rather than functional aspect of the sport, but I'm willing to go out on a limb with this one. I'm not one to require my roommates to submit to EFY's "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" Test before leaving home in the morning, but I do think that at a university that strives to be an example of modesty, we shouldn't have our immodest cheerleaders tossing modest T-shirts into the crowd ... at least not while cheerleaders at other universities are actually putting them on.
If modesty isn't reason enough, how about dignity? According to the Associated Press, Shelly Robson, an adviser to the spirit squad at the University of Idaho, said one of the reasons for the uniform change was that the scant uniforms were unflattering on some of the girls. "Not everybody's a size zero," she said. "We're not being a bunch of prudes." Point well made, Robson. You're right. Not everybody is a size zero. Many times, not even active, healthy, athletic girls. If you don't care about modesty, care about dressing for your body type. Prudes or no prudes, the Vandals acted in their best interest.
At worst, having modest uniforms would deemphasize the natural imperfections of the human body, preventing cheerleaders from "flaunting what they DON'T got" ... what almost nobody realistically "gots." At best, modest uniforms would help BYU rise to the high standard it upholds in so many other ways. We're not asking for hybrid nun-cheerleaders. By all means, look cute, look trendy. Just make sure you look like the proud prudes you are. If choosing modesty for modesty's sake makes you a prude, so be it. As for the rest of us, let's, like the Idaho fans, make enough noise to make this happen.
Copyright Brigham Young University 13 Oct 2008
