Honest Admission: Cheerleading Attire is "Eye Candy"
August 16, 2009
by Harry Osborne

Well, it is almost football season – time for the guys on the sideline to pad up and the girls on the sideline to undress. Several years ago, a young girl approached Leslie and I asking if we would buy some fund-raiser items. When asked what it benefitted, she said it was for her cheerleading squad. Our hearts sank as we knew the immodest dress normally associated with cheerleading outfits, but we hoped these outfits might be better. After noting the fact that cheerleading uniforms in our school days were not modest, we asked the high school girl how she would describe the ones she wore. Her reply was this: "On the top, it's a halter, and on the bottom, it's a cover for my panties." No, they had definitely not gotten better! Worst of all, the girl was a supposed to be Christian. Her parents and many members of the congregation defended her attire while condemning the one preaching against it. Their attempted defenses involved impugning the one who preached against such a practice for daring to think that the clothing was immodest or sexually suggestive. They claimed that the world did not even think of such things when looking at cheerleading outfits. However, my attention was caught by an article on the Fox News web site that dealt with the dress of cheerleaders. It not only admitted that things are getting worse, but also that cheerleading attire has historically been associated with sexual suggestiveness. Please consider the following:

Pom-poms, tiny skirts and big smiles are cheerleaders' trademarks, but the eternally perky sets are flashing a lot more than pearly whites on the sidelines this football season. The teasing sex appeal of classic cheerleading uniforms has been replaced in Philadelphia and a few other stadiums with mini two-piece ensembles that flash skin from cheek to cheek, stirring a variety of reactions from fans.

"I would say it achieved the 'wow' factor, which is something we were going after," said Philadelphia Eagles' cheerleading director Barbara Zaun. "Jaws were dropping when they debuted on Monday Night Football Sept. 8." The Eagles hired celebrity bridal gown designer Vera Wang to create new 2003 cheerleader uniforms, which do away with the skirts, in favor of boy shorts and a plunging top.

But not everyone is pleased with the revealing new look. "I think it's sad. I wouldn't want my daughter to be a cheerleader if that's how she had to sell herself," said Marie Wilson, a football fan and mother of three, who added that the games are a family event for many and having the camera zoom in on a cheerleader's cleavage can be uncomfortable.

However, Zaun contended that many fans appreciate the latest fashions. "It's exciting for male fans to see these gorgeous women in outfits that enhance their figures," she said. "We've gotten an overall positive response from the fans." Ben McRoberts, a 26-year-old football fan in New York City is one such admirer. "Every dude digs a cheerleader outfit," he said. And many female fans also appreciate the new uniforms, according to Zaun, who said women admire Wang's work and the athletic physiques the cheerleaders maintain. Wilson... said it's absurd that the team hired such a prominent designer to craft an outfit that looks like it "could've [been] pulled off the bathing suit rack at JC Penney."

The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders were the original stadium-heaters, wearing sexy western-inspired uniforms since the squad formed in 1972. They have stuck with their look ... that once had jaws dropping around the world, but now seem tame in comparison. The ensemble has only been slightly modified six times since conception.

The Eagles' outfits marked Wang's design debut on the gridiron and Zaun said having a well-known designer ensured attention for the cheerleaders and the team. "We wanted to be the first squad to have an internationally recognized designer design our uniforms, to set the Eagles cheerleaders apart from other squads," she said. "We feel they are glamorous, sophisticated and cutting edge." McRoberts said he wouldn't classify cheerleaders as classy, but as "extra eye candy thrown in the game" whose "main purpose is to act as sex appeal."

Over a three-year span, Wang worked on the uniforms, meeting with the team owner and actual cheerleaders to make sure the fit was right and comfortable for their routines. Eagles cheerleader Amanda Morris, 24, said the uniforms are keeping up with the times, as the squads swap rah-rahs for dance routines. "We practice all week in sports bras and shorts, so it's comfortable for us to perform in a similar uniform."

Whether cheering or jeering the new looks, Morris said even if the game is going poorly, crowds will stick around to watch the cheerleaders perform -- and the fans' fascination with the uniforms has been obvious. "People who are already sitting up close use binoculars," she said. "They can't get enough of us." Such fans will have their peepers locked on the fall uniform... consisting of a black mini-skirt and Grecian style top. Wintertime means tight black dance pants, a white leotard top and a three-quarter sleeved sweater that's "open at the chest," Zaun explained.

Despite attempts to go for a wow-factor, McRoberts said many guys prefer the nostalgic skirt uniform to the itsy-bitsy offerings today, explaining that cheer-lust goes back to high school when cheerleaders were considered untouchable. But Morris is convinced the new outfits will eventually win all fans over. "We knew it was going to be a little shocking, a little different, but every team has their persona and this is ours," she said.

That is in the honest, albeit lustful, admission of the world! Yes, cheerleading attire has been sexually suggestive, immodest and revealing -- and it continues to get worse. Yes, it is seen in the same light as modern swimwear. The Bible clearly condemns all such lustful displays, instructing "that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment" (1 Tim. 2:9).

The Bible says the modest clothing that should be worn is associated with "shamefastness." What does that mean? The original word referred to a sense of shame or modesty which is rooted in the character. In other words, it is that inner decency which recognizes the lack of clothing to be shameful. The word of God speaks of the lack of full clothing or "nakedness" as being shameful (Rev. 3:19; Isa. 47:3; 2 Sam. 6:20; Jer. 13:26).

However, the Bible term "naked" does not always refer to nudity, but also to a lack of the needed clothing for one's protection (Jas. 2:15-16). The book of Job speaks of one who "stripped the naked of their clothing" (Job 22:6). How could one strip the clothes off of a person who was already nude? Thus, the "nakedness" which is shameful is not just total nudity. Isaiah spoke of the uncovering of the thigh as resulting in nakedness being uncovered (Isa. 47:2-3). Since many modern fashions totally expose the thigh, how do you think God views them? "Shamefastness" is that which would cause one to blush if seen without being fully covered. It is a rare quality in our time! However, it is a quality demanded of those who would please God.

The Bible also says that modest clothing is associated with "sobriety." The sobriety under consideration is not solely speaking of being free from intoxication due to alcohol, although that may be involved, but is describing a state of sound judgment. W.E. Vine makes these comments (Expository Dict. of N.T. Words, vol. 4, p. 44-45):

It is that habitual inner self-government, with its constant rein on all the passions and desires, which would hinder the temptation to these from arising, or at all events from arising in such strength as would overbear the checks and barriers which "shamefastness" opposed to it.

Sobriety does not seek to define its "persona" with "shocking" dress, the "wow-factor" or "cutting edge" styles suggestive of the worldly lusts. It stays far away from such. Sobriety does not try to be the "eye candy" of "sex appeal" for the leering and lustful. It acts to subdue and constrain the lusts of man.

Should we defend and encourage young ladies in their efforts to wear the attire of modern cheerleaders? God forbid! The Bible-mandated characteristics of shamefastness and sobriety would keep one from wearing that which is designed to be the sexy, revealing and provocative styles that are synonymous with cheerleaders in our society.

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