an athelete who participates in the sport of cheerleading.most are not sluts or preppy.and if they are, it has nothing to do with being a cheerleader. there are two types of cheerleaders:
Type 1-
a school cheerleader. stands on the sidelines, cheers for her team, performs during time-outs, and usually does stunts, but not very hard stunts. but not nescisarily stupid. at my school, all your grades have to be at least a B average.
Type 2-
An all-star cheerleader. Is on a team at a cheer gym, and does NOT have any sports teams attatched. they have a two and a half minute long routine, with tumbling, jumps, dancing, and STUNTS! all-star cheerleading requires extreme athletic ability. everyone on my team has to be able to do 100 push-ups non-stop. and were all under 11 years old. my team is stronger than the boy's gymnastics team at our gym. these kind of cheerleaders go to competitions. they train all year long for these competitions. at my gym, tryouts for the next season are the day we get back from our last competition. go on youtube and search "pro x cheerleading" and look at some real cheerleaders.

standing on the sidelines may not be a sport, but competitive cheerleading sure is.

and by the way, i am an all-star and school cheerleader. i only do school cheerleading so i can have more cheerleading in my life.

A Cheerleader is most commonly thought of as a brainless blonde bimbo who flirts with everyone etc.
And that may be true of some people, but it is sterotyping.
Some people think that cheerleaders must be white but this is also not true.
Cheerleading to many people is a sport, just as gymnastics and other aesthetically-pleasing sports are (e.g. ballet, dance).
Other people may also think that cheerleading is limited to America. It is not. Most schools in the UK for example do not have a Cheerleading Squad, but there will be opportunities to do this as a Sport in the Local Leisure Centre.
Other things to note: Cheerleaders aren't always blonde. That is the sterotype. They are not always preppy though I doubt that anywhere would have a punk Cheerleading Squad...
Cheerleading is often used in Media. It has featured in:
The Princess Diaries Movie (in a pretty negative form)
Bring It On (in a pretty positive form)
The Princess Diaries Book (in a pretty negative form to begin with, then more neutral)
The video for Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit.
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Other reasons for negative impacts on Cheerleading: They can make enemies easily. You cannot live without someone hating you, for some reason. These cheerleaders who make enemies then became the sterotype.
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Other reasons for positive impacts on ...

A person involved in cheerleading. The sporting activity, while negatively associated with unfavorable male and female personalities, demands rigorous athleticism, spirit, and team-work.

Cheerleading shown on ESPN is an extreme example of the athleticism. While most squads aren't competitive (i.e., co-ed partner stunts, gymnastics, etc.), more work goes into a good squad than just looking cute and sleeping around. (For bad squads, see shit.)

However, it seems a high percentage of perky, pretty girls fall under the category of slut. Unfortunate for the cheerleading world. Quite a good deal for the guys.

In defense of cheerleaders, though, there are cool ones out there with real personalities and real goals in life. Don't let the stereotypes fool you.

First off let me state that I am not from the US. I heard about cheerleaders from a friend but didn't know what they were. I came to UrbanDict to check it out. Although some definitions are overly negative and stereotypical, by reading the overt positive definitions I found out why people hate cheerleaders so much. While the negative definitions state that cheerleaders are blonde slutty airheads, the positive ones all said something like:
"I am a cheerleader and I am reaaaaal smart honest and I got accepted into harvard and stuff like that. Also stop saying that cheerleading is not a sport cuz we can break our necks yup and we have to fling people into the air and do REALLY HARD THINGS like handsprings. You try doing that. We cheerleaders are always there for our team and you're just jealous because you're not a cheerleader and because you can't get laid by one. So HA you loser!"

When I read that I was like woooooooow how pathetic.
Although I do not agree with the rants, I feel like the cheerleaders posting definitions like these just make them look worse than on the rants. Through the pisitive posts, I have found out that cheerleaders are all of that shit
1. Cheerleading is NOT a sport. It is a HOBBY for loosers who live in some village in like Wyoming with a population under 5 million. in other words, the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE
2. These positive posts show that cheerleaders truly are stuck up.
3. I do not dream about getting laid by cheerleaders. Sorry!
4. You must lea...

A slutty, snobby girl who is usually self-centered and typically a flunker at school. She makes a great fuck and can even give you free head if you are a football player.

someone who wears a uniform, which is usually skirt and top, and cheer for thier schools team at games. sometimes go to competitions against other squads.

Simply a person that is either on a competitive cheer team or represents their school's cheerleading squad.
can be of any race or origin or any size.
although it is rare to see an obese cheerleader because dancing combined with gymnastics and stunting usually will help any person get in shape.

the typical "preppy ditzy slutty girl" label doesn't apply. i know plenty of girls that cheer and get great grades, dress different from abercrombie&fitch and all the other labels, and don't live to please guys in innapropriate matters.

Hot chicks.