If there's one thing people that in the U.S. are good at, it's being outraged over something. Last week this outrage was over a Cheerios tweet commemorating Prince's life, and now its about a flyer at the University of Washington that advises women on how to audition for the university's cheerleading squad.
Specifically, the flyer depicted a list of "do's" and "don'ts" for personal appearance at cheer and dance tryouts. Some of the Do's includes having a "physically fit, athletic physique" and wearing "girl about town lipstick," while the Don'ts include having "visible tattoos" and wearing "distracting fingernail polish."
First reported by The Seattle Times, the poster quickly made the rounds on social media and soon went viral, with many accusing the university of reinforcing sexual and racial stereotypes. The criticism made it back to the University of Washington, prompting it to withdraw the flyer "in response to a high volume of student questions."
"Some of the details and descriptions provided were inconsistent with the values of the UW spirit program and department of athletics," the university said. "Athletic department officials have reinforced the values of the programs to UW spirit leadership, and look forward to an equitable and diverse tryout process for interested students."
The university's student government issued a statement of it's own, saying that the flyer "does not reflect the values of the University of Washington."
"An advertisement such as this completely objectifies women and creates barriers that only perpetuates the inaccessibility of opportunities that should be open for every student on this campus," it said.
With our penchant of quickly condemning things in the name of political correctness and progress, one question needs to be considered: just how bad is this poster? There are certainly some things wrong with it, but there are other aspects that are undeniably correct - such as the fact that applicants need to be physically fit.
It should be noted that cheerleading isn't the only place where such sexism exists. Flight attedants and employees in many areas of the food service industry, especially in casinos and nightclubs, are subject to this, as well. For example, one requirement for being a casino cocktail waitress at Traditions Spirits in Oklahoma includes the requirement that "employees must maintain the physical appearance necessary for the desired theme."
Casino managers have long maintained that requirements like these are in place because their waiststaff are hired to not just serve customers, but to also present a prescribed image.
In the meantime, the standards listed on UW's poster are not likely new requirements or exclusive to that school. There's no way we weren't somewhat aware of such requirements, either, but it appears having them out in the open is what tipped many over the edge. Even though the poster was taken down, it remains to be seen whether this backlash will be the herald of broader change.
