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Utah School Bans Cheerleading Outfits

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6 October 2016

By Alex Khalil

According to People magazine, a group of no less than 44 cheerleaders at a high school in Utah have been told they can’t wear their uniforms to sporting events.

This comes as a male student told a counsellor at the school he was having “impure thoughts” about the cheerleaders, and the boy’s mother complained promptly.

It is worth noting that the area is predominantly Mormon, which could explain why the school went to such drastic measures. The Provo School District has denied that the girls were told to not wear their uniforms.

The cheerleaders who were interviewed and quoted in People said their instructions were clear, given by the assistant principal.

A number of the girls’ parents were frustrated also, calling the entire situation nonsense. The girls were also annoyed, obviously.

Kate Kelly, founder of Ordain Women, where Mormons can ‘articulate issues of gender equality’, said, “In a culture where females are responsible for all sexual ‘sin,’ it unfortunately makes sense that girls – even talented athletes and performers – would be shamed for what they wear.”

She also pointed out that it just enhances the idea of rape culture. That the pressure will always be on the woman to dress appropriately, instead of men being taught not to be pigs. A number of schools in the UK have recently been tackling sexual harassment with the same argument.

And even universities are holding compulsory classes on sexual harassment and consent.

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