“You are mega soft.”

The Minnesota Vikings have added two male cheerleaders to their present roster, and bigots are having the meltdown everybody may have predicted.

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Who are the male cheerleaders for the Minnesota Vikings?

Blaize Shiek and Louie Conn joined the Vikings cheerleading squad this 12 months. Although this isn’t a model new growth (a June submit on the squad’s official Instagram web page needs Conn a cheerful birthday, and Shiek posted about becoming a member of up in May), consideration was not too long ago drawn because of a number of movies shared on social media.

Male cheerleaders have existed within the NFL for many years, even for the Vikings.

Even although male cheerleaders aren’t remotely a brand new phenomenon, the kinds of people that wish to act as if society is within the midst of some disaster fueled by gender identification and the existence of homosexual individuals had been fast to stoke the flames. And the individuals who take heed to them, sadly, purchased proper in.

“I’ve been a Vikings fan all my life… sigh. I need a new team now,” wrote actor Kevin Sorbo.

“I call for a boycott of the Minnesota Vikings,” wrote X person @DisrespectedThe.

It’s not about cheerleading, however policing masculinity.

As a lot because the detractors and pearl-clutchers tried to protest, they simply don’t have a lot floor to face on. Cheerleaders have been blended gender for a very long time; these aren’t even the primary male cheerleaders which have been rooting for the Vikings.

“why are people acting like the vikings cheerleader is the first male cheerleader to ever exist? not really getting it” wrote @gabbgoudy.

“I hate that people are trying to make this the new viral thing to hate on. Men in cheer and dance has BEEN a thing, like- idk since at least the 50s? Probably even before? Only now are they acting like this is the “new woke” factor of the month,” added @okayitskit.

Republican presidents have been cheerleaders too

Not to say, a number of presidents—Republican presidents, at that—had been cheerleaders again of their day, together with Ronald Reagan at Eureka College, and George W Bush at Yale.

Some of the oldsters getting upset have tried to assert that the issue isn’t that there are male cheerleaders, however that there are male cheerleaders who aren’t performing out their private view of how masculinity ought to current. 

“I’ve been around college teams with male cheerleaders. At one point in time, they were called “Yell Kings.” They had been all muscular and had been the help buildings for towers, and so on.  This man dances like one of many women. So homosexual IMO.”

“I personally don’t care there’s a dude on the cheer team, but like dudes have a role on a cheer team. Make him a dude. He’s acting as a woman. And it’s degrading to everyone involved.”

Although we don’t know Shiek and Conn’s sexualities, it appears secure to say this type of outlook is fairly firmly rooted in homophobia. And regardless of how regressive the U.S. is perhaps getting, it’s nonetheless pathetic to see this perspective in motion.

“if you’re genuinely mad that one nfl team has one zesty man as a cheerleader, you are mega soft”

“Male cheerleaders aren’t a new thing, fam. Don’t worry – he won’t make you gay.”

“imagine paying for front row tickets to an NFL game to pay attention to the cheerleaders and not the game that’s being played. if you can’t take your eyes off a man dancing in front of you then you have some stuff to come to terms with and accept within yourself.”

Earlier this 12 months, OutSports famous that there have been male cheerleaders on seven completely different NFL groups. Somehow, the world has continued turning.

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