Powder puff games during spirit week allow for a unique opportunity for genders to essentially switch roles, with boys taking on cheer leading positions on the sidelines and girls heading onto the football field.

As a new experience, powder puff may seem sexist, with prejudice and discrimination about the distinct gender placement. After all, powder puff certainly cements some of the gender role specifications that are already in place.

Girls are considered the weaker sex, so their job is on the sideline, putting on a pretty face and rallying the crowd with cheers.

Boys are often viewed as muscularly stronger, and tougher than girls, so they get to play against one another on the football field, showing their might through displays of athleticism.

But in this case, sexism just isn’t the right word. There isn’t any malicious intent in having guys try their hand at cheerleading, or girls playing football on the field. There really isn’t any harmful prejudice demonstrated by the powder puff event.

Although the gender stereotypes are so firmly in place that there may not be radical change occurring over the next years, powder puff is really allowing students to see what the opposite gender’s role is like in the football game, whether cheering or playing football.

The coordination required by cheerleaders to properly cheer on the sidelines is impressive, to say the least. Hours of practice to work on synchronization and stretches take their toll on cheerleaders just as much as any other sport. But now those girls find themselves on a different level of pressure and physical testing, as the powder puff games put their football skills to the test.

For boys, cheerleading is viewed as simpler than football, and much less strenuous on the body. Reality check; memorizing moves to music and chants and cheers is probably just as difficult as memorizing various football plays. Not to mention the crowd of people expecting great things and rallying chants from you as a cheerleader.

There are different views about cheerleading and football that are stereotypical, and society today mostly conforms to the gender expectations when it comes to the football field.

But powder puff isn’t sexist; it isn’t even really prejudiced against certain gender positions. Powder puff allows for an eye opening opportunity to see the difficulties and also the enjoyment of the different ways people participate in traditional football games.

by JOEL TIMMS