Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Exploitation in the Name of Patriotism

You may know them as “America’s Sweethearts”, but the way they’re treated is… not so sweet. It’s time to look at the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: how they’re idolised, how they’re controlled, and how they’re exploited.

0:00 intro
05:08 a very short history of cheer
07:54 devaluation & wages
20:23 beauty standards
29:30 thinness & diet culture
34:40 sexuality
39:20 harassment
42:25 the NFL, patriotism, & exploitation

Thank you to everyone who sent me their thoughts on Instagram! Extra special thank you to my bestie Rebecca as well as @noahsamsen for talking to me about NFL culture :-)

Noah’s channels:

Also shoutout @oliSUNvia and @FDSignifire for kindly allowing me to feature excerpts of their videos!!
oliSUNvia’s video:

FD Signifier’s video:

Other sources:
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Greg Whiteley, 2024
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution, Dana Shapiro, 2018
Woman’s Work: The NFL Cheerleading Problem, Yu Gu, 2019
America’s Girls podcast, Sarah Hepola, 2021
The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf, 1990

links:

faq
what's your accent? i lived in america til i was 7 and ireland since then so my accent is a mix between the two!
camera: canon m50 mark ii
editing: adobe premiere pro

[kiranadleeh]

"It was never about money" --- this line angers me so much. They get so much money off of them. If it isn't about money, why not pay them properly? Out of respect for their hard work?

[Mavisdundundunnnmanston]

Some cheerleaders tried to unionize. They were all fired. This was years ago and im glad this is getting more attention.

[Karkene]

The thing I found the most sad while watching the documentary series was that it seemed like none of the women had moved on. All the mothers were previous cheerleaders that had pushed the title onto their daughters, and the cheerleaders that quit didn’t know what to do next in life and were afraid that they’d reached their peak. It was like once you became part of the Dallas cowboys cheerleaders it stuck with you for the rest of your life. And that does’nt seem healthy.

[harpy]

It disgusts me how dismissive the older cheerleaders can be, saying the ones asking for money aren't "seeing the bigger picture." Like, fuck off, the amount of money in football IS the bigger picture. No one should have to grovel for better pay, but it's even worse when the pay is literally right there, given to pretty much everyone BUT the cheerleaders.

[AviKats]

“Younger ones now think of it as a job, we thought of it as a privilege.”

Yeah, probably because you were privileged enough to not need it as a job. Times change, and people have different circumstances than you: shocking, I know.

[shoggyfries]

Jobs should pay for grooming time if they require you to be highly groomed. Flight attendants, bank tellers, etc it’s so sexist

[catis]

"She's not at her trimmest state" ~Zooms in a skinny belly with abs lines~ 🙄

[moss_yt]

The treatment/exploitation of Dallas Cheerleaders sounds very similar to how Japanese/Korean idols are treated/exploited. Especially trainee culture. Oppressive agencies, inadequate compensation, constant weigh-ins and body critiques, parasocial relationships leading to stalkers that you still have to be nice to, presenting as sweet and innocent but also sexual. I wonder if the DC’s have a dating ban.

[jessrl]

As someone who grew up and currently lives in the Dallas area, I love seeing outsider perspectives (Non-US perspectives especially) on the culture that surrounds the Dallas Cowboys. I don't like the Cowboys. I dislike the NFL in general due to the exploitative nature of the sport and the college football culture that feeds into the NFL. It is very validating when other people see and talk about Jerry Jones (who is loved and worshiped in Dallas) and others in the Cowboys Executive Offices as the evil men that they are.

When the lawsuit in 2018 from the former cheeleader was making the news rounds, Jerry would threaten to keep players from talking to reporters of any news station that sounded like they were sympathetic to the woman suing them. He does that even now when he is under controversy or being sued for paternity (something that has happened more than a few times).

The Cheeleaders are treated like property by the fans. The amount of times I've heard men I've worked with talk about copping a feel when they are taking pictures with the cheerleaders and getting away with it because they women are not allowed to complain makes me sick. When I've tried to appeal to these men, asking if they would be okay if their daughter was a part of the DCC and was groped by a stranger, and almost all of them said they would be proud that their daughter made the team. They would always skip over the question of their daughter being assaulted in the same manner they just assaulted someone.

[kimberleesi]

"She's got a little more weight in the face" "I noticed that too. That's heartbreaking" is already a vile way to talk about a person but that their "fix" is basically she'll have to develop an eating disorder or lose her job...these people are sick

[litneyloxan]

I can't stand to see older women gatekeeping younger women from making money. It's worse because they know how much harder the struggle can be and choose to not care or be willing to spread the wealth.

[mehco-op]

I've been waiting for someone to review this show, let's get justice and fair pay for these women!

[rin-eri]

for the record, according to my sister, a cheerleader, almost all cheerleading scholarships go to men. female cheerleaders are a dime a dozen. it's much more rare for men to be cheerleaders. but in all top top level competitive cheer, the squad needs to be 1/3~1/2 male in order to do the stunts necessary to win competitions. And you need male strength to perform these stunts to the top ability.

[jimin]

So similar to kpop girl groups. Issues like payment, stalkers, weight, makeup, feminine visual expectations etc

[laylahassomethingtosay]

I know I'm leaving a lot of comments, but this also made me think of a part in Mina Le's recent video on WAGs where someone suggested that the presence of hyperfeminine women at sporting events is demanded by the need to uphold heteronormative masculinity. By introducing thin dainty femmes to juxtapose/accentuate the hypermasculinity of the players, both the players and the male spectators are able to enjoy the homoeroticism found in sports without having to question their sexuality or gender.

[ashley]

THANK YOU, it genuinely baffles me so much that during nfl games when the DCC cheerleaders perform they always cut to the football players plus the fact that while their performing the players don’t clear the field?? Like what! It’s genuinely insane that they can’t give them just 5 minutes to perform despite the fact that they promote these girls like their the pride of joy of American football.

[BlahBlah-bbrl]

The one thing that stuck with me during the Netflix series is how one girl decided to postpone surgery on her hip to do a fifth year as a dcc. Girl why🤦

[WereWereingtonTheThird]

great video! it really is disturbing to see how bitter some members of older generations are when it comes to efforts made by younger generations to advocate for themselves. i know there's already talk about that in relation to people just trying to afford college and housing, but it hits even harder for these cheerleaders under close scrutiny

[motionmesmerism]

Anisha is absolutely stunning with a supermodel body and an amazing dancer! She could have nailed that kick in like a week with training. When they dropped her I thought this shit is totally rigged.

[Noir]

This show is such a microcosm of so many structural issues within North American society. I'm really glad you did a deep dive on this because so many articles/reviews were lacking or only really focusing on the work of the director. I think it's important to note that this is what the DCC machine WANTED and ALLOWED us to see. All the comments around weight and appearance, all the framing around pay and safety. This was what DCC felt was acceptable to put out and stand behind. And it still came out feeling and looking like a rotted, oppressive institution.
I honestly felt happy for the girls who eventually didn't get in, because they were spared even more time boiling in this crab pot.