All-boy cheerleading squad

“I get the feeling of becoming a Billy Elliot – I dance, he dances; his dad don’t like him to dance, my dad don’t like me to dance.” – 9 year old Harvey Pratt, member of the all boy cheerleading troupe.

Earlier this month, the BBC ran a great story about an all boy cheerleading club from a “tough housing estate” in Yorkshire, England. About 40 boys make up the Dazl Diamonds, who range in age from 3-15 years old. According to founder and head coach, Ian Rodley, Dazl Diamonds is one of four other all-boy teams in the world today.

Cheerleading seems to have had a tremendously positive impact on these boys’ lives in terms of confidence, happiness, and performance at school. Predictably, most have struggled with acceptance from classmates and family. The article highlights the pressure placed on children to conform to traditional gender role stereotypes. Many of our ideas about appropriate gender roles can be traced back to the gender socialization we experienced as children and adolescents.

You can see the rest of the post, pictures of the boys and links to their Facebook and website here.