(PCM) The University of Washington is receiving a ton of backlash after they posted quite the controversial cheerleader tryouts flyer on their Facebook page. Many are finding the flyer, which has since been removed to be quite offensive and non-inclusive to people various ethnicity.
The flyer features a scantily clad thin, blonde, white woman accompanied by a list of do’s and don’ts for having a successful cheerleader and dance team tryout. Some of those do’s and don’t include make-up tips such as “Do have a bronze, beachy glow” and “Do wear false eye lashes” and “Don’t have nude lips” or “Don’t have dark smokey eyes”. They also feature hair tips such as “Do wear your hair straight or curled” and “Don’t have a ponytail or trendy colors”!
The director of programming for the UW student government, Jazmine Perez, is dumbfounded by the flyers saying “I can’t believe this is real. One of the first things that comes mind is objectification and idealization of Western beauty, which are values I would like to believe the University doesn’t want to perpetuate. As a student of color who looks nothing like the student in the poster, this feels very exclusive.”
Many feel that students who participate in other sports team do not have to adhere to the same physical/appearance standards. Once the internet began to fire up about the post it was immediately taken down and university officials commented “that some of the details and descriptions provided were inconsistent with the values of the UW spirit program and department of athletics.”