Science Cheerleaders Invite Children to Admire Their Perky, Bouncy Brains

By Erin Gloria Ryan  |  July 13, 2012 | 7:30pm
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One of the challenges in convincing little girls to want to be smart is that they’ve been indoctrinated by society and princess culture into thinking that being smart is a thing that ugly mustachioed chicks do because no one wanted to marry them and they’re too allergic to hoard cats. Enter the Science Cheerleaders — a group of former NFL and NBA dancers who work in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math and also enjoy dancing suggestively to 90’s jams while waving sparkly pompons.

Dozens of members of the group — which consists of 175 ex professional cheerleaders who now work in STEM fields — recently performed at the US Science and Engineering Festival, and video of the event is the perfect antidote for that crappy EU Science: It’s a Girl Thing! video we all rolled our eyes at a month ago. But that’s not all the Science Cheerleaders do. According to the group’s website,

These women aim to playfully challenge stereotypes, inspire young women to consider science and technology careers, and get people from all walks of life involved in formal and informal research projects demonstrating that science *is* for all!

It’s a shame that it takes a team of dancing Disney Princesses to give girls permission to want to enter the fields of science and technology (you can do it because conventionally beautiful women do it!), but it’s also a shame that smart women can’t be pretty, and pretty women can’t be smart. As the Science Cheerleaders demonstrate, some people are alpha humans. And that’s okay.

[Discovery]

 
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