Sometimes, stepping out of the box can be hard to do and take a lot of courage. This is the case for junior Drake Davis and senior Laine Marler. Both are members of activities that are generally stereotyped to be exclusively for girls. Davis is a cheerleader and Marler is a member of the color guard. Both agreed that the activities that they’re involved in are heavily stereotyped towards girls.
“Guard is an all girl stereotype, because most people associate dancing with girls. It [took courage to join]. It was something completely new, and on top of that a bit out of my comfort zone,” Marler said.
Davis has a entire different perspective on the stereotypes.
“I get nervous because it is stereotypical. You think that everybody is watching you because you are the only guy out there,” Davis said.
According to Davis squadmate senior Sarah Jones, cheerleading is becoming less confined to just girls.
“There are 10 boys for every 15 girls. So I do think that it is becoming a more co-ed sport. It will [continue] to develop more as a sport,” said Jones.
Since Marler is the only male on the squad, it gives him the motivation to succeed.
“Since I’m the first guy in guard for like 10 years, i know people will be watching me. I know I have to push myself and work hard at it,” Marler said.
While having a male on the team might make some people look at the show differently, to Crowley it could not be better.
“I think it adds a little more, a little more people from all situations coming together. It changes a little bit of our story. Changes our product, what we put out on the field,” said Crowley.
The relationship between one male and twenty four girls, could be rather questionable. Teammate senior Rachel Crowley contests for the good relationship that Laine has with the rest of the team.
“I think that the whole team is really happy to have Laine. We just treat him the same as everybody else.” said Crowley.
However, there’s a vast amount of opportunities for men who are in traditionally female sports such as cheerleading or color guard.
“There’s a lot of college scholarships for male cheerleaders. Colleges are always looking for guys,” Davis said.
Marler has the same plans.
“If I go to a college [that has a] guard, then I’ll for sure go audition,” Marler said.
One could also wonder why they had the desire to join activities when they would receive backlash from peers.
According to Crowley, Marler has done a good job dealing with the comments and backlash that he has received.
“I mean things are going to be said no matter what, so he just has to keep his head up and know what’s in his heart is the real truth, and he does that for sure,” said Crowley.
Marler encourages guys to try out for the guard team and also thinks that having more guys audition would be an effective way to break the gender stereotype.
“I would just encourage guys who want to dance to do it. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Marler said.
Crowley can atest to Marler’s work ethic and desire to succeed.
“Laine works so hard. He has put in so much extra time. He is the hardest working new member all 4 years that I’ve been in it.       He has done extremely well. He is exceeding beyond all [expectations.]” said Crowley.
Davis agrees that while it was hard at first, cheerleading has grown on him.
“At first I thought it was kind of weird, but now I really like it,” Davis said.
Sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone and doing something that you’ve previously thought was just for one gender can totally open up ones mind and give you an entirely different perspective.
“Im glad I did it. I’ve found something that I’m very passionate about,” Marler said.