She's America's sweetheart, but she just might be America's superhero as well. The American cheerleader has become one of the nation's most cemented symbols of femininity, girlhood, and youthful power. But how does paying attention to the real life experiences of cheerleaders tell a different story about America's history of education, race, and gender? Brittany is joined by Dr. Natalie G. Adams, editor of The Cheer Reader, and contributor Dr. Amira Rose Davis to find out. Interested in more conversations on sports and gender? Check out these episodes: <a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/09/09/nx-s1-5962179/would-you-let-your-kids-play-football"target="_blank" >Would you let your kids play football?</a><a href="https://www.npr.org/2026/04/20/nx-s1-5788715/the-strange-politics-of-pilates-manosphere-love-is-blind"target="_blank" >The strange politics of Pilates</a> Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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