Give our girls more time to grow up

By Julie Hendrix, Henderson

Monday, Feb. 10, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

I admit, I was on my high school drill team and I cheered my way through school as a varsity cheerleader. It was fun to dance in front of the crowd with my parents sitting on the sidelines. However, there were a few moves that I felt awkward performing and the cringe on my mother’s face signified the inappropriateness.

Nonetheless, the student body loved each dance, and the boys cheered loudly after the performance.

As a mother of two daughters, I started them off in dance classes at an early age, but I’ve seen a few middle school and high school basketball games and watched in horror the halftime shows.

Young girls in sparkling, sleeveless and skintight costumes made their way to the center of the gym. The music began and they strutted to the beat, twerking as they flaunted their bottoms and wiggled their chests in just the right amount to raise one’s eyebrow. Why is this type of provocative dance acceptable in schools?

This needs to stop. Administrators of middle and high schools need to hire dance teachers who have values and instructors who will teach girls how to dance without the twerking, butt jiggling and chest pumping.

And parents, step up! If your daughter is doing a performance that makes you cringe, say something.

Lastly, to all the young teenage dancers out there: Respect yourself. You don’t need to perform provocative moves to make the dance better.