This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Rochester chapter.
On a sort of unrelated note to the Super Bowl
The upcoming Super Bowl has been garnering a lot of media attention as
expected, though many of the stories that are circulating seem to have nothing to
do with the actual participating team players (and everything to do with Beyonce).
One story, however, that recently caught my eye was that a Baltimore Ravens
cheerleader, Courtney Lenz, was denied permission to cheer at the Super Bowl. She
claimed that it was because she was 125 pounds, and her coaches wanted her at
120. Though many came to her defense, a few articles criticized her, saying that it
was part of her job description to keep up her appearance, and it made sense that if
she wasn’t performing up to par with one of her job requirements, she should be cut.
There’s been a lot of dispute over the legitimacy of her claims, but all of that
aside, I think it was significant for a myriad of reasons. It’s still sending a message to
girls that someone who possesses arguably the ideal body, even by today’s absurd
media standards, is still not good enough. It seems to further the idea that weight is
more than just a number, but also a deal breaker. It’s especially relevant because
National Eating Disorders Awareness Week is coming up at the end of the month,
from February 24th to March 2nd. NED Awareness has partnered up with NOW
Foundation’s Love Your Body Campaign, aiming to prevent eating disorders and
body image issues, as well as spreading awareness and reducing stigma
surrounding the disorders.
Overall, this feels like yet another event caused by today’s media to further
make girls hate their bodies, but unfortunately dragged football’s most important
day into it. The Super Bowl shouldn’t be centered around a possible media ploy, or
yet another attack on women’s body images. The Super Bowl should be about the
game, the commercials, and what’s sure to be an amazing half time performance.