G-O-O-O-O TEAM

From the beginning this story has been, across the boards, headlined as TWO CHEERLEADERS SHOT. Not Two Young Women or two teen girls but two CHEERLEADERS. What the fuck is that all about?

CNN
The most seriously wounded of 2 cheerleaders shot in a Texas parking lot is recovering from surgery, team official says

NBC News
Man arrested in shooting of two Texas cheerleaders after one mistakenly got into the wrong car 

NPR (!!! I expect better of them)
2 Texas cheerleaders were shot after 1 tried to get in the wrong car after practice

The Guardian
Two Texas cheerleaders shot in parking lot after almost getting into wrong car

To me these headlines reek of titillating clickbait. Cheerleaders are every boy’s dream, right? They’re young, attractive, ultra fit, wear those cute sexy outfits and are perky as all hell. Their sole purpose is to whip up the crowds to cheer on the team made up of boys, men. Like nurses, stewardesses, waitresses they’re in a serve and support men position. Enthusiastic smiling and unflagging support of the males of our disappointing species—that's the heart of the gig. No surprise that they’re heavily sexualized.

I totes understand that cheerleading, in some parts of our beleaguered country, has reached a stunning level of gymnastic athleticism. Cool but the reason cheerleaders exist remains the same—to support the boys and add sparkly, sexy, sizzle to the violent (and boring IMHO) game of football. Glitter and hot pizazz on top of gladiatorial bullshit.

In the context of the crazy, trigger happy, murderous asshole event, where does the fact that these two teen girls are cheerleaders fit? Were they shot as they sis-boom-bahed? Were they targeted by some jealous Karen who couldn’t make the team? Did the wannabe killer get turned down for a date by one of these epitomes of all American womanhood?

Nope on all three counts. These girls had been at practice and were headed home. They were in a grocery store parking lot switching cars for the long drive. I get that this is part of the story but every goddamn news source leads with CHEERLEADERS. If the girls had been at an art museum, would all the headlines read TWO ART APPRECIATORS SHOT! If they were coming home from a physics symposium would we see TWO ASPIRING SCIENTISTS SHOT!

Doubt it.

Yes, there’s the human interest angle. Because of that whole journalistic make-the-victim-human deal we know that Ralph Yarl plays bass clarinet and bassoon and is a top student planning on going to college in Texas. We know that Kaylin Gillis, the young woman shot dead in rural upstate New York was planning to start college in the fall—hoping to become a marine biologist. Interestingly, she had also been a cheerleader but, for whatever reason, that wasn’t included in every single goddamn article or any of the headlines.

Maybe that’s because, having graduated from high school, she was an ex cheerleader? Maybe Kaylin lost her headline appeal because she wanted to study serious science stuff instead of being a G-O-O-O-O TEAM girl?