Culture Study Podcast - The Beautiful Cult of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

00:00:00.000 Hey, it's Melody. So my husband, Bobby, is a huge fan of the show. He listens to every

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00:01:19.520 okay i want you to take a second close your eyes and when you think of the cheerleaders

00:01:26.160 who's the one cheerleader whose face comes into your mind and can you just 0.93

00:01:32.600 that was gonna be my tf and can you describe their face sorry i jumped right in um dark brunette 0.88

00:01:41.420 hair i believe blue eyes really welcoming face only the only type of face that like a southern

00:01:48.000 Christian family could raise that's like heart-shaped it's heart-shaped right that's like

00:01:53.840 the right word for that like Reese Witherspoon yes oh that's so interesting I'd never even

00:01:59.280 connected those two but yes the voice that comes out of her body matches with that face

00:02:04.760 Sam who do you think of I think of and help me with the name the one who's about to go into her

00:02:11.760 fourth or fifth year is the daughter of a Cowboys cheerleader Victoria Victoria and no matter what 0.52

00:02:17.880 she does and no matter how hard she tries the mean coaches kind of just haze her and never give

00:02:25.220 her any shine yeah and she is having to walk through and suffer through a multitude of maladies

00:02:31.280 and neuroses trying to make it work and it just never works for her it breaks my heart and i go

00:02:38.200 to sleep thinking about her after i watch that show that poor baby

00:02:41.260 this is the culture study podcast and i'm ann helen peterson i'm sam sanders and i'm zach

00:02:52.740 safford and we are the hosts of vibe check today we are talking about the netflix show

00:02:57.380 america's sweethearts dallas cowboys cheerleaders which i think of as just like the dallas cowboys

00:03:03.520 cheerleaders show that's how i've been talking about it in shorthand we're trying to make this

00:03:07.700 episode welcoming to people who have not seen the show, but know a few things about what a

00:03:14.720 cheerleader for a football team, for a professional football team is, right? And the placement of the

00:03:20.640 Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders in particular in the American zeitgeist. So can either of you,

00:03:26.180 this is a huge challenge. I'll give you a present. I don't know, like, I'll give you some of the 60

00:03:30.900 degree weather that we have here right now. If you can summarize what the show is about.

00:03:37.080 America's Sweethearts follows the journey of one crop of Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders for one season, from auditions to the end of the football season.

00:03:50.300 you see many different types of women some returning cheerleaders some doing it for the

00:03:57.160 first time ever but in watching their journey you begin to understand over the course of the

00:04:03.120 seven or eight episodes that the dallas cowboy cheerleaders is a beautiful smiling heavily made

00:04:13.220 up cult that's my description of this show i yes it is a cult there's like a cult-like behavior to 0.99

00:04:22.880 this entity that is the dallas cowboys themselves and how these women do speak of working their

00:04:29.140 jobs as if they are part of a religion that has to be respected and that they have to fit within

00:04:34.680 in order to to survive in it so it does feel like a cult in many ways um yeah can i read the

00:04:40.840 description of a DCC so my dear friend Caitlin Dickerson who covers immigration uh she took

00:04:49.060 some time to write about this show for the Atlantic because she was obsessed with it as a

00:04:53.200 former high school cheerleader and she paused the show when they show the handbook and they show the

00:04:59.740 on the screen the page of the handbook that has the mission statement for what a DCC is can I just

00:05:05.640 read it and it'll tell you everything you want to know. It says, quote, what am I? I am a little

00:05:11.420 thing with a big meaning. I help everybody. I unlock doors, open hearts, do away with prejudices.

00:05:19.420 I create friendship and goodwill. I inspire respect and confidence. Everybody loves me.

00:05:26.740 I bore nobody. I violate no law. I cost nothing. Many have praised me. None have condemned me.

00:05:35.640 i am pleasing to everyone i am useful every moment of the day oh my god i whoa i wow that

00:05:49.240 that's a dystopian handbook like that's like yes yeah they i was listening to this um and i don't

00:05:58.640 want to get this wrong i was listening to a podcast this morning before we all talked

00:06:01.420 it's a podcast hosted by janine amapola and she had claire walford on who was a dallas cheerleader

00:06:07.520 in the show and in it she's talked a lot about that mission statement and said whenever i walked

00:06:13.060 into the locker room and felt myself being too critical of my body feeling too critical of like

00:06:17.260 all the stress i was feeling from the dallas cheerleaders um i would say well who can i serve

00:06:23.120 to make me forget about this and she was like they're being forced to go take care of someone

00:06:28.020 else instead of taking care of themselves which is just so dark they say the last line i am useful

00:06:34.460 every moment of the day yeah oh well they're useful because they have to have jobs outside

00:06:41.340 of this other job in order to make a living wage and they can't like start dating the football

00:06:49.320 players because fraternization is strictly prohibited then why join this team that would 0.96

00:06:54.160 be my whole reason for this like i'm marrying rich like what so yeah yeah i mean i it also

00:07:00.880 seems to borrow so heavily from evangelical culture in terms of like the place of the woman in the

00:07:06.200 home and like oh if you're if you're questioning your faithfulness in some way who do you go serve

00:07:12.500 right like how do you serve god in that moment how do you serve the dallas cowboys and the greater

00:07:17.320 world in that moment and usually at least as we see in the show that means like you go to a home

00:07:22.580 for for the elderly or i don't know you sign an autograph while the the men involved have to

00:07:30.880 hold the football so that they don't accidentally touch you in an appropriate way

00:07:35.360 don't tempt your christian brothers yeah well and there's so much of it that feels so churchy

00:07:41.200 because it's all so top down you know the two let's call them head coaches leaders of the team

00:07:46.600 these are older women who were cheerleaders back in the day they embody the patriarchy is wonderfully 0.94

00:07:54.080 dressed heavily made up older women but they embody it and what i notice about the way that 0.98

00:07:59.060 they do things you know nothing is ever an assault on anyone's character they just euphemistically

00:08:07.700 tell you they don't like you and they can't stand you by saying i don't know if those high kicks

00:08:13.020 were high enough or i don't know if you were looking happy enough today there's this roundabout

00:08:18.120 bless your heart way of in grouping and out grouping without ever saying it and that is so

00:08:24.480 church that is so church the pastor's never going to say i just don't like you they're going to find

00:08:30.500 some rule to say that you violated and that's how you know yeah you're too short yeah like that

00:08:36.480 poor girl who gets cut for being like how tall i think she was probably like five two or something 1.00

00:08:42.640 like that which is usually prized in most types of cheerleading but not in this one but like with 1.00

00:08:47.960 but like so like with victoria this was the one who keeps trying it keeps trying and she never

00:08:52.400 kind of makes it they do all these things to tell her they find her annoying without saying they

00:08:58.800 find her annoying yeah that's all their feedback and they just mask it in this other language the

00:09:04.140 masking of the real feedback the masking of how you feel that is so church to me that's so cult

00:09:09.340 to me oh oh 100 and like we learn over the course of the show that like she has gone through so much

00:09:19.380 and has been a main figure in like the previous dallas cowboys cheerleader shows but here she is

00:09:26.080 trying to figure out her way we're not going to do any spoilers into like is she going to try out

00:09:30.460 for another year is she going to make it this year like what's going on what how would you describe 0.78

00:09:34.800 her look her look is in every way begging for acceptance she's begging for these coaches to

00:09:41.040 love her she's begging for the crowds to love her and all of her beauty and energy and light

00:09:47.460 is hidden behind that anxiety it breaks my heart uh yes and also can we this won't spoil anything

00:09:54.820 but her interview set up in her bedroom how was that bed the entire width of the room and what

00:10:00.900 type of bed is it like it also it like blocks her shelving there's like a lot of questions i have

00:10:05.100 around design there too the maison sun the maison sun like the like the way that they shoot all of

00:10:12.580 these different characters you can tell like it's not a villain edit right it's a sympathy edit

00:10:17.320 almost like the way that the way that her um bed becomes the entire room and she looks surrounded

00:10:24.260 by like stuffed animals almost right like incredibly childlike and she's living in her

00:10:30.600 mom's home like we get that message as well well and it's funny that you speak to this sympathetic

00:10:36.460 edit all of the reviews of this show compare these filmmakers work to previous shows they've done

00:10:43.120 like cheer and what's the junior college football one was it last chance you which one is it yeah

00:10:49.020 yeah and they this show has gotten these creatives their worst reviews ever because

00:10:54.420 critics think that they sympathize too much with the subjects and I see it wow I see it

00:11:00.980 that I like that I like that because I sympathize with them too these poor things yes these poor

00:11:08.240 underpaid women we should sympathize with them like what are we doing yeah but it's also like

00:11:13.900 very you know I grew up in the south like Sam I grew up in Tennessee watching the show felt like 0.85

00:11:18.920 a really problematic warm blanket for me because it reminded me of all the passive aggressive ways 0.98

00:11:24.180 the white women in my life would speak to me in this like loving and caring way but it was all 1.00

00:11:29.260 about controlling my my body controlling my role in our community controlling how i operated inside

00:11:35.840 the church that we're a part of it was never really about me but the the things they were

00:11:40.460 saying were about me but no one was willing to just fess up and be like i have this feeling about

00:11:44.040 you and this is why you should change or whatever it's all masked in god religion the organization

00:11:48.780 all these things which makes you feel kind of gaslit the whole time and these women all feel

00:11:53.480 like they're super gaslit through this whole process well and you know they use a voice i

00:11:58.240 think reese actually uses it more than anyone else but you can see it in the coaches as well

00:12:02.680 and even in um charlotte jones the daughter christian baby girl it's christian baby christian

00:12:07.800 funny voice right and we just we just recorded an episode uh with a former trad wife who does

00:12:14.440 this incredible breakdown of fundy baby voice about how it's how you get what you want while

00:12:21.180 still like being pleasing to everyone right so you incorporate this idea that like i'm not going

00:12:27.180 to piss off any dudes but i'm going to wield my power get what i want yeah through this like be

00:12:34.060 sweet right okay this is a good this is a good jumping off point to start our question so this

00:12:40.980 first one comes from Allison. The show Cheer gave me the sense that cheerleaders are really

00:12:47.620 athletes. America's Sweethearts talked about the athleticism of the women a ton, but I never really

00:12:52.680 saw it displayed in a way that made sense. Like, why are these incredibly talented dancers, gymnasts, 1.00

00:12:58.500 etc., so enamored with being a cheerleader for this football team? Future career prospects,

00:13:03.240 clout, or something else? I don't get it. Wow. Like, why is an orthodontist invested

00:13:09.680 in becoming a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader?

00:13:12.760 This is an interesting question.

00:13:14.340 I think, okay, so the orthodontist,

00:13:16.460 one of my favorite characters.

00:13:17.680 Same, same.

00:13:18.380 Like, what?

00:13:19.200 You are brilliant.

00:13:20.400 You are beautiful.

00:13:21.160 And also gorgeous.

00:13:22.180 I was like, you have everything going for you, man.

00:13:24.000 Everything.

00:13:24.800 And you're like begging these people for acceptance

00:13:26.520 when you make more money than all these people.

00:13:28.360 Anyway, besides the point,

00:13:29.840 I think there's a very particular type 1.00

00:13:32.220 of Southern femininity 1.00

00:13:33.800 that these women are aspiring to be. 0.97

00:13:36.560 And it is very much like the Barbie-ification

00:13:38.660 of these women. 1.00

00:13:39.680 That, like, you have to be beautiful, you have to have a really incredible job that 1.00

00:13:43.700 gives back to the community, but you also have to be fit. 0.84

00:13:46.120 You have to be part of a woman's, like, a girl's group.

00:13:49.720 You have to be a strong person of faith, and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders are kind of

00:13:54.900 the epitome of all of the Southern qualities into one, and it's also, like, the most incredible

00:13:59.960 way for you to have power, but not too much power.

00:14:02.940 At the end of the day, you are a cheerleader on the sidelines to football players who are

00:14:07.720 the only people allowed on that field just to do one job you have to one day have kids you have to

00:14:13.220 be a nurse you have to look a certain way and act a certain way and also be able to do a high kick

00:14:18.040 into a split like that is in boots crazy it's yeah so that's where i think it's rooted in is 0.74

00:14:26.280 this idea of what being a woman should be because that's how these women talk they say like you know

00:14:31.840 when people look at me they should see jesus and that's what reese says and that to me was so

00:14:36.260 profound because that i never thought of jesus in that outfit and jesus looks sickening if that is

00:14:42.180 jesus well and it's part that you know what sam was saying about like evangelical culture like

00:14:47.020 that idea that you will be a messenger for christ's word by being somehow being like a public

00:14:53.260 christian on the field the thing that makes me think about like i think you are absolutely 1.00

00:14:58.560 ideologically correct the other thing that i think these women have some of them is they they 1.00

00:15:04.760 fucking love to cheer and like I loved it when I was a high school cheerleader junior high in high 1.00

00:15:09.780 school like oh I need pictures it's bad um but there's a high there and the reason I became a 0.98

00:15:17.120 cheerleader was because there were so few options available to do something anything in my high

00:15:23.180 school you know we didn't we had like two sports for girls at that time so it's like be a cheerleader 0.78

00:15:28.320 or be in the band and i think that a lot of these women have taken the position or the avenue of

00:15:36.060 power that is available to them and then they actually really like dancing totally and you can 0.66

00:15:41.020 see that and i think some of them like that fire for dancing has been dampened by like i mean they

00:15:49.400 don't get to improvise most of them don't get to do any choreography that dance for the acdc song

00:15:54.760 has been the dance for 30 years yeah i know and there was another question that we didn't use that

00:16:00.180 they're like uh this dance like the dance doesn't seem that difficult and really really they're not

00:16:07.000 they're not and i've seen when they're showing their own free form dancing that was intricate

00:16:11.500 and good and i was like do that on the field but they can't yeah they can't and what the ideal is

00:16:16.340 and they even talk about this too with people's looks is it's not the best it's the most in line

00:16:22.820 with the understanding of the style of dance 1.00

00:16:25.660 that cowboys cheerleaders do

00:16:27.160 and the cowboys cheerleader look.

00:16:30.240 You actually can't be too pretty in a certain way.

00:16:32.980 That would be distracting. 0.75

00:16:34.260 Your beauty cannot distract from the cowboy of it all.

00:16:36.780 I was saying to that point,

00:16:38.040 that is to me the most material way

00:16:40.460 of thinking of the patriarchy itself.

00:16:42.380 It's saying, hey, you're an individual.

00:16:44.560 You're part of your own story, community, way of being.

00:16:47.660 But when you are with us, you have to lose all of that.

00:16:50.140 And you have to get literally in line

00:16:51.860 and perform as one and lose all sense of individuality

00:16:55.840 no matter how special you are.

00:16:57.640 And that is also a cult.

00:16:58.600 That's a cult.

00:17:00.340 I will say that when I think about this question from the listener,

00:17:03.520 why are these talented dancers so enamored with this?

00:17:07.100 One, I'm careful about how I ask why questions

00:17:09.900 because that's sometimes assumed that these people don't have agency.

00:17:12.560 They do have agency.

00:17:13.420 They know exactly what they're doing. 0.98

00:17:15.320 But two, I think they're aware of something that all women are aware of,

00:17:18.960 and that is time.

00:17:19.700 there's a clock on these bodies there was a clock on these bodies and given the nature of the 0.67

00:17:26.820 physicality of the job they can only do it for a few years and given the beauty standards that 0.99

00:17:31.860 these people require to be a cheerleader their bodies will have aged out otherwise by like 30

00:17:36.920 so if they want it they have to do it now that's why you have an orthodontist a dentist you know 0.99

00:17:42.820 putting a dentistry career on the back burner to do this because she can be a dentist at 40 or 50

00:17:48.620 she cannot be a DCC at 28 they're aware of time yeah I was just gonna say that she's the only

00:17:56.500 character that I felt I was like she's gonna be fine fine right and it's because she had a whole

00:18:03.200 life that was not DCC right and that's why there's so much sadness for Victoria because she has no

00:18:10.680 life no life yeah and like also Victoria knows that if she doesn't get to be team leader this

00:18:17.020 last year it'll never happen for her because she is aging out and what I love how you're talking

00:18:22.200 about clock because as I was doing research for today and listening to some of the there's like

00:18:26.100 a whole genre of Christian influencer podcast which I didn't know existed till today and a lot

00:18:31.080 of these women are on it and they were all talking about that clock and that the reason why they're

00:18:36.320 okay having other jobs while being in DCC is because the clock is ticking and this will not 0.74

00:18:41.860 always be like this and they need to be prepared for what happens afterwards which is such a wild

00:18:47.640 burden to carry on yourself to rationalize your the way in which this is like subjectifying you

00:18:54.360 and like not giving you really any like power in the world like it's so limiting in many ways and

00:18:59.800 yet they're just saying more and more and control me more and yes i'll carry more burden on me it's

00:19:04.440 a pretty incredible system they've built for them isn't there one who like has to take a year off to

00:19:09.680 have hip surgery and then she wants to come back after the hip surgery she no it's the one who's 0.78

00:19:16.480 she's this the older sister anna yes and she so she does her five years and kind of ignores a

00:19:24.080 bunch of pain and then has to have two surgeries my god and it's this incredibly common injury

00:19:32.320 amongst those cheerleaders for the landing in the splits and we should describe this move because

00:19:38.460 it is like it is a centerpiece of the work they do and the showpiece for the main song and they

00:19:44.060 work like dogs to get to it they're in their cowboy boots in their outfits on the field

00:19:50.540 they're high kicking but then they do a jumping split so they jump into the air and are in full

00:19:56.620 split in the air then they fall down to the astroturf in a split and you see the feet hit

00:20:04.540 and the boots hit

00:20:05.380 then it slides even further

00:20:06.920 and they scissor themselves

00:20:08.660 on the turf

00:20:09.880 from a jumping split.

00:20:12.780 It is,

00:20:13.820 I saw it

00:20:14.840 and my hips hurt

00:20:15.880 just watching it.

00:20:17.400 When I saw it,

00:20:18.500 I was with a friend

00:20:19.400 that's a performing drag queen

00:20:20.680 in New York

00:20:21.180 and he said,

00:20:22.120 I'm so mad that this show exists

00:20:23.460 because now every queen

00:20:24.340 in New York 1.00

00:20:24.740 is going to have to learn

00:20:25.580 the split.

00:20:29.640 I was like,

00:20:30.340 you're so right. 1.00

00:20:31.240 Like all these drag queens 1.00

00:20:31.940 are now at home 1.00

00:20:32.400 like working on

00:20:33.180 their thunder jumps.

00:20:34.540 well and the thing that it makes me think of and the way that they talk about this move because

00:20:40.240 they spend a whole period of time talking about it in the show is that we have to do it because

00:20:46.360 it's tradition we have to do it because it is spectacle like they're like it does look really

00:20:52.640 cool right and yeah sure but they're like it doesn't matter if we're tearing up the hips

00:20:59.180 of people right which isn't kind of in line with football like it doesn't matter if the type of

00:21:04.860 hits that we allow are giving incredible amounts of brain damage that have these repercussions for

00:21:10.280 the rest of these players lives it's it's what we do so that's what we do and this is so much a part

00:21:16.200 of like evangelical christian theology it is the subjugation and punishment of the body for the

00:21:23.480 greater good. One of the central ideas of evangelical Christianity is that our bodies are bad. And in

00:21:30.380 order to draw closer to God, we must in some way punish our bodies. Whether we're fasting, whether

00:21:37.220 we're wearing circumspect clothing, whether we're praying for hours until we're exhausted, the way

00:21:44.660 to pleasing God is by subjugating and punishing the body. Well, Sam, what you're also describing

00:21:50.960 is the 2024 Republican platform, too.

00:21:53.780 Like, this is how they are building legislation around, 0.76

00:21:56.720 especially women's bodies. 1.00

00:21:58.720 They're saying you should have literally no control 1.00

00:22:01.400 over the care of your body,

00:22:02.900 and whatever happens to it doesn't matter

00:22:04.860 as long as it's producing.

00:22:06.060 For the greater good.

00:22:06.800 For the greater good.

00:22:07.520 For God.

00:22:07.980 And for these babies.

00:22:09.220 Yes.

00:22:09.860 Yes.

00:22:10.600 Okay, so our next question points out

00:22:12.220 another cultural through line of the show,

00:22:14.180 and this one comes from Jess.

00:22:15.640 The DCC embraced Christianity more thoroughly

00:22:18.080 than either the director's preceding docuseries Cheer

00:22:20.580 or Friday Night Lights, my main cultural touchpoint

00:22:23.220 for Texas football, which seems like a liberal-washed fantasy

00:22:25.860 compared to America's sweethearts.

00:22:27.720 How much of this shift was inherent to the subjects filmed

00:22:30.180 versus new cultural positioning for evangelicalism?

00:22:33.340 It's not new, it's just true.

00:22:35.360 It's not new, it's just true.

00:22:37.360 The Friday Night Lights of it all was hiding that truth.

00:22:41.480 But I grew up...

00:22:42.160 Although we did have...

00:22:43.060 We had, like, Lila went... 0.86

00:22:44.620 She went Christian in season three.

00:22:46.780 But they could have gone even further. 0.95

00:22:48.640 They could have gone even further.

00:22:49.340 I was in marching band growing up in 5A South Texas High School, the Jetson Rockets.

00:22:57.480 They were state champs several times.

00:22:59.300 My freshman year, I think we lost the state championship.

00:23:01.980 But I remember the fellowship of Christian athletes.

00:23:04.800 I remember them praying on the field.

00:23:07.360 I remember the language of God being present in all that we did.

00:23:12.520 I remember we would play some Christian songs in the marching band at the games.

00:23:16.800 The football field is a second church in some of these towns, and it is clear and present all the time.

00:23:27.500 So I think this show, America's Sweethearts, is not about a shift.

00:23:31.420 It is about a return to showing this for what it is and what it's always been.

00:23:37.280 Southern football is a Christian endeavor.

00:23:39.860 And I would say the Dallas Cowboys themselves have always been perceived as a Christian vehicle within football.

00:23:46.800 Jerry Jones and that Jones family are deeply religious people who see the work they do

00:23:51.440 as a gift from God.

00:23:53.240 And the more religious they get, the wealthier they get.

00:23:55.720 So that organization itself has it pumping through.

00:23:57.860 It's not a coincidence that they're having Bible study.

00:23:59.960 And when I did my background research and listened to the non-famous ones in this season

00:24:04.280 talking about their experiences, many of these women said they join DCC because as dancers,

00:24:09.620 it's hard to find spaces where Christianity is supported at work. 0.75

00:24:13.660 And this is one of the places they could do that. 0.97

00:24:15.740 Also, do you remember the episode where a few of the cheerleaders go to the evangelical church?

00:24:21.160 Yes.

00:24:21.720 A beautiful chocolate drop of a pastor.

00:24:24.020 So fine.

00:24:25.020 I wanted to love that man up and down.

00:24:27.240 And then on the pulpit, he prays for the Cowboys.

00:24:30.580 He said, God bless Dallas, and God bless the Dallas Cowboys.

00:24:34.620 Yes.

00:24:35.540 And Sam, your attraction to him is rooted in trauma.

00:24:39.260 It sure is.

00:24:40.540 It sure is. 1.00

00:24:42.240 Listen, he could pray away the gay any day. 1.00

00:24:45.120 It may not go away after you're with him. 1.00

00:24:46.980 I'm kidding.

00:24:49.320 That man was fine.

00:24:50.140 We had a question from someone who's very much not from Texas who was like, you know,

00:24:56.400 I only saw a couple of curly haired girls trying out who could have like been construed

00:25:01.280 as maybe possibly Jewish in some way. 0.89

00:25:04.160 Like, where's the position of like, could a Jewish girl be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader? 0.89

00:25:09.800 Ostensibly, yes. 1.00

00:25:10.940 Right.

00:25:11.500 But like, it's that.

00:25:13.520 Yeah.

00:25:13.660 no i mean i think that'd be it it's it's one of those things where like people in those cultures

00:25:21.380 say of course we welcome everyone but like how suffocating it would be well to be in that do 0.92

00:25:28.740 you remember that scene where there's the black woman who just like has to basically get new hair 0.99

00:25:32.320 because they're like sure you can be black but yeah but even more stark was the moment in which

00:25:38.200 they hand out barbie dolls and the women of color are assumed to just get a brunette one not even a

00:25:43.640 person of color here's a brunette like what yeah and like you'll notice now the cowboy cheerleaders 0.75

00:25:50.660 they always have a few black girls they'll do it they'll have latinas they really think they're

00:25:55.780 doing the lord's work just by doing that but they're asking all of these women not from central 0.99

00:26:00.520 casting yes to subjugate their bodies straighten their hair hide their features hide their dance 0.89

00:26:07.520 moves to fit in so it's like you can be black you can be brown you can be jewish but you 0.94

00:26:13.240 still better look like these dolls yeah and you have to grow up in a dance tradition that is

00:26:21.040 specific like you know there there's this very coded language that they use on our orthodontist

00:26:28.540 character who is indian american to say essentially in order to kick like we expect you to kick in

00:26:35.080 the dance line you need to learn how to start kicking like this like when you are a very like

00:26:40.500 when you are a very young girl so you have to be schooled in this style of kicking which is 1.00

00:26:47.500 rocket style kicking incredibly young so other dance traditions are like girl your shit's too 0.99

00:26:52.960 ethnic sorry yeah you know that's what they're saying but they would never say that overtly 0.99

00:26:57.800 exactly so they say you just you need to learn that yeah this is a thing about

00:27:03.000 this version of Christianity everyone who does it well is a master communicator you have to be

00:27:11.420 very good at language and very good at euphemism and metaphor because you can never actually say

00:27:16.680 what you want so I'm always interested in who they choose to actually follow right and make

00:27:22.900 main characters and just from my experience on documentaries I know that they often get

00:27:28.160 a lot more footage like there are people that they interviewed at length who are not part in there of

00:27:34.380 this final and that there's a i think she's a first year black woman who's in a ton she sits

00:27:43.820 on the kitchen island a lot right no that's the one who's gone oh okay she kept it real she kept

00:27:49.380 it real yes she was like i'm done with this organization i'm gonna talk some stuff she's 1.00

00:27:54.860 like all these bitches getting married this is boring um but but there's another one who we don't 1.00

00:28:02.240 even know her name maybe maybe we got it one time but she like she goes to the the old folks home 1.00

00:28:08.280 like she is in a ton of the footage but they don't include her as a main character i want to know what

00:28:14.660 she has to say the entire time and they like don't i i went back to watch the cmt version of this

00:28:19.740 which came out in 2006 and ran for i think 16 seasons and i'm not gone through the whole thing

00:28:24.420 again, maybe I should use ShadGBT to like analyze every episode so I can know quicker. But I don't

00:28:28.640 think there were any black protagonists in those episodes either. Like they were always in the 1.00

00:28:33.120 background, but it was always the same type of white woman who was allowed to speak where the 1.00

00:28:37.660 women of color were silenced in the background. And you would never know their story. But when 1.00

00:28:42.840 they did make it, you're like, okay, well, there is diversity there. They're sitting there, but

00:28:46.340 they're not talking, which feels like the experience of so many people of color right now 1.00

00:28:50.380 in culture where they're like, okay, I've been cast, but I don't really have like a meaningful

00:28:53.420 role here you're not letting me actually say what I want to say right now right yeah yeah or maybe

00:28:59.880 you're like I don't want to be part of this show because I know what edit you're gonna give me

00:29:03.980 so we're gonna talk a little bit here about diet culture and upholding thin ideals which by the

00:29:12.100 way is also the theme of the ask and anything segment today so be sure to stick around for that

00:29:17.560 but this question comes from Michaela and Melody's gonna read it Kelly and Judy use the word

00:29:22.680 fueling a lot it's clearly code for not engaging in disordered eating behaviors but is this

00:29:29.620 antithetical to the image they require girls to have like is this just an attempt to not get 0.67

00:29:35.520 canceled for how they talk about the cheerleaders bodies i love this question when they said fuel

00:29:44.020 or fuel make sure you're fueled i like every red flag went off in my body whoa where is this coming

00:29:50.140 from like why was that so intentional that they're saying that and then i went back and watched some 1.00

00:29:54.260 old footage and the first few seasons of the cmt version all they focus on is that these girls have 0.65

00:29:59.940 gained weight like literally they will not bring girls back who there's a in the very first episode

00:30:04.180 of the first season one of the judges says we should not bring her back because during break

00:30:09.260 she gained weight and that shows that she doesn't care about herself and it's like what is going on

00:30:14.440 so the whole culture is deeply rooted in a body dysmorphia and they have been actively trying to

00:30:19.500 change it and and in this interview i listened to this morning with one of the current cheerleaders

00:30:23.880 or current all-stars she defended it by saying the dcc is more body inclusive than ever before

00:30:29.520 right now which was the most telling statement that this new version is the biggest they've

00:30:34.600 ever been allowed to be which is still not by any standards probably healthy for most of them to

00:30:40.300 upkeep forever what i noticed about all of it is the ways in which their adherence to tradition

00:30:46.120 and kept them from being kinder to human bodies.

00:30:50.240 Have you noticed how old 0.97

00:30:51.860 that Cowboys cheerleaders outfit looks?

00:30:55.200 The look of it feels like it's still stuck in the 1970s.

00:30:59.000 And it's not at all forgiving.

00:30:59.660 It's a literal blouse.

00:31:00.820 It's a blouse.

00:31:03.280 And it's not forgiving.

00:31:04.580 But if they really wanted to be in any way progressive

00:31:07.420 or kind to women, 0.64

00:31:09.120 they could find a new uniform type

00:31:11.620 that still feels very Cowboys

00:31:13.120 but allows bodies to more just be bodies they don't want to do that they don't want to do that

00:31:19.040 right and that doesn't mean that it has to be like a full-length majorette all like outfit or

00:31:24.580 i don't know like just a higher waist even like what taylor swift wears right yeah which is like

00:31:30.120 a body suit type of a body suit you know high-waisted crop top type situation but again

00:31:36.560 it's like similar to the kicks we always did it so we always do it is what we do yeah i think that

00:31:42.180 they got media training specifically on how to talk about that because of the feedback that they

00:31:47.700 probably have received from the first the other show i mean i think they all were trained in

00:31:54.620 various ways um especially like charlotte jones on how to talk about the compensation and how

00:32:00.220 this is why we don't pay them anything it's because like this is the chance of a lifetime

00:32:04.660 it's essentially like a shit passion job but i think the fueling thing also reflects shifts 0.89

00:32:10.460 in the way that culture at large talks of like it's no longer cool to have like 0.96

00:32:18.060 to skip meals unless you're a tech bro when you call it intermittent fasting and biohacking right

00:32:24.820 right the norms of the 2000s and 2010s are no longer the norms and so you have to talk about it

00:32:31.380 like within this realm of wellness where something like fueling becomes appropriate yeah

00:32:37.460 yeah it definitely it made me think about well actually i heard one of them talk about this in

00:32:42.780 an interview after the show where they were talking about counting their macros and their

00:32:46.060 macronutrients and so there's all this new language that has been propped up in an era in which we're

00:32:51.500 very aware of disordered eating and how eating disorder culture permeates everywhere so fitness

00:32:56.520 culture has found new ways for you to police your body that is coded in well you're eating something

00:33:01.500 but it's still not even what you want maybe or what your body actually needs it's about upkeeping

00:33:06.740 an athleticism that is really just a veil for body dysmorphia and other issues you may be facing

00:33:12.500 yep i also find how juxtaposed all of the food culture of the dallas cowboys cheerleaders is

00:33:20.300 when compared to the aesthetic of the dallas cowboys and texas culture itself

00:33:27.060 texas culture is big food greasy food fatty food ginormous beef ribs so the product these 0.99

00:33:34.560 cheerleaders are selling is one of excess including food excess and yet they have to starve

00:33:40.680 themselves to be symbols of it what is everyone else at these games eating this is like the classic

00:33:48.340 like if you are a patriarch in one of these families like you need to make a giant feast

00:33:53.700 and then eat none of it exactly exactly right you can make the casserole don't have a bite

00:34:00.400 One bite. Just a little bite. While you're standing up and then you got to start cleaning.

00:34:07.920 Yeah. Okay. We have another question about women's bodies. This is from Emily and Melody's

00:34:13.300 going to read it. I would love a deep analysis and discussion of the specific brand of Texan

00:34:19.060 feminine politeness on display in America's sweethearts. Of all the fascinating and at some

00:34:24.760 points repulsive behavior shown throughout. What I kept being captivated by was the way all of the

00:34:30.640 women just stood there and took critiques about their bodies, their facial structures, their hip 1.00

00:34:36.140 joints, and just said thank you through the tears. I guess this wasn't really a question, but I would

00:34:41.400 love someone from Texas, Sam Sanders, to unpack this for me as a Northeast Corridor native.

00:34:47.340 Oh my goodness. I mean, it all just felt like it was par for the course. I think about growing up

00:34:52.820 in church part of the way that you prove that you can be a good member of the church and a good

00:34:59.160 member of this community is to allow people at a higher rank than you to talk to you however they

00:35:06.160 want to because you enduring that shows that you won't leave it is a test of loyalty so when these

00:35:14.800 women take all the verbal blows and smile through it they know what they're doing they're proving

00:35:21.420 their loyalty and it's a choice and and the older coaches doing it to them know this as well

00:35:27.360 so like it's not just an endurance test it's a loyalty test and I think that all of it made

00:35:36.400 sense for me it's like it's funny like I watched the show and none of this dynamic surprised me at

00:35:41.040 all because that's just the way it works that like that is how they teach you to get in line

00:35:46.700 because it's obedience it's obedience training it is obedience training and they're gonna do it

00:35:51.700 and what's masterful about the way the coaches on this cheerleading squad do it is like they do

00:35:57.880 the world's harshest obedience training without ever raising their voice isn't that scary isn't

00:36:04.100 that scary yeah and they're also just every time they said yes ma'am yes ma'am i felt my heart

00:36:10.500 would break because they just were given such awful mean feedback about something and these

00:36:16.900 things like i would re-watch certain moments and i'm like there's no way they're actually picking

00:36:20.960 up on what they're saying like when um one of the coaches from across the football field was like

00:36:24.540 you're twitching your nose too much and i was like you're like i think you have an issue with

00:36:30.120 victoria and you're using this place that part to wage your war with them so a lot of the body

00:36:36.120 comments it's like you've already been thinking about this you don't want them here you already

00:36:39.160 you know who's being cast, so now you're just beating them up in public as a way to not only

00:36:43.220 beat them down, but to also keep the other people in line, which feels really, you know, abusive in 0.76

00:36:48.220 many ways, and that's where my heart just breaks for these women so much as they're going through

00:36:51.680 it and still smiling each time. Yeah, and what undergirds all of it, and this is directly tied

00:36:56.040 to the church as well, the underlying assumption of a hierarchical structure like the DCC or like

00:37:02.880 the evangelical church is that if they're in charge of you, they must be right, and they must know

00:37:08.440 best and they know better than you so you have to trust them you have to trust them so even if you

00:37:13.920 know she's only picking on me because she hates me if she says it's a nose twitch how can i botox

00:37:19.720 my nose and make it stop twitching right i must assume that they are right because they have a

00:37:23.800 higher rank and there's no place for rage or anger of any sort in this vision of femininity

00:37:29.520 so they sublimate it like you can see it in victoria's face oh my god yeah she's so mad 1.00

00:37:36.300 she's gonna have i hope she goes to therapy she's gonna have so much to unpack i want her to come

00:37:41.700 to california i want to i want to give her some magic mushrooms i want to like have like a water 0.76

00:37:49.920 healing where she just is on the beach screaming into the void like i want release for her so badly

00:37:54.840 i also think there's something interesting happening like if i could psychoanalyze kelly 0.51

00:38:00.420 i think kelly and the other the choreographer the second in command i think they hate her

00:38:05.920 because they think that the second generation doesn't work as hard it's like it's like a

00:38:11.240 disciplining nobody wants to work or like that somehow like they're resting on their laurels

00:38:16.200 or that sort of thing but then you also see it turned on themselves i loved how much footage

00:38:21.080 we had of them of the older women getting like putting on their faces yeah right like there is

00:38:29.740 no end like you are always this was the sad this is one of the saddest things i noticed in those

00:38:35.140 scenes where the older women are getting dolled up their hair was so fried their hair had been

00:38:42.780 through so much and like i wasn't even looking at it to like make fun of i felt bad for them

00:38:47.840 it's like oh you've been dying or frying your hair for decades and if your hair looks that bad how

00:38:52.920 bad must you just feel inside from all this oh my god do white women have gray hair in texas

00:38:57.880 i'm trying to remember not really in my when i lived there i didn't see that they don't really

00:39:04.120 do that yeah it's just this blonde until you're in the grave just set you know like just an old

00:39:11.000 yeah and big oh yeah oh you know it just always reminds me of like people who tell me about like 0.73

00:39:18.660 how diet culture like infused their grandmother's lives like they'd be dying of cancer their body

00:39:25.740 is just absolutely like taken down to nothing and they're like at least i've lost some weight 0.99

00:39:30.580 yeah yeah well and then just like going back to like the way that these older women would use

00:39:37.660 language and they would read these kids for felt without ever like being quote-unquote mean

00:39:42.220 yeah that is all texas southern hospitality culture i think a lot the one of the biggest

00:39:48.880 things i noticed when i finally left texas was this trait we all have in texas where you always

00:39:54.460 say hi to someone if you make eye contact no one else does that anywhere else and i would get

00:39:59.160 my little island but yeah yeah no you do but other places yeah you get it looked like a total weirdo

00:40:05.860 i used to think oh well i'm just being nice because i'm talking to strangers asking who

00:40:09.600 they are where they're from no that's how texans do in group out group are you allowed to be here 0.99

00:40:15.600 i'm i'm being kind to a stranger to assess who the fuck you are and why you're here 0.98

00:40:21.520 yeah it's it's it's like this little really nice bless your heart version of surveillance culture 0.99

00:40:26.660 yeah yeah yeah okay our last questions are about pay let's hear this question from stacy

00:40:33.440 let's talk about pay and how dcc uses passion work to help justify low wages but then layers

00:40:42.820 female friendship and camaraderie to keep people connected and in a way working for life all the

00:40:50.320 while their bodies get destroyed and they hold down multiple jobs i guess my question is how do 0.98

00:40:55.920 you overcome all of that to get these women a union sounds like journalism sounds like journalism 0.96

00:41:05.000 oh well first of all texas is a right to work state so it might not happen but i've done some

00:41:16.380 research that involves some weird reddit threads and junkiesportsillustrated.com articles and they

00:41:24.960 are the highest paid of all of the nfl squads but that means very little so they still get like i

00:41:34.540 mean it seems like ultimately most cheerleaders make between 30 maybe 50 60 000 a year um and

00:41:45.340 that's why they have to work outside of this what i'm astonished by is the ways in which they like

00:41:51.300 work a full job as a nurse's aide and then turn around and at 6 p.m until 10 p.m you go to practice

00:41:57.340 right and all of the other appearances that they do yeah it feels very like the conditioning

00:42:03.840 that they've been through their whole life as women in this particular part of the country

00:42:08.040 where you've been told you're never going to make as much as your male counterpart you should never

00:42:12.060 even aspire to make as much you should be dependent on other people i mean a lot of them

00:42:16.800 are at the prime of their life and growing up in football culture a dallas cowboys cheerleader was 0.82

00:42:22.520 the most desired form of femininity so it's assumed those women will marry well immediately

00:42:27.020 and you see that with reese like reese is already engaged to a man she shouldn't be with honestly

00:42:31.160 there are other fish in the sea another episode try something else but i think it just embodies

00:42:37.160 He's like a feminine way of being in Texas, especially where you're going to do a lot

00:42:41.240 of labor and not be compensated for at all. 1.00

00:42:44.020 And you better do it with a smile.

00:42:45.260 So I just see this practice of underpaying them as just part of a larger thing they're

00:42:49.360 going through in all parts of their lives where they should just bear it and take it

00:42:52.880 and deal with it.

00:42:53.740 Never.

00:42:54.060 Probably.

00:42:54.880 I was most surprised when thinking about the money of it all.

00:42:57.520 When you get to the point in one of the episodes where they're picking which photos of which

00:43:01.540 girls will go into the Dallas cheerleaders calendar. 0.99

00:43:07.160 and these women have to pose for the calendar. 1.00

00:43:10.340 They might be picked, they might not. 1.00

00:43:11.680 Then I think they go and do signings of the calendars

00:43:14.120 in front of fans that have bought them.

00:43:16.900 Never, not once, does one of them ask,

00:43:20.000 can I share in these profits?

00:43:22.180 If this calendar makes money, do I get some?

00:43:25.040 They are taught and they have internalized so deeply

00:43:28.200 to not just accept the low wages,

00:43:30.760 but to accept the exploitation of their physical IP.

00:43:35.400 That was sad to me. 1.00

00:43:37.160 right well and there's there's two things i think that one they know that women can have a career 0.97

00:43:45.300 but that that career often ends with marriage right so if they can have a career for now

00:43:51.640 and this career also heightens their chances of getting married which also is so similar to like

00:44:00.280 at a school like baylor where there's an understanding that you should have a ring by

00:44:04.100 spring of your senior year and so they all of them are like by the end of your senior year of

00:44:10.900 cheerleading essentially you need to have yeah you need to have be engaged or already married

00:44:16.620 and then there's so much cognitive dissonance even going on with someone like charlotte jones 1.00

00:44:22.360 like she she gets paid money which one is charlotte she's the she's jerry jones's daughter

00:44:28.520 yes but maybe it's like i get paid money because i'm part of this legacy like i don't know what i

00:44:35.160 noticed about the positioning of jerry jones's daughter what was her name charlotte charlotte

00:44:41.620 jones who was in the c-suite like on the level of the male executives but in charge of the

00:44:46.320 cheerleaders whenever she would talk if you listen she was saying nothing of substance and you know 0.97

00:44:52.400 that she wasn't doing the day-to-day running of the cheerleaders her existence in this show 1.00

00:44:57.620 and in that structure is to prove that a woman could be in the c-suite next to the men 0.99

00:45:03.760 that's all she's there to do it seems and her entire purpose is to soothe the rough edges of 0.98

00:45:13.480 the overriding male patriarchy that runs the cowboys but she's still one of the boys but

00:45:18.400 that's why they're paying her and that's why she's there she doesn't actually do anything

00:45:20.720 oh and it's also it makes sense that like oh her purview is the cheerleaders you're the lady go

00:45:26.280 handle them yeah go handle the ladies right do you think a professional cheerleader union is

00:45:32.460 possible again not in texas but i do think that it's one of those things that we're seeing

00:45:36.940 more unionized like we're seeing people advocate for pay standards yeah in these sorts of

00:45:43.160 professions yeah especially as we become more aware of the structures because i think we move

00:45:46.640 move through the world assuming that they're making a lot of money or assuming that they've

00:45:50.300 Before I watched the show, I thought they probably get paid six figures for being a part of the organization.

00:45:55.740 They're probably all married to a football player.

00:45:57.520 I'm not worried about them.

00:45:58.600 Now that I know, I'm worried about them and asking more questions about other kind of effective labor that you see pop up around really wealthy industries.

00:46:08.020 Because I just, like many people, just I'm like, oh, everyone's getting paid.

00:46:11.080 They must be.

00:46:11.720 And that's usually not the case.

00:46:13.800 Yeah.

00:46:13.960 You know, one thing I was thinking about and they don't address, at least in this season in any capacity, is similar to Bama Rush. 0.99

00:46:20.340 I wonder if someone came in and had like a huge influencer following and was like making TikToks of the process if they would be wary of her because she has too much power. 0.99

00:46:31.360 Oh, 1,000%. 1.00

00:46:32.360 I think so.

00:46:33.940 Right?

00:46:34.340 Yeah.

00:46:34.780 Even in like an interview I was listening to today, one of the cheerleaders said she was asked on this season of the show to have a first date filmed.

00:46:42.820 and the interviewer was like that would be so awkward to have a guy get a camera on him for

00:46:47.780 the first date and her concern was that the guy may not be dcc approved enough to be on camera

00:46:55.100 it wasn't about like her own desires or love but it was about the brand identity of the cowboys

00:46:59.760 and does he fit into it and that just tells you everything about what about the like hallmark

00:47:05.260 movie fiance that's engaged to the woman who just finished off her final year do you remember this

00:47:12.000 guy oh yes yes the actor the he was an actor he's an actor and he's been in a couple hallmark movies

00:47:17.480 and like moved to dallas for her yeah he quit his career now they're moving to la

00:47:22.560 so that he can chase his dreams and she's like i it's now his time to have his dreams fulfilled

00:47:28.160 like i had mine and i was like i'll never be married because i'll be god damn if i take a

00:47:34.160 year off myself this guy is like i will be on this show i am thrilled to be on this show whereas

00:47:39.700 It's Reese's fiance.

00:47:41.120 I feel like it's like if Reese wants me to be like if she thinks it's a good idea for the camera people to come to my power washing job.

00:47:49.080 It's a good idea.

00:47:51.580 Bless that kid.

00:47:53.060 Bless all their hearts.

00:47:54.240 Those babies.

00:47:55.380 Those babies.

00:47:56.140 Last question.

00:47:56.840 This is again about passion work and this comes from Kelly. 0.95

00:47:59.340 After watching the docuseries, I perceive DCC as a pseudo-cult devoted to upholding a particular kind of outdated feminine ideal.

00:48:10.600 My question is, is there a masculine equivalent?

00:48:15.040 In what context do men compete for a demanding job that pays very little in exchange for belonging to an in-group that grants them a coveted status?

00:48:25.240 If there isn't one, why doesn't this kind of thing appeal to men the way it does to women?

00:48:33.440 I love this question. And two things jump to mind immediately. The first, the only equivalent I can

00:48:38.640 think of in the most like literal way are the Chippendales dancers. Those men make a similar

00:48:43.900 salary. They're objectified in similar ways. They're kind of cultish. They have a very interesting 0.78

00:48:48.720 cultural experience that has been documented in that Hulu show, which wasn't that terrible, 0.95

00:48:53.800 but i enjoyed it and that's like the first one that comes to mind of like bodied gendered obsessed

00:48:58.640 people but the one that really is floating underneath the surface for me that feels very

00:49:02.700 similar in a surprising way are rupaul's drag race i was gonna say drag i was gonna say drag

00:49:08.900 drag yes well sam why do you think drag because i have my thoughts so drag is extremely demanding

00:49:16.360 not just physically but like as an expense it's very expensive to get the makeup right get the

00:49:21.180 clothing right you're constantly traveling you may not get paid and for the most part most drag

00:49:27.060 queens don't get rich doing it it's a side job but if you get it right you are beloved in every

00:49:34.000 bar you walk into you're a part of a fraternity slash sorority you have friends for life and

00:49:39.440 memories for life i think drag is a is a big one because like even though we see the successes

00:49:44.600 from rupaul's drag race that is like less than one percent right yeah less than one percent i

00:49:50.040 also think in response to this question like is there a matching equivalent it's actually football

00:49:54.440 most football players don't make it most football players don't make the nfl and those that do get

00:50:00.720 two or three seasons and they're injured for life i know so many kids that i grew up with playing 0.75

00:50:05.640 football thinking they were going to make it they didn't they fucked up their bodies and now they

00:50:11.120 have a job that is tied in no way to football but they would do it all again yeah it was legible 0.66

00:50:17.320 glory to them right yeah yeah i mean i think it also back to what we were talking about in the

00:50:24.720 beginning too there are ways in which people who are denied power in our society they take what

00:50:31.480 they can get yes right so like what is a place where you feel the most power that you can feel

00:50:37.520 is it on the drag stage is it on the like on the sideline as a cheerleader where do you get that

00:50:43.700 power and you will do it whatever the cost might be because it is like your one chance to feel like

00:50:50.120 a powerful white guy yeah and i think and this is a thing that i felt the entirety of watching this

00:50:56.960 show this like inherent trait within all of us whether we admit to it or not we all actually

00:51:04.000 at least some of our lives we love to be part of systems and structures that tell us exactly what

00:51:11.280 to do there's something comforting and affirming about being in a system like the cowboys cheerleaders

00:51:18.180 or professional football or high school football where there are scripts and there are roles and

00:51:22.300 you do it and you can see someone who's done this before and then you do it too i was in marching 0.63

00:51:27.240 band so i was like the queer hanger-on to the football industrial complex because the band

00:51:32.920 kids were always just inherently queer coded but even that was a script they tell you how to do it 0.55

00:51:38.580 you see how to do it and they teach you and the time of my life when i felt the most connected 0.86

00:51:45.320 to other people ever was probably high school marching band these systems and structures give

00:51:51.500 us something they give us belonging which means a lot yeah yeah i mean i the reason i wanted to

00:51:57.240 be a cheerleader like most of it was that i wouldn't have to decide what to wear to school

00:52:01.880 two to three days of the week that's real because you wear one of your cheerleading uniforms

00:52:06.480 or your like hideous warm-ups that were like made out of like you know balloon material

00:52:13.020 it's just so gross purple and gold but yeah like that especially in times when you feel like you 1.00

00:52:20.620 don't know what's next in your life right so that might be high school for these women like the 0.63

00:52:25.760 period post-college or in your early 20s like that is an incredible transitional period especially

00:52:30.940 when there are these expectations in a place like texas around when you should be getting

00:52:36.380 married and like what your relationship with your boyfriend should be like and all that sort of

00:52:40.780 thing there is some structure where it's like the high kicks are always the high kicks the splits

00:52:44.940 are always the splits that's it right do it right like you know exactly what you're doing on a

00:52:51.260 saturday you have no free time yes because you're always practicing or doing your hair or maintaining

00:52:56.940 your body in some other way and it doesn't give you a lot of time to be sad or to think about the

00:53:03.240 world around you so this is church too this is church yeah and yeah the bow on all of this is

00:53:08.760 the reason why it keeps you so busy and keeps you so focused on the community is that if you were to

00:53:12.260 take a moment to break free like victoria is about to do hopefully you would then want to

00:53:16.860 dismantle the whole thing so they have to keep you busy yes and that's why dcc remains to be

00:53:22.100 a very beautiful cult yes yes well that's the word that's the engine right there that's the 0.56

00:53:28.880 That's a benediction.

00:53:30.160 The Bene Gesserits, yes.

00:53:31.080 A very beautiful quote, yes.

00:53:34.080 Okay, so tell our listeners where they can find each of you

00:53:37.240 if they want to find more of you on the internet

00:53:40.000 and your preferred way for people to listen to the pod.

00:53:43.980 You can find me on, I think, mostly just Instagram these days.

00:53:48.360 All the others have fallen off for me.

00:53:50.300 I haven't joined Blue Sky in a real way yet, so don't find me there.

00:53:54.600 Our co-host, Saeed Jones, is big on Blue Sky, loves it,

00:53:57.400 So go there if you're on Blue Sky.

00:53:59.380 And then Vibe Check, I don't know, podcast app is the best.

00:54:02.800 Wherever you get your podcasts, but I listen to it on the podcast app on Apple.

00:54:06.000 Yeah.

00:54:06.620 It's two words, Vibe Check.

00:54:08.660 You can find me on all socials at Sam Sanders.

00:54:13.640 And, yeah, I'm probably most active these days on Instagram.

00:54:17.280 And truth be told, it's a bunch of photos of palm trees and dogs because I like that.

00:54:22.340 I like it.

00:54:23.300 I like it.

00:54:23.720 Just vibes.

00:54:24.580 Sam is vibes.

00:54:25.120 Vibes.

00:54:26.420 Yeah.

00:54:26.960 Yeah.

00:54:27.400 thank you so much for coming on the show i cannot imagine better thank you for having here and i

00:54:33.100 have to before i leave have to clarify something when you had me on to talk about anne hathaway

00:54:38.620 because i love her so much and have crafted a hero's arc for her in spite of what facts exist

00:54:44.620 or don't i incorrectly said that part of her like renaissance the last few years was having a good

00:54:51.920 divorce she's never been divorced she just gives me she gives me impeccable survive the divorce

00:54:58.440 energy so sorry for the error do you do you remember this melody um i mean it was in the

00:55:04.920 bradley cooper episode i do remember you saying that and then somebody brought it up in the

00:55:09.940 comments they're like what is he talking about i know i just added to her mythology

00:55:14.940 I added to her mythology. 0.64

00:55:16.800 She must have won a divorce.

00:55:23.140 Thank you so much for listening to the Culture Study Podcast.

00:55:26.120 Be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

00:55:28.900 We have so many great episodes in the works, and I promise you don't want to miss any of

00:55:32.720 them.

00:55:33.320 If you want to suggest a topic, ask a question about the culture that surrounds you, or submit

00:55:38.380 a question for our subscriber-only advice time segment, check the show notes for a link

00:55:43.320 to our sub stack.

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00:55:50.320 It's five bucks a month or $50 a year, and you'll get ad-free episodes, an exclusive

00:55:55.680 advice time segment, weekly discussion threads for each episode, and a link to a special

00:56:00.780 Google form so that your questions go to the front of the line.

00:56:04.460 The Culture Study Podcast is produced by me, Anne Helen Peterson, and Melody Rowell.

00:56:08.840 Our music is by Poddington Bear.

00:56:10.500 You can find me on Instagram at Anne Helen Peterson, Melody at Melodious47, and the show

00:56:17.060 at Culture Study Pod.

00:56:18.460 Thank you so much for your support.

Culture Study Podcast - July 24, 2024

The Beautiful Cult of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

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