I just said something similar in another post. Assigning things like "hoop earrings," "big ass," "long nails," and "so-and-so hair" is kind of racist, right?

Oh noes, because they have big asses and tits they MUST be referencing black people. Wait, who is the racist here?

If curling is an Olympic sport, methinks golf is a sport.

Everyone I've ever known who performed with Cirque du Solieil would like a word with you. They are better athletes than the vast majority of people that play professional sports, and you are an idiot.

If cheerleading was a male-dominated activity, it would have been included in the Olympics by now.

It's apparent you don't know much about the reality of cheerleading. Also, construction is a risky job and some forms are rewarded with haz pay and the like so faulty comparison. This is a sport. It's more akin to gymnastics or major dance than in that it's a sport involving a fair amount of art. But still a…

People can say what they want about cheerleading but it won't change the fact that it needs to be better regulated. Think of it like Cross fit, poor instruction can lead to catastrophic injuries. The only way to regulate it at this point is to legally define it as a sport. This needs to happen in order to put safety…

If golf classifies as a sport, than cheerleading can classify as a sport.

I had a uncharitable view of cheerleading, especially as a sport, until I watched an episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit. The level of acrobatics, ensuing injuries, and total lack of guidance for these young people was stunning. That fact that it wasn't classified as a sport seemed political, to avoid such safety…

The only way anyone could not think cheerleading is a real sport is by never actually watching any real cheerleading.

It's an athletic competition, that's what qualifies it as a sport, not the 'rigors and risks.' It also happens to be a very dangerous sport, but the danger isn't what it hinges on.

Cheering at a competitive level has absolutely nothing to do with visual titillation, as you called it.

This is kind of like asking why a talented high school musician would waste their time marching around in ugly outfits on football fields. Also, cheerleaders are not always girls.

For the American Medical Association, that's actually exactly the right reasoning for why it should be labeled a sport. What they care about is how something should be regulated, and it makes sense that cheerleading safety protocol is regulated like a sport's.

It's more of a sport than "Major League Gaming" is.

I'm quite certain the vast majority of the female population *couldn't* look like that, regardless of diet/lifestyle. Even if I had tens of thousands of dollars of surgery, I'd never have a figure even remotely like that. Frankly, I think anyone who thinks that body is "attainable" for most hasn't spent much time in a…

Um, that's just an awkward angle in that one picture. If you google her, she looks no different from the rest of the contestants...

She's stunning. If this is "normal" the rest up of us have a long way to go.

I don't like the phrases "average" and "normal", and how these are used in this sense, but the idea remains the same: she has incredible body, and she has been working hard for it. What Diehl didn't do to get her body for the competition is what separates her from the others: she didn't starve herself, she didn't…

The word for a GREAT body that falls slightly short of a Victoria Secret runway model is "normal"? Okay then.