So you didn’t know cheerleaders were porn stars?

Well I wasn’t a soft porn star back in my cheerleading days. Didn’t have time , since I was too busy getting an Honours Degree in University,  and attending post-graduate studies. I now have a career and do charity work. Sorry you thought otherwise.

I thought by 2010 there would be an about-face with certain stereotypes. Like blondes have more fun (they don’t, I now know that). I have been living and breathing them for years, but this is just ridiculous. A group of Toronto Sun readers, you know, the uber intellects of our city who despise half-naked women (the publication you read has one every day), are appalled by a recent news article showcasing the Toronto Argos cheerleader photo shoot for 2010. Heaven forbid they videotape our city’s CFL cheer team getting ready for their upcoming season, after all, what kind of sponsors do that?

I would like all of you who posted negative comments to collectively give your head a shake. Not only are you completely offensive, but you are demonstrating how narrow minded Torontonians can actually be, tsk tsk. I will be the first to admit that not every cheerleader is the brightest pencil crayon in the box, but judge them all? Really! I was a Toronto Argonauts Cheerleader from 2006-2008, crowned Miss Argo 2006 and I am more than proud of that. Just because women are beautiful, doesn’t make them unintelligent. Could it be true, I now MC for another sports team? That’s right folks; I can walk and talk – all at the same time!! A woman can wear a push-up bra, fake eyelashes and still discuss Tolstoy; can I get an amen?! She can also represent numerous charities, all while performing a classic “kick-ball-change” with a smile from ear to ear (showcasing our lovely pearly whites, thanks to our team dentist). What a crazy concept this all is.

“Haters everywhere we go,” didn’t start up because we thought we were better than everyone else, it is because of you lot. I’ll be sure to discuss this with my lawyer friend over brunch this weekend; she’s one of the half-naked girls you think is “so fat and ugly”. As for the comments about us not making it in the dance industry, maybe you should read the article again, Jorie Brown has quite the list of credentials – she’s also a former cheerleader.

So keep on keeping on girls. As for me, I keep my bikini calendars hanging on my wall, next to my degrees.

Lipgloss Feminism: the Re-brand

In class today there was talk of branding yourself. No, not with a hot piece of metal. Creating a self brand – how do you describe you. While this may seem like an easy task, it is a daunting one that I will need to succumb to on Friday. Now, I will enjoy it once I wrap my head around it but really, this isn’t an easy thing

Describing yourself means admitting to flaws. We all have them, let’s not beat around the bush. Flaws make us who we are, but really, are we going to brand ourselves with all the bad? No. The key is to take those flaws, admit them and see where the have brought you in the number of years you have existed on this pretty planet. From there it should be easy to tell the person who you are, flaws and all, and focus on the goods.

Branding Piece 1: I am a lipstick feminist – no not a stripper – a woman who is a force to be reckoned with but still shaves her legs. Lipstick feminism doesn’t have to be about women who turn what society deems as degrading into empowering. It can also be women who are comfortable with being a head turner both in looks and in intellect.

That’s a piece of my brand, and really branding doesn’t have to be a label. I am not all of a sudden labeled as a lipstick feminist and that’s it. And by the way, it should be changed to Lipgloss Feminism, let’s keep up with the times shall we folks.

Branding Piece 2-1,000: I am reader, a sister, a conversationalist, an event planner, a professional cheerleader, a daughter, a writer, a dancer in both reality and in my underwear, an avid reality show junkie, a watcher of highly well written television programming, a sports enthusiast, an avid snooze pusher, a bop around singing in my car to music listener and so on and so forth. That makes up a brand, the many facets of you.

I guess the difficulty is pin-pointing it for the task at hand. How do you make a brand to be released into the world of PR if you are still defining the ‘you’ your brand is trying to define? As well, I may define myself in a different way than others may – branding me could be another form of judging me. Or better yet, judging others and labeling them in a whole new way.

As communicators we need to look at branding as a work in progress. Products change, and therefore brands change – we are hot commodities too! Our brands will continue to change and thats ok, just as long as we aren’t going under the hot metal, we should all be fine.

As for my brand… still working on a logo.