When you picture a cheerleader, you probably imagine a woman. But in the early twentieth century, cheerleading was all done by men. Frank Guridy argues that the association of cheerleading with women is due to the growth of the sports industry, which has drawn ever more diverse people into sports previously dominated by elite white men. But increased diversity in the sports industry has also meant increased exploitation. Nonetheless, while the industry is exploitative, sports themselves don’t have to be: cheerleading is just one example of how sport can be a tool of survival and self-actualization for marginalized people.