Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to entertain the audience, or for competition.

Once exclusively a sideline activity geared toward supporting school sports, cheerleading has gained recognition as a sport in its own right and often operates outside the school context altogether. Cheerleading has long been considered an iconic American activity symbolizing school spirit, leadership, youthfulness, and sex appeal.

Although cheerleading began as a reflection of ideal masculinity, it has come to reflect ideal femininity in American society and athletic culture following a cultural shift that began in the 1920s when the new woman emerged and continued after world war II when women were allowed and, in some cases, like cheerleading, encouraged into spaces that they were previously denied access.

There are many arguments as to why cheerleading is a sport. In history, cheerleading started after World War two by students, against the bad attitude and harsh treatment of teachers. Students materialized their own extracurricular activities to gain independence from their faculty abuses.