He's one of the first men to join the Carolina Panthers' cheerleading squad, TopCats.
in 2018, threw a wrench in that perceived uniformity. In a space that can veer homophobic, the safest bet was initially costuming male cheerleaders in line with a gender binary: The women would stick with their bedazzled miniskirts and crop tops, and the men would be put in something closer to a tracksuit to avoid presenting gender identities that fans weren’t accustomed to seeing.
Anne Lieberman, the director of policy and programs at Athlete Ally, said the different expressions of gender taking place within the TopCats, fromJustine Lindsay’s femininity to Booker’s and Crawford’s shifting identities, are integral to increasing the visibility of queer people. “There’s so many different ways to express femininity,” they said. “Just because somebody wants to dress more masculine one day doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a nonbinary person.
Crawford knows that by choosing to be unapologetically himself in this environment, he’s going to deal with ignorance, even though he shouldn’t have to. So, he smiles and maintains his composure, knowing it’ll blow over eventually—and that he can always raise issues with the Panthers if things get out of hand. It’s exhausting, he said, but he’d do it over and over again to lock down a better future for boys like him.
Of the fans who jeer at him, Crawford said, “I can’t sit and talk to you to explain to you that this is the future and that you need to get over it. I’m going to be here, and I would rather be the first to catch this headstrong wave of energy so that it’s easier for others who come after me. This is just the beginning and these people will get used to it. They don’t have a choice.”When he saw the final images from the stadium shoot , Crawford said he broke down crying.
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