But I’m a Cheerleader

Poster for But I’m a Cheerleader, featuring Natasha Lyonne front and center in a bright pink dress and long pink gloves, looking uncertain and expressionless against a surreal blue-sky background. Around her, multiple cheerleaders in red uniforms float or tumble mid-air in exaggerated poses. The title is in bold green letters, tilted playfully: “But I’m a Cheerleader.” A tagline at the bottom reads: “A Comedy of Sexual Disorientation.” The poster also notes the film’s selection at Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals.

Director: Jamie Babbit

Lead Actors: Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, Cathy Moriarty

Release Year: 1999

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179116/

Podcast Episode: Episode 045: A Juicy 90s Satire of Conversion Therapy—But I’m a Cheerleader (1999) with Molly Metz & Will Ryan

Psychology Concepts: attitudes, aversive conditioning, Behavioral Psychology, child abuse, childhood trauma, Clinical Psychology, conversion therapy, Developmental Psychology, diagnosis, discrimination, family dynamics, friendship, gender, group behavior, implicit bias, institutionalization, mental illness, morality, operant conditioning, Personality Psychology, prejudice, queer theory, relationships, Religious Psychology, self-concept, self-identity, sexism, sexual orientation, Social Psychology, stereotypes, stigma, the self, therapy, treatment