The 10th season of the cash-rich Indian Premier League has finally ended. This was one of the most fun-filled and thrilling seasons of them all. But, underneath all the glamor of the T20 tournament, lies a dark fact which goes overlooked every season. Regrettably, the cheerleaders are one of the major sources of temptation in IPL. Ever wondered about their salary or the hospitality they are provided? The answer would be ‘no’ because the all the Indian cricket fans have tagged them as sexual objects who perfectly fit into the eye candy bracket.
India is the hub of franchise cricket at the moment but many people are not even aware of the origin of the concept of cheerleading. Cheerleading is a form of dance like a salsa or a jive. In overseas countries, the young girls of the schools and colleges love to take up the dance form and even national level competitions also get organized.
However, the fact lies behind the fact that in the IPL, cheerleaders still encounter trouble to show their moves in front of a sex-starved public, who have completely abused the concept of cheerleading. These days, the cheerleaders go through jeering, eve-teasing and are threatened with confrontational signals by the crowd present for the match, especially men. India might have adopted the trend from the West, but could not understand the culture.
A young cheerleader from America who wished to remain anonymous in the panic of losing her job stated in a Reddit AMA about the ridicules she had to face in the IPL.
Disturbed by the shocking behavior from the so-called ‘slime-balls’ she stated, “For the most part I can’t hear them. The music is loud enough and the accents are thick enough I’m mostly oblivious to the words. This doesn’t mean I can’t tell that there are some obvious slimeballs behind me. I try my best to ignore them. And I’ve made a personal rule for myself not to take pictures with fans unless they’re women or children. I’m not keen on becoming someone’s fap bate for the night.”
When asked about her encounters with IPL, she wrote, “Conditions aren’t the best. If I were back in the U.S. I’d be shocked at the state of our toilets, changing rooms, and on occasions our hotel rooms.”
She further added, “The first two games they were more like 1-star hotels. Cockroaches, I saw a rat and rat droppings, it was pretty bad. But we quickly spoke up and realized our manager for that trip had been skimping us and pocketing the money he was saving on a cheaper hotel. Now they’re more like 3 stars. Perfectly comfortable but not over the top.”
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The discouraged cheerleader explained that most of the men make kissy faces and take pictures while they perform, she wrote, “I put a blank stare on for the most part when I’m facing the crowd. There are just so many nasty men making kissy faces and taking my picture that I tend to just block it all out. Often I’ll lock eyes with some nice people that are smiling, and those are the people I’ll focus on for most of the game. So I haven’t really seen many funny things. If someone genuinely made me laugh though, that would be a welcome thing.”
In the day game, the cheerleaders show their performance in sweltering heat and still manage to appear charmed about the situation, she wrote, “I am a feminist, and I admit that I am bothered. When I danced and cheered in the U.S., I felt less like that. If you were to watch female dancers on Broadway, regardless of their outfit, you probably wouldn’t call them a sexual object. You’d call them a dancer. I went into this contract as a dancer, finding that I’m treated more as a sex object.”
Talking about her contract revision, she wrote, “I try to be forgiving of human nature so I’m rolling with the punches. I also enjoy what I do regardless. But I wouldn’t renew this contract for another year unless things changed.”
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She concluded by speaking about the racism against them in India, she wrote, “I hate the racism. Why is my team made up of 99% white girls? Why do Indians feel it’s ok to dress white girls up in skimpy outfits but they won’t let their fellow Indian women do it? It’s messed up.”
After overhearing all these remarks from the American dancer, one thing can be easily assumed that the Indian crowd is leaving a bad impression in front of young women from around the world. One thing definitely needs to be changed, and that is the mindset of the people. India is already slandered for its carnages against females in the country. The least we can do is be greeting to our visitors and stand by the slogans of ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’.
