The 10th season of India's biggest money spinner, Indian Premier League has moved towards its conclusion, only the finale is remaining. Beneath all the glamor of the league lies a dark truth which goes unnoticed every season.
Unfortunately, the cheerleaders are one of the major sources of attraction in IPL. Ever wondered about their salary or the accommodation they are provided? The answer would be 'no' because the whole cricket fans in India has tagged them as sexual objects who perfectly fit into the eye candy bracket.
India is the hub of franchise cricket at the moment but most of the people aren't aware of the origin of the concept of cheerleading. Cheerleading is nothing but a form of dance like a salsa or a jive. In the schools and colleges of some overseas countries, young girls love to take up the dance form and even national level competitions also get organized.
Professionally, Cheerleaders play a crucial part in popular sports in the USA such as baseball, basketball, American Football and much more. Since T20 cricket originated in England, the think-tank of ECB wanted to spice up the gentleman's game with a flavor from the West and suffuse something new into the future of the game.
India finally gave in to the exciting new format and came up with the idea of the cash-rich T20 league. IPL was one of the tournaments which included the concepts of cheerleaders in the tournament. Vijay Mallya and his Royal Challengers franchise in an attempt to propagandize their set-up, promoted their meagerly clothed cheerleaders from a top-notch American football team to gather some temptation in the crowds in the stadium, which also helped to increase the TRP of the broadcasters.
However, the truth lies behind the fact that in the IPL, cheerleaders still face difficulty to show their moves in front of a sex-starved audience, who have completely mistreated the concept of cheerleading. The cheerleaders these days face jeering, eve-teasing and are endangered to confrontational gestures by the fans present for the match, especially men. India might have adopted the trend from the West, but could not understand the culture.
According to reports, an average female cheerleader is paid USD $ 100 for every match, whereby the players are paid in millions. They are also not less than artists, not just objects to look and made advances at. A young cheerleader from America who chose to remain anonymous in the fear of losing her job confessed in a Reddit AMA about the mockeries 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 experiences, 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 depressed cheerleader revealed 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's 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 need to perform in scorching heat and still manage appear pleased about the circumstance, 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 renewal, 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."
She concluded by talking about the racism against them, 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 listening all these statements from the American dancer, one thing can be easily concluded that the Indian citizens are leaving in front of young women from around the world. One thing surely needs to be changed and that is the mindset of the people. India is already defamed for its carnages against females in the country. The least we can do is be welcoming to our visitors and stand by the slogans of 'Atithi Devo Bhavah'.
