Slimeballs, sexism and a crooked manager: The sad reality of being an IPL cheerleader

Many famous personalities have taken part in Reddit’s AMA (ask me anything) — from Bill Gates to Taylor Swift and Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage. This 7 May, an IPL cheerleader decided to take to the social networking website — and her revelations about working in India were quite interesting.

Here are a few handpicked questions and answers:

As a fellow western woman living in India, not sure how I feel about white cheerleaders at the games. Why not Indian cheerleaders? Cheerleader: I agree. I love doing it, but I’d honestly prefer to see at least a mix of Indian women. Sadly there’s nothing I can do about that. If I refuse I’d be breaking my contract and they’d replace me with another white girl anyway.

How often do you get ogled on stadium while dancing? And how do you feel when you get ogled so much? Cheerleader: All the time. I hate it.

Do you find any difference in the crowd when cheer leading in India vs other countries? Cheerleader: I’ve only cheered in India and the U.S. The men in the crowd in India are much more intrusive. But you’ll find pigs wherever you go.

What is the biggest thing you hate about your job? A few spectators near me were shouting abusive and cheap words at the cheerleaders. How do you cope up with stuff like that? Cheerleader: 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 wont let their fellow Indian women do it? It’s messed up. But 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 slime-balls 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.

Are you a feminist? What are your thoughts on cheerleading being a means to objectify women as sexual objects and especially in India as a white relic. Cheerleader: 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. 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.

What kind of hotels do they provide? I assumed it was 5 star hotels. Cheerleader: 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 star. Perfectly comfortable but not over the top.

It must be very exhausting to dance every 5 or 10 minutes in searing hot weather. What do you do keep energy levels high? What’s your diet & training regimen like? Cheerleader: The heat gets annoying. I try to embrace it. The energy is just part of the job. We have to appear upbeat even if we’re exhausted. I’m a vegetarian, I try to stay away from too many fried foods and too much sugar, but I do enjoy chocolate and an occasional samosa.

IPL or Superbowl? Cheerleader: IPL.

How do you find the work conditions - do you feel like you are being paid fairly, do you feel like you are treated with respect? What would you say are the negatives and positives of being in the IPL team? Cheerleader: 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.

What is the funniest thing you ever saw a cricket fan doing in a stadium? Cheerleader: Honestly? 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.

Do players hit on you? Cheerleader: No, they ignore us for the most part. We’re not allowed to talk to each other.