Gabriella's "IPL Cheerleaders are Walking Porn" Does Not Make Good Side Business

The recent IPL 4 controversy surrounding an IPL cheerleader from South Africa who was fired also rakes up critical issues of how the main show - the Twenty20 cricket - has been milked, perhaps without properly keeping the cultural ethos in mind. One team that is trying to rectify it is ironically the new IPL 4 team, the Pune Warriors.

cheerleaders for the pune warriors

Understanding the cultural ethos of one's surrounding is as important as milking it for opportunity. But perhaps the IPL organizers knew what they were doing when they decided cheerleaders would be a valuable addition to the Indian Twenty20 tournament.

But they did it with a twist. Foreign cheerleaders became the order of the day and the rivetting fascination, to put it politely, with which the crowds ogled at the scantily clad cheerleaders, minding little for the job they were designated for, has led to some shock for the dancers who have had to deal with voyueristic looks as the tournament exploited the 'blonde bombshell' concept in a fair bit of display as by the cheerleader's admission digressed from the cheerleading and dancing moves.

However, not everyone has been comfortable with the idea of cheerleaders in cricket, not only because it was a new concept but also, because the sport was not really seen as in need of a cheerleading squad with the crowd making a name for themselves. Likewise with some dissenting remarks from political quarters, some teams were only too happy to do away with the cheerleaders altogether while others decided to get a little 'desi' about it, with the Chennai cheerleaders local as also Mumbai Indians, the former covering up more than their counterparts in say, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, would do.

Borrowing from a concept introduced during the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa, there was always going to be differing thoughts about introducing cheerleaders in South Africa and in closet conservative India.

When Gabriella Pasqualotto used the phrase - cheerleaders are looked upon as walking porn - she may have shocked some senses, but essentially describing how the country has looked upon the concept of the role of these girls in the tournament's razzmatazz. It would not have helped that the cheerleading girls were looked at like 'meat' ( her word ) not only by the Indian male populus but also, but also, the cricketers, foreigners who she named some, who did not hold back post the IPL matches according to her in their pursuit.

While have some stuck to the oomph factor, others such as the Pune Warriors India who are incorporating Indian culture into the sport, and their cheerleaders are as unique as they come. If South Africa had people in tribal garb in keeping with their culture, the Pune Warriors have incorporated dance moves from across the length and breadth of India to showcase India's other talents. Instead of foreign girls, the Pune Warriors have Indian girls in differing traditional dancing outfits, cheering on the game in their own unique style.

In a country where eve teasing is rampant, one does not necessarily have to have pale skin or blonde hair to be the victim of lewd looks and comments, although the difference in appearance will certainly add to voyuerism. It shouldn't have to come with the territory but it has an unfortunate occupational hazard as these cheerleaders are finding out.

When comments like 'walking porn' are thrown around, it begs the concept: what really is being promoted through the induction of novel ideas of cricket and entertainment. Perhaps it is time to rethink the concept of entertainment in sport in a country like India before having comments made like these and then sensationalized for outrageous value.