Behind each smile, each wave and every dance move, there is a whole lot of hard-work and unparalleled dedication involved. More often than not, there is a lot of pain too!
If revelations made by a BBC report is to be believed, cheerleading may well be one of the hardest jobs on the planet. A bit of unseen flab, a minor change in skin tone, that rare occasion when waxing goes wrong - in the business of cheerleading, these are serious invitations to swift pink slips. Yes, cheering the world is not so cheery a profession after all.
In America's National Football League for instance, three lawsuits have recently been filed against clubs on charges that cheerleaders are either not paid enough or made to work in deplorable conditions or worse, subjected to sexual contact. According to the BBC, every single charge is a plausible considering the state of cheerleading in American football in particular.
Women are subjected to "jiggle tests" where they are assessed on their appearance in the official outfit. If deemed 'out-of-shape', they are issued warnings and subsequently fired. Then there is the Baltimore Ravens' rulebook which also outlines that: All fair-skinned cheerleaders must have a warm skin colour tone for every game day. This is provided through tanning and/or spray tanning.
As if perfection in physical attributes is not demanding enough, the cheerleaders are paid (approximately) $100 each for every performance and most teams in NFL do not factor in time spent on practice/ at promotional events/ during voluntary work when paying 'salaries'.
The worst though is the heckling and groping. "Let's be honest. You're an NFL cheerleader and you're standing in front of 10,000 drunk guys all the time," Gabrielle Montemage, a former Buffalo Jill, has been quoted as saying. And while they may be symbolic of feminine charm, beauty and enchantment, cheerleaders around the world would agree that they have been subjected to some sort of abuse at some point in their careers.
Every cheerleader in every sport in any country practices as hard as sportspersons to attain perfection in her routine. In a harsh slap across the face of modern sensibilities though, they have also become 'victims' of possible male chauvinism and hegemony.