What makes mascot material?

IU has no mascot. There is no furry dancing head, animal or character. There is no symbolic entity to rally behind, but I think this is a good thing.

Most mascots represent their college in strange personifications of wildlife, culture or history ingrained within their campus.

The problem is in the details.

Native American culture and similar cultural groups receive media attention every year because an athletic team has created an offensive characterization of their heritage.

While there is no characterization of a race or culture through the medium of a dancing, cheerleading harlequin will never receive praise from the people it’s meant to be characterizing.

Although racism and stereotyping are both terrible things, I can’t help but think the most accepted and prevalent group of mascots, the animals, are what I find the most disturbing.

The animals depicted are almost always sexualized, but in relation to human sexual dimorphism and not their own species. 

What if IU had a coyote mascot? According to popular mascot design, a female coyote would have lightly cupped breasts and noticeably peared birthing hips. A male coyote would have defined shoulders and arms, as well as a possible Adam’s apple. In both cases, no genitalia are exposed.

If mascot culture were to portray accurate coyote sexual dimorphism, we’d have mascots all across the country wearing four separate tops for their four sets of breasts, and the male counterparts would simply lack those breasts unless genitals began to be depicted.

What does it say about our culture when we cheer, shout and get excited at sporting events when we see a half-animal, half-human, sexualized but sometimes visibly castrated, cartooned mutant silly-dance to La Bamba between plays?

It says there is something wrong with us.

There has been discussion about creating a mascot for IU. Most suggestions involve designing a characterized version of a “Hoosier,” whatever that might be. 

I, for one, would rather the word “Hoosier” remain ambiguous.

In this fashion, the student body, a constantly changing group of fans, remains the premier representative of school spirit.

We are not dancing sex monsters. We are Hoosiers, and it should remain that way.

­— ktgragg@umail.iu.edu