Children Beauty Pageants

As the clock steadily ticks down the minutes until show time, the dressing rooms grow chaotic as last minute preparations are performed. Final gusts of hair spray are generously applied to the girls’ hair, and extra bobby pins are securely fastened to their heads to prevent a single hair from falling out of place. While the girls apprehensively await their moments to shine, their stylists and mothers hastily finish applying their makeup and adjusting their glitzy outfits. Aside from a few shed tears, the girls are soon ready to begin. When the announcer calls for the girls to assemble into their performance order, the fluttering of the butterflies in their stomachs intensifies, and their parents offer words of advice such as, “Don’t forget you step, step, turn!” and “Smile big, baby!” After they perform their routines, the girls swiftly run into the warm embrace of their parents because, contrary to typical beauty pageant contestants, these girls are younger than thirteen years old, and a few are too young to even walk on their own. Ever since the 1960’s, beauty pageants have entered the world of children’s activities, thus drawing obvious controversy over the issue (Nussbaum 1). With mutual goals of winning the top honor of Grand Supreme, the young beauties are judged on, “individuality in looks, capability, poise, perfection and confidence. As the judges call it, ‘the complete package’” (Nussbaum 1). Because of these seemingly harsh stipulations, numerous people have developed negative viewpoints about child beauty pageants; however, others believe there are positive aspects found in the competitions.

Whenever child beauty pageants are discussed, opposing beliefs are presented, and Elizabeth Day presents he...

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...though these solutions may not have completely satisfied both viewpoints, they offer partial reconciliation over a highly disputable topic. If both sides of the issue join together in agreement, the young girls will learn the imperative lesson of working with others to reach a consensus, and this will truly make them more than merely living Barbie dolls.

Works Cited

Casstevens, David. "More Children Stepping into Beauty Contests, Drawing Controversy." Fort Worth Star-Telegram 17 Oct 2006. n. p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 30 Apr 2011.

Day, Elizabeth. “Living Dolls.” The Observer 11 Jul 2010. 34. SIRS Researcher. Web. 30 Apr 2011.

Nussbaum, Kareen. “Children and Beauty Pageants.” Web. 3 May 2011.

Shamus, Kristen Jordan. "Ugly Truth: TLC Show is an Abomination." Detroit Free Press 24 Jan 2010. J.5. SIRS Researcher. Web. 30 Apr 2011.