"Welcome to the world of spray tans, Tammy Faye makeup, big-hair wigs and swimsuit competitions. Miss America? Not exactly." (themomblog.ocregister.com) This is the reality to some children under the age of six in America. This is not the way childhood should be viewed or lived like. There are many different types of beauty pageants in today’s society. The ages range from three weeks old to eighteen years old. Beauty pageants make up a good part in our life, because we are always judging on looks and not what’s on the inside. Media outlets are continuously on these topics, also. “Television is peppered with reality shows that feature pint-sized beauty queens decked out in pricy gowns, full make up, and big hair.” (psychologytoday.com) We are completely overexposed to what is wrong, rather than what is right. A childhood is something precious and should not be taken away from a child. Putting young boys and girls into pageants sets an unrealistic body image in their heads. When kids see the way models and other beauty queen’s look, they think they have to be super skinny, tan, and tall to be considered pretty. “Such contests may give children the perception that being pretty is the only option for popularity and success.” (bsu.edu) Girls seem to develop an act that one psychologist calls the “Princess Syndrome”, which is so far fetched it is a fairytale. Pageant parents go even further with the pictures they have taken of their kids. They hire professional people to retouch, brighten, and even change the child’s facial features in pictures to make them more desirable. In the TLC show Toddlers and Tiaras, kids have asked questions like, “How come I didn’t win?” and “What does that girl have that I don’t?” What does... ... middle of paper ... .... 1997. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. . Smith, Trish. "The Good Side of Child Beauty Pageants." Honest Baby. 22 Mar. 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2012. . Veciana-Suarez, Ana. "Tiny-tot Pageants Amount to Child Abuse - Ana Veciana Suarez - MiamiHerald.com." MiamiHerald.com - Miami & Ft. Lauderdale News, Weather, Miami Dolphins & More. 24 Sept. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2012. . "Why Beauty Pageants Are Good for Girls | Parenting - Yahoo! Shine." Yahoo! Shine - Women's Lifestyle | Healthy Living and Fashion Blogs. ParentsConnect | Parenting, 3 Feb. 2011. Web. 31 Jan. 2012. .
“A small study published in Eating Disorders the journal of treatment and prevention, that involved 22 women” (Hollandsworth). Girls are choosing unhealthy ways to stay fit and what they call the perfect size just to have a big appeal to the audience when at pageants. The encouragement of this behavior can lead to many body complications and disorders for these girls as they develop, only because they are not truly developing as an average young lady. “A 2007 report issued by the American Psychological Association Task force on the Sexualization of girls claims that parents who put their daughters in beauty pageants can contribute in very direct concrete ways to the precocious sexualization of the daughters” ( Hollandsworth). There has been research to prove that the actions of the young ladies is not all on their own, they have assistance with getting prepared for competitions and what to perform in competitions. Parents add more than what is necessary and can have a negative impact and not even know they are making matters worst than what they have to be. “Kiddie pageants are flourishing. Fueled by a reality TV show, an estimated 250,000 American girls participate in more than 5,000 beauty pageants every year” (Hollandsworth). Exploitation of these young girls is the “NEW BIG THING” to see and enjoy. Adults would rather watch little girls flaunt themselves
...as Miss USA and Miss Universe are competitions intended for mature, self-assured women who are capable of making their own decisions. Child beauty pageants, however, ruin childhoods and force them to grow up believing in their looks, rather than in themselves. It is no surprise, that emotional distress plagues the contestants that participate in beauty long after stepping off of the stage; subjecting young girls of any age to judgment and ridicule is not only humiliating but horrific to think that we are sitting back being entertained by their competitive nature. Rather than raising strong, confident girls who want to achieve the best in life; the parents and the hosts of these competitions provide a platform on which little girls are dressed up as skimpy Barbie dolls and paraded around, trying to achieve some form of perfection that shouldn’t exist in little girls.
Beauty pageants that involve children are a booming industry and growing fast in popularity. This is partially because of television shows like Toddlers and Tiaras and Living Dolls, which glorify pageants that threaten the innocence of childhood. According to Lucy Wolfe, “in 2011, three million children participated in pageants across the country” (454). With so many children, some as young as six months old, partaking in pageants and countless more aspiring to be pageant princesses, a closer look needs to be taken at the practices that are used to prepare them for the show. Often working long hours, not only prepping for the pageant but also performing in it, the children have no laws protecting them from being harmed or exploited. There are multiple negative effects associated with pageant participation law makers need to take action and find a way to regulate the trends of these controversial displays that sexualize young children.
Blue, Alexis. Princess by Proxy: When Child Beauty Pageants Aren't About the Kids. 2012. Arizona. Web. uanews.org.
Beauty pageants have caused an increase in mental and physical issues in young girls who participate. Participation and competition for a beauty prize where infants and girls are objectified and judged against sexualized ideals can have significant mental health and developmental consequences that impact detrimentally on identity, self-esteem, and body perception ("We must protect our kids from the catwalk of shame."). If young girls don't win, they might take it personally and get hurt feelings. The child might end up feeling unattractive or inadequate ("Child Beauty Pageants Pros and Cons.") which can lead to the development of disorders such as bulimia or anorexia. ("How Do Child Beauty Pageants Affect a Child's Development?") These are both eating disorders girls develop to lose weight excessively. Furthermore, the average BMI of a beauty pageant contestant as of 2010 is 18.3 (Beauty Pageant Statistics), which is classified as underweight...
Is it acceptable for toddler girls under the age of six to dress and act the way a twenty-six year old women would dress and act, just to participate in child beauty pageants? Young girls dressed in revealing clothing, being caked in make-up, getting fake tans, wearing fake eyelashes, teeth, hair, and nails, or even performing extremely mature routines are a few reasons pertaining to why it is unacceptable for toddlers to be in the modeling industry. Beauty pageants are very popular in the United States, and are growing rapidly (A Beauty Pageant Ban). Toddlers and Tiaras is a popular television show promoting children in beauty pageants causing contestant entries to rise. It’s estimated in the United States alone each year 250,000 children compete in child pageants of that, over 100,000 are girls under the age of twelve (Rapport). Out of the 250,000 participants in these beauty pageants, studies have shown that approximately half of these children are unhappy with their body and wish to go on a diet to fix their self image (Rapport). Youth pageants are clearly causing children to only focus on physical appearance and not the true beauty of the child's personality. Consequently, the negative effects on a toddler’s life, safety, mental, and physical health over power the benefits of toddlers participating in the beauty pageants.
"The Health Risks of Child Beauty Pageants." Aol.on. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. .
Lights, camera, pouty lips welcome to the four dimensional world of children 's beauty pageants. Over the years, child pageants have become a hot topic gaining a great deal of delight from numerous people around the world. From having a strong standing, ongoing fan base that keeps the hit TLC TV show Toddlers and Tiaras; on air to having some of Americans ' favorite beauty queens making guest appearances on shows such as the Ellen Show. Regretfully, the idea of putting an end to child pageants has become somewhat of a hotter topic than the pageants themselves. People often put down what they do not understand why dress a child like that? Why all the make-up? What some do not seem to understand is that there are advantages to being a beauty
Day, Elizabeth. "Living dolls: inside the world of child beauty pageants." The Observer. Guardian News and Media, 11 July 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. .
Many young girls are forced to wear preposterous outfits and enormous amounts of makeup that deny them of their innocence at a young age. Beauty contests are meant more for adult women who are mature enough to understand all that’s going on and can handle losing competitions to the other contestants. Children should not be able to compete in pageants because of the harmful effects on self-confidence and character. Some people think they are good and some do not agree that they are good. (Leo, 2014)
The pint-size stars pile on fake hair, heavy makeup, and even false teeth before taking the stage. Many kids wear revealing clothing that critics say aren’t age appropriate.” (Anastasia, Laura) Pageant participants range from ages six months to sixteen years, depending on what competition section they are a part of, and participate in categories of swimsuits, talent, evening wear, and themed costumes. Most girls at these young ages wear overalls and pigtails rather than slinky ensembles and fake hair that overwhelms their features.
Cromie, William J. “The Whys and Woes of Beauty Pageants.” News.harvard.edu. 2000-2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Imagine waking up early to get ready after weeks of rehearsals and spray tans, hours and hundreds of dollars spent on a short, sparkling dresses, heels, and at times revealing outfits. Kids are seated for hours to do hair and makeup, and last minute preparations; parents make sure they do not become impatient so, they hand their child a juice box to calm them down. However, this isn’t helpful for a 5 year old being forced to participate in pageants in order to make her parents happy and boastful that their child has won the “Grand Title”. Some parents, in order to win these prizes, have to hide their childrens’ imperfections with heavy make-up, spray tans, and flippers (fake teeth) to make judges see them as a flawless. Parents have entered their children into these activities before the age of one!
Today there are many new extracurricular activities that occupy a lot of young Americans minds. One trending activity is beauty pageants. It is more common in children where the ages may vary between eight months and even older. The trending debate is whether or not beauty contest serve any purpose in society. While many Americans feel as though pageants are helpful to a child’s self esteem, many feel that the effects of the contest have a very harsh effect on child development by devaluing a child. Researchers have found that beauty contests are effective for women to help make platforms for their careers and also create new jobs for women to create like mentoring children.
Can anyone actually justify judging someone by their physical appearance? Although parents enjoy seeing their little girls in the spotlight all dolled up, most children don’t enjoy the pageant experience as much as the parents, and this vicarious living is dangerous, and the pageants have the capability of exploiting the children. Beauty pageants have a background of treating women disrespectfully and as if they are not equal. Women’s bodies are seen as objects of beauty, as if we are just here to parade around for others. Today’s pageants are still set up in the same direction, even for the youngest contestants.