The argument of child beauty pageants is one that is commonly discussed and controversial in society today. These pageants are tradition in southern United States, but have recently caught nation-wide attention with the help of the media, and television shows like “Toddlers in Tiaras” and “Little Miss Perfect” which show the inside view of the children who are contestants of these pageants. Research and Studies have shown though, that pageants are not beneficial to children and can even be detrimental to the participant. Parents should be banned from entering their children in beauty contests until the children are at least 13 years old and they can make the decision on their own, knowing the consequences that may affect them. There are many different reasons to show why this shouldn’t be argued any longer. Research has shown that children are negatively affected when participating in pageants at a young age. When a study was done, involving women who took part in pageants as a child vs. women who didn’t, the results showed that pageants did, in fact make a difference. Pageant participants scored 479% higher in their lack of impulse regulation, meaning they overly act upon their impulse, or don’t act upon it enough. Participants also were 133% higher in interpersonal distrust, which associates with lack of confidence, and 62% higher in body dissatisfaction, all factors that associate with many problems, including eating disorders. William Pinsof says that “Being a little barbie doll says your body has to be a certain way and your hair has to be a certain way, in girls particularly, this can unleash a whole complex of destructive self-experiences that can lead to eating disorders and all kinds of body distortions in terms of body... ... middle of paper ... ...ay even be fraudulent (“Beauty Pageants”). Six states, including Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Michigan, North Dakota, and Tennessee all have laws referring to child beauty pageants, and North Carolina has recently had a bill regarding pageants for those under 13 “Child Beauty Pageants”). With such precautions having to be taken, it is unlikely that such pageants for children can be beneficial to them. Pageants for children should be banned until they are over the age of 13 years old. When it comes to the negative ways that pageants affect children both during their pageant “career”, and later in life, the effects pageants have on the families and sometimes the state of their financial being, and finally the problem that laws are even being created to regulate such events, it is clear that child pageants are detrimental to children, families, and the community.
In 2009, TLC aired a reality television show entitled Toddlers and Tiaras. It was instantly a hit with home viewers and also brought major controversy over child beauty pageants. The show focused mainly on glitz pageants; which requires all contestant, however young, to compete with make-up, spray tans, acrylic nails and revealing costumes. Many, such as I were entertained at first with the pint size Barbie dolls; however after watching a couple episodes, controlling stage moms and toddler melt downs reveal that glitz beauty pageants are nothing less than objectification and exploitation of young girls. Beauty pageants not only exploit children but are detrimental to the child’s physical, emotional and psychological health.
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.
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...
Parents also conclude that children who participate in beauty pageants may receive scholarships (Gleick). Beauty pageant scholarships are not the only scholarships available.
Many children are involved in pageants, and many varieties of people have different opinions. Some people feel that they are good, others not so much. Opinions vary from person to person, and reasoning also varies. But, the real question for this topic is "are these pageants good for them in the long run?"
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
Beauty pageants are linked with an immense variety of negative effects. These children are trying to be someone that they are not. The effects on these children can escalate quickly and affect them their entire life. When a parent first enters their child in a pageant, they do not think about the negative consequences they could have on their child. No parent wants to experience the tragedy that the Ramsey family did. Although some children do gain things from these pageants, the majority of them are harmed. The effects from these pageants range from eating disorders and body image problems to social and psychological problems. If there are not regulations put on these pageants in the near future, our young children are going suffer from growing up to fast. When will people learn that looks are not everything and we should let the kids be kids?
" In the end, children’s beauty pageants are essentially harmful to both young girls safety and minds. It may not happen to some, but most of the young girls that compete in beauty pageants seem to have a bit of an attitude towards their parents and other people who will not cooperate with them.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Parents who support pageants are not trying to be bad parents. They are just misguided. The pageant world will change a child and everything that they do. Parents love and care for their children. They want their children to succeed, and that blinds them. Supporters of pageants do not acknowledge the severe effects that these contests can have on a child. They may be oblivious to the immediate and long term effects. Pageants can influence the way a contestant lives their entire life, not just their pageant performances. Though these parents may agree with pageants they do not agree with the harming of children. In this respect, if parents realized the dangers of pageants...
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)
What the purpose of beauty pageants in the society? This question was not new. Since before, protests condemning beauty pageants was there. “Protests were done when P.T Barnum staged the first modern pageants in 1854.” (Sons). So issues regarding the purpose of having were not new and it has historical basis.
Beauty pageants have long been a form of entertainment, exhibiting beautiful women with ideal bodies competing for their talent and looks. Many pageant moms involve their daughters in children’s pageants to help them improve their social skills, exercise their talents, and boost their self-esteem. Although the pageants may seem like harmless competition with benefits, research shows that they may be doing the young beauty queens more harm than good. “.the girls are receiving conflicting messages: In order to win, the girls must show a unique personality, but they must also act and dress in a hyper feminine manner and conform to the pageant world's ideal standard of beauty and narrow set of conventions.”
Do beauty pageants really help girls find their inner beauty or do they just change into faulty beauty queens? Looking deeply into what these competitions really create out of a person, anyone can quickly find that the contestants aren’t all rainbows and butterflies. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Pageantry changes some girls for the better, but can also change them for the worse. Young girls should not participate in beauty pageants because they apply too much pressure by judging females based mostly on their physical appearance and can cost up to thousands of dollars.
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.
Pageants have a way of exploiting children by changing their looks and attitudes to make them more adult like and entertaining; dressing children in bikinis or provocative costumes just to be judged by how well they wear it and how pretty they are is demeaning and cruel. Children should not be taught that looks are everything and you get everything you want in life because when they're older it will be harder for them to accept reality. Imitating the fashion and looks of an adult is not how a child should grow up. A parent should want their child to grow up knowing that they are naturally beautiful and their personality and smarts can get them far in life rather than beauty beats brains, correct?