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Beauty pageants negative effects research
Essay about the effects of beauty pageants
Essay on child beauty pageants
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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! This isn’t the life of a child, this should be the age of teeth falling out, having messy hair, and running and getting as dirty as can be with no care. Sadly, these kids may never have the joy of experiencing a “normal childhood.” There are parents that …show more content…
What is involved in this process and who can participate? A beauty pageant is a contest to show off a child’s beauty and talents such as a rehearsed dance. This process can include items such as dresses, make-up, spray tans, and flippers; the total can amount to thousands of dollars! Parents want the best for their kids, so that they will be able to win the “Grand Prize”. The average price of a pageant dress could be close to $4,000 as told by a mom of a pageant kid on Today Pop Culture. The mother’s name is Juana, and she said, “Entry fees for a pageant can be around $400.” To enter a child into a beauty pageant there is a fee and some paperwork to fill out. Contestants can participate from 6 months to 16 years old (Schultz). Money and time is spent on these pageants, when it could be used for the child’s future education, teaching them that the brain is more important than
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.
What has the world come to, how are toddlers are dressed and acting like adults and parents have no objection.
In the television show Toddlers & Tiaras, one can view all the beauty treatments these girls go through. At ages as young as three, the parents make them wax body hair, get spray tans, get their teeth whitened, dying their hair, and so many other painful enhancements. The children will cry and complain about the pain but the parents brush it off and state that beauty is pain (Toddlers & Tiaras). A huge thing that these parents do is require their children to receive fake teeth that are known as “flippers;” the girls go through a long, uncomfortable process of getting them created and many of them feel uncomfortable while wearing them for performances. “Some parents even encourage their children to have plastic surgery in order to perfect their pageant looks. Younger girls undergo cosmetic surgeries, and have their teeth corrected prematurely” (Lieberman 756). Pageant parents are excessive when it comes to preparation for a simple competition and they are willing to put their child through any pain to win. These caregivers are also abusing their child with the large amounts of sugar and caffeine that are forced to be consumed to stay awake during a pageant. “Pixie Stix, a sugar-based candy, commonly known in the industry as ‘pageant crack’ is one standard method parents use to keep their pageant princesses full of energy”
By doing this they draw in photographers, news writers who post blogs and critics who are the judges. Cameras are flashing and scores are being written down about each contestant, than being reported in the daily blog online for all to see. This draws people interest and allows them to learn more and persuade them to join in on the beauty pageants. From broadcasting pageants and airing this show many children who now enter pageants take them more seriously meaning the cost of the pageant itself and the accessories for the children have skyrocketed. Market research studies have found “nearly half of today’s six to nine year olds are already using lip stick, lip gloss, eye shadow and eye liner” (Hollandsworth). They have also drawn in an audience that includes, low poverty families, persuading people to enter their children into these pageants and take a shot at winning prize money. Of course, television shows and blogs only show the upfront scenes, when the child walks onto the stage looking nothing but fabulous, when in reality the audience does not see the background work of the money being spent on outfits and makeup. News broadcaster Andrea Canning states, “It’s an extreme like we’ve never seen before. And it all started with the hit show, “Toddlers and Tiaras,” it brought beauty pageants to a new level, spotlighting pushy moms and preschoolers, made up like show girls, a lot of attention
Child beauty pageants have been a part of American society since the 1960’s. These pageants consist of modeling swimwear, evening attire, dance and talent. The young children entered in the pageants are judged on perfection, confidence, capability and looks. Judges would call this “the complete package.” Children are divided into different age groups to make the pageants fair. They are guided by there parents who spend well over 200 dollars for the pageants. Money is spent on fake nails, hair extensions, makeup, clothing, eyebrow waxing, and anything else their parents are willing to do to make their child the best looking. Keep in mind that these little girls range from ages 1-12. The issues with these pageants are that these extremely young girls are beginning to compare themselves to other “prettier” girls, which leads to negative effects in the future.
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.
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
While watching the short clip of Toddlers and Tiaras before being assigned this, it made me cringe just watching how a mother forced her daughter to have a cold, temporary spray tan for pre-pageant necessities. The controversy over beauty pageants for little girls and boys from ages 6 months to 16 years old has been increasing over the years. One side is saying yes they should participate because it builds confidence and the other side is saying no because it teaches them unrealistic standards of beauty. Toddlers should NOT participate in pageants because it shows girls unrealistic beauty standards, to imitate adults and unhealthy grooming habits.
According to Good Morning America show, the average cost of a pageant dress is $1,000 and some cost as much as $5,000. Also the entry fees for pageants typically cost $100 or $200. Also some pageants require contestants to wear several outfits, which can raise the price even further. Lastly, the high cost travel expenses that the parents will have to pay. And let’s not forget about the money they’ll have to pay for makeup experts, trainers to teach the child how to move and act and doctor’s appointment if the child has pimples or not aligned tooth. So, the average cost the parents will pay is not going to be less than
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)
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.”
“Three parents who were interviewed put their children into pageants because they have birth defects. ‘Her plastic surgeon thinks it’s wonderful because he sees parents hide their children with a facial defect,’ according to one mother, whose daughter has a cleft palate. ‘We don’t go for competition or for her to win. We go to meet other children and parents. We don’t want her to think she’s different, that she isn’t beautiful.” (Cromie). The main reason people participate in pageants is the benefit of gaining confidence. (Shappert). Parents enter their children into pageants when they are young so they can learn to be comfortable with who they are and meet many new people. (Cromie). The downside of placing a child into the pageantry world is that it can become very costly. Parents can spend hundreds up to even a thousand dollars just on the dress, this is not including the hair, nails, fake teeth and coaching, if the parent wishes to increase their chances of winning. (Cromie). Another disadvantage to putting young children or even young adults into pageants is that the thought of winning can get to their head. The competition can become too serious for them. On television shows like Toddlers and Tiaras children are often shown throwing tantrums when they do not win.
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.
Parents of the pageant world dont always understand how provocative and wrong it is to dress their children up in show outfits or giving the child additives to make them look better. Sadly, some parents find this ‘cute’ or ‘fun’. They don't seem to understand how doing this to their children can change their attitudes in a negative way as they grow up. For example, some parents have dressed their children up as Dolly Parton, the ‘street walker’ from pretty woman, and much more. A pageant mom quoted this “I’d rather she be perfect and have a little frozen face. Some people say her eyebrows look a little pulled already but they look striking” (Child Beauty Pageants are Abuse). This type of behavior from a parent should not be acceptable. Another pageant mom who is a trained beautician said this “I’ll make her frown before injecting, which helps identify a potential wrinkle.” (Child Beauty Pag...