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Positive effects of beauty pageants
Positive effects of beauty pageants
The effects media has on body image
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Child pageants have been around for decades, and the popularity of these beauty contests has grown into a massive five billion dollar industry. Many people may be familiar with the controversial television show “Toddlers and Tiaras”, which showcases young children ranging from a few months old to their early teens wearing tons of makeup and dresses that can cost up to eight thousand dollars. Many of these children feel pressured by their parents to win, stressed after hours of practice, and worried about maintaining a “perfect” image. Some of the acts that these girls do on stage are inappropriate and feature revealing outfits, and eventually many emotional and even physical health issues may form in result of being in child pageants. These …show more content…
It is not uncommon to see a 5 or 6 year old dancing inappropriately on stage for the talent portion of the competition. The outfits that they sometimes wear are very revealing and rarely age appropriate. The excess makeup and fake nails, hair, tan and eyelashes make these young girls look disturbingly grown up. All of the fake features hide any signs of their young age, such as baby teeth that are hid by fake teeth called flippers. These children are cheered on while they blow kisses and shake their hips on stage. This may create unhealthy habits. These girls are forced to act grown up, and they often aren’t given the chance to do normal things that kids their age would do, such as play with toys. This is also proven to create body image issues early on. 8 out of 10 children age 10 say that they have been on a diet, and beauty pageants are a major factor in these statistics. Being in beauty pageants can lead girls to believe that looking good is the only thing that matters.
In 2013, France actually banned beauty pageants for anyone under the age of 16. In the United States there is an increasing demand to ban these beauty pageants. Pageants feature inappropriate dances and outfits far too often. The body image of these girls begins to deteriorate as they are pressured to be
“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
One professional psychologist and registered dietician has warned that competing in the beauty pageants may lead young girls to feel that the approval and love of their parents is based solely on their looks and whether they win a crown at the pageant or not. Losing in a pageant category may generate lower feelings of self-worth in young children who do not know how to properly cope with loss at such a young age. Additionally, there are countless examples of women who as children participated in beauty pageants and began stressing at a young age while attempting to maintain an impossible ideal of perfection. Many of the young girls who cannot keep up a perfect look will begin to feel body shame, depression and may even develop an eating disorder. In fact, one study was done on approximately 130 females who had participated in beauty pageants.
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...
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.
Although this may not be a scientifically proven fact it is understood that young children seem to start to learn and point out what they like and dislike about themselves early on in life. Being a child pageant star could be just what a child needs to develop that kick start to a healthy self-esteem. Highlighted in Elizabeth Day’s “Living Dolls” an eleven-year old girl named Chloe Lindsay was teased for being over-weight by her classmates. Even going as far as to tag her with the nickname “fat Barbie.” Day says due to bulling Chloe was put through daily, there were times when she would not want to leave the house, for fear of being picked on (34). Some may disagree and say that a child being in a child pageant knocks down their esteem to a whole new level. But for Chloe adding a bit of make-up and fake eyelashes was the best thing for her. It made her feel very pretty and gave her the confidence, she needed to go on stage (Day). When doing a pageant, children get to show off who he or she is in front of people that they have never seen before. This could be a child’s first experience with singing on stage with a real microphone and real people hearing them. No one should have a problem with children that want to try and sing and dance on stage. If a child has a well- build self-confidence it shows and it could be easier for him or her to make new friends. Being in pageants is a small network of girls and boys who participate in numerous events together, allowing these children to make friendships that can last
When one looks back at their childhood, what pops into their head? For most people their response would be playing with dolls, going outside, or having sleepovers, but for others that isn’t reality. Britney, an eight-year old girl from California, spent her childhood getting Botox and competing in child beauty pageants. According to her mother, Britney had been complaining about wrinkles and agreed to trying Botox. This sounds absolutely crazy, but it is not uncommon. Over 250,000 kids participate in beauty pageants each year (Lindsey). These children, who start competing as early as age 2, are being judged on their looks, capability, perfection, and confidence. The controversies over these pageants have erupted in the past few years because of TLC’s reality show, Toddlers and Tiaras (Nussbaum). Many believe it is not right for young children to parade around on stage wearing make-up and inappropriate clothing, while others believe it builds confidence in children. Despite what people who are pro child beauty pageants say, these pageants can have major effects on the kids participating in them. One may argue that these girls gain much more than they lose, but in the end the negative affects far outweigh the positives.
These little girls prance on stage in expensive swimsuits and are expected to have adult like bodies at such a young age, when baby fat is still a factor! In Psychology Today, Martina Cartwright explains that before presenting the young female on stage, that the parents carved visible abdominal muscles into the girls' stomach with a bronzing spray. The problem is with such demands like this, which the root of body image issues begins. Although, pageants for young children have bad effects, and cause body image issue, beauty contests for young adult women provide confidence and promote healthy living for the contestants!
Heavy make-up, fake teeth, and adult costumes are just some of the things that glitz beauty pageants encourage. An estimated 250,000 children participate in beauty pageants every year. That number is increasing due to shows like Toddlers and Tiaras, and Honey Boo Boo. While it may be amusing to watch, the life of a pageant girl can be detrimental and have negative effects on their childhoods. Many of these girls are put into pageants because of their mothers. Once involved in the pageant life, children rarely have a say in what they want. Children’s Glitz beauty pageants should be banned.
By definition child pageants are “A beauty contest featuring contestants under 16 years of age. The competition categories may include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swim wear, western wear, theme wear, outfit of choice, decade wear, and evening wear.” However, pageants are a little different, the expectations in pageants are set extremely high especially for children aged 3 to 11. Pageants often contribute to psychological problems in children and often times may develop into disorders in the child's adult years. Participants in pageants are constantly surrounded by an atmosphere in which is superficial and teaches them many values which are disparaging.
In the article, “5 Reasons Child Pageants are Bad for Kids” exclaims, “Just look at the growing number of ‘school girls as young as 8 wear padded bras, high heels, or makeup, and strike suggestive poses. ’Really, what is this telling our children about how they present themselves to society.” The standard of glamour forced by child beauty pageants is unheard of. Children that have not hit puberty yet should not be worried about wearing makeup, padded bras, or high heels. Children especially should not gain the implication that striking suggestive poses is okay, but child beauty pageants put this implication in their brain.
However, in child beauty pageants, the real contest is whether if parents are still able to still distinguish the line between their own needs and the needs of their children. Often when these lines a blurred, parents may engage in behaviors such as abuse and exploitation of this child. “She [Martina Cartwright, Ph.D.] also witnessed parents putting high pressure on their young daughters to look “flawless” and win at all costs, pushing them to adopt an unnatural and adult-like physical appearance and chastising them for poor performance, lack of enthusiasm or a flawed appearance”
One would believe that a life of glamorous hair and make-up, beautiful gowns, and sparkling tiaras would be every young girls dream, unfortunately, for numerous, this dream often turns into a nightmare. In today’s world, little girls are being subjected to the world of pageantry. Beauty pageants in America have seemed to multiply over the years. Now, these pageants are so popular with little girls. They will do anything and everything they can to do pageants. Although the kid may want to enter, the parents take as much blame as the children do. Numerous parents fall in love with the idea of their children being in pageants. So is it really the child who wants to participate in such a demanding lifestyle?
Now I have something that when you leave you can think off do you really think beauty pageants are good for little girls and how they spend all that money on makeup, fake teeth and hair extensions. Thank you for listening. (End slide) Bibliography Hassan, S. (2011, November 03). The Psychological Effects of Child Beauty Pageants . Retrieved March 05, 2017, from Psychology:
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)