Pageant Parents are to Blame for the Exploitation of Their Children

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Pageant Parents are to Blame for the Exploitation of Their Children Until the death of 6-year-old beauty queen Jonbenet Ramsey, the child pageant circuit was never fully recognized on a national scale. In the past 17 years, many shows have attempted to give the country a glimpse into the the life of a child beauty queen, however, they are quite over dramatic. Although some sources of media may mislead a viewer to believe the child pageant system is exploitive and sexualizes the young contestants, research shows the decisions of some parents are truly to blame, not the pageants themselves. Although the pageant system can be a place to sprout new relationships, for many it does nothing but tear them down. Every parent wants their child to avoid the mistakes they, as parents, had made earlier in life in order to be the best they can be. Many pageant parents take this to the next level and use the child to live life again and pursue every opportunity they could have possibly missed as they were growing up. How is a child supposed to live their own life if they're forced to be a pawn in their parents game? Not only do pageants affect the parent-child relationship, it also affects the way children choose friends for the rest of their life. Heidi Gerkin, a former pageant star with titles such as America's Junior Miss, says that she has been more comfortable with having more male friends because of her previous experiences with deceiving friendships in the pageant systems. She says "Even now, whenever I meet somebody, I question whether they really like me" (Goode). The relationship the pageant systems affects the most is the relationship with oneself. It is very rare for a girl to claim she has never felt self-conscious, especially ... ... middle of paper ... ...hing that matters is winning. Whether the cost is their child’s dignity or the outcome of their future. These children should get a chance to make their own decisions rather than live the lives of their parents’. Works Cited Baxter, Brittany. Toddlers And Tiaras: Pageant Moms Gone Crazy. Web. fystoddlesandtiaras.wordpress.com. Bello, Mark. Beauty Pageants: Are Parents Bullying Their Children- By Accident?. Web. www.livingsafer.com. Blue, Alexis. Princess by Proxy: When Child Beauty Pageants Aren't About the Kids. 2012. Arizona. Web. uanews.org. Goode, Laura. I Was a Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back. New York. 2012. New York Media. Web. thecut.com. Michael & Matthew. “Pageant Moms & Other Scary Things- A Father’s View on Toddlers & Tiaras. 2012. Houston Chronicle. Web. Pageant Mom: Did She Put Her Daughter In Danger?. 2013. Web. drphil.com.

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