Child Beauty Pageants

Beauty Pageants

Beauty pageants are gaining attention in the news and classrooms for better or worse. Toddlers and Tiaras, a reality television show which follows the families of beauty pageant children, has raised awareness of the harm done by beauty pageants. Beauty pageants are demeaning to women because it fosters an unrealistic body image for women and damages how women treat themselves.

Well-known beauty pageants, Miss Universe and Miss America, create an unrealistic profile of women. On the Miss Universe and Miss America application it asks for a woman's height, weight, and a headshot photograph. There leaves no place for accomplishments and goals. It sends out the message that a good role model is of a certain size and has to put hours into looking good before presenting herself to the public. Miss Universe's website blatantly states that there is "no talent competition." The winner of Miss

From looking at pictures, the babies were dressed how babies should be dressed. Nowadays, child beauty pageant entrants are wearing skimpy clothing and are forced by their parents to perform numerous beauty procedures, such as fake tans, hair extensions, permanent mascara, waxed eyebrows and legs and whitened teeth. My sympathy goes out to the children who are constantly being told by their parents that they don't look good enough or that they can look better. I believe children should be playing with others, not competing with others. Children should pick up a hobby, such as playing an instrument or learning a different language. The website Debate says, "How does knowledge in Beauty Pageants transfer outside of that world? With sports comes mental disciple and advance body control, with after school clubs comes the ability to work in groups and gain leadership experience." There are no positive lessons learned from beauty pageants. Participants and viewers are taught that women who are pretty