More handpicked essays just for you.
Effects of media on culture and society
Influence of mass media on culture and behavior
Media influence on culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Toddlers and Tiara’s: Feminist Criticism Every once in a while when channel surfing, I have come across a show called “Toddlers and Tiaras”. This is a TLC hit reality TV show that follows families as they prepare their children to compete in a “glitz” beauty pageant. Not only are these children contestants between the ages months old and ten, but they are contestants that give off the self-image of a teenager. Stage moms are seen choreographing dance routines or hiring a choreographer to get the job done, to do what they came to do, which is to win! When watching this show, people may make the assumption that it is just a beauty pageant that is supposed to be fun for the children with lots of laughter and smiles. Many have thought wrong. …show more content…
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 …show more content…
To the contestants they learn that it is nothing shy of normal to dress and look like a Barbie in this case. To them everyone looks and acts the same; the parents are in the crowd are in the background performing the contestants routine to make sure it is on point. As the contestants behind stage are having their hair done, lipstick applied and mascara touched up. These girls are blinded to the outside world and what children there age are doing. These contestants are girls who should be at home playing in the neighborhood with their friends, or playing with Barbie dolls; not portraying the look of a Barbie doll walking out onto the stage and being judged for their routine. With these pageants, these contestants should be able to stand out as who they really are, showing off their unique personalities and beauty. Pageants today are nothing but competitive sports when really it should be a lighthearted event where people are able to display their talents. Correcting this could be a step in helping these little girls step foot in the right direction and not have to grow up dealing with negativity based on how they looked against how they once portrayed themselves to look. These girls have the ability to be role models therefore they should be displaying the right message to their viewers, helping little girls just like them grow in a positive
In “Toddlers In Tiaras” Skip Hollandsworth purpose is to get readers to understand Pageants are fun but can also be dangerous many predators attend them to seek out their next victim. Pageants can be very overwhelming and sometimes affects the participants in the long run. His exigency is the unknowing exploitation of little girls who are decorated with makeup, fancy clothes, and extensions added to their hair and the death of JonBenet Ramsey was taken serious but is believed to be a consequence of being in a pageant. “We love the beautiful dresses and the big hairstyles. We love the bling and makeup. We love our girls showing lots and lots of style, and we love seeing them sparkle”(Annette Hill). In the article Skip is speaking to many types of audiences.
...as Miss USA and Miss Universe are competitions intended for mature, self-assured women who are capable of making their own decisions. Child beauty pageants, however, ruin childhoods and force them to grow up believing in their looks, rather than in themselves. It is no surprise, that emotional distress plagues the contestants that participate in beauty long after stepping off of the stage; subjecting young girls of any age to judgment and ridicule is not only humiliating but horrific to think that we are sitting back being entertained by their competitive nature. Rather than raising strong, confident girls who want to achieve the best in life; the parents and the hosts of these competitions provide a platform on which little girls are dressed up as skimpy Barbie dolls and paraded around, trying to achieve some form of perfection that shouldn’t exist in little girls.
Many mothers who allow their children to participate in beauty pageants would argue that performing in the pageants isn’t as stressful and serious as the television shows portray them. In fact, “the pageant industry promotes this idea by advertising pageants as family affairs that are great for a child’s self-esteem and poise” (Wolfe 445). Also, in an article written by Lise Hilbodt-Stolley, a mother of a pageant princess stated “that while pageants may be ‘politically incorrect’ they are drug, alcohol and gang free” (3). However, many parents push their children to win because they are either greedy for the money and fame that accompanies a win, or are living through their young children because of their own feelings of inadequacy. These same parents who are blinded by the possibility of their baby...
It’s pathetic how these parents live through their children. Every parent says they allow their child to decide if they want to compete. But these are the same parents who say their daughter has been in pageants since she was in diapers! So how did she voice her opinion then? I have been watching clips of the “Toddlers And Tiaras” and just about every mother says, “Yes I am very competitive I want to do good at everything I do!” Why is this when they aren’t the ones competing. Jordan’s (a child on Toddlers and Tiara’s) mother said “Yes I’m very competitive, when my daughters on stage she represents a product of me.” Or the one parent who said they see pageants as a great investment. How disgusting. Not only are these little girls exploited, but also it’s usually for the parents benefit. Ther...
Villines, Zawn. "The Effects of Beauty Pageants and Cutest Baby Contests on Children."GoodTherapy.org, Therapy Blog, Beauty Pageants and Children: It’s Not Always Pretty. Good Therapy, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
“Toddlers and Tiaras” is a television show originally aired on TLC, capturing the preparations and day of activates for a glitz pageants. Participants in these pageants are usually girls ranging in age from months old to teens.
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.
Children beauty pageants encourage young girl’s to wear make-up, dress in fancy, expensive clothes, and prove to the judges they have what it takes to beat the other contestants. Jessica Bennett states in Tales of a Modern Diva “But this, my friends, is the new normal: a generation that primps and dyes and pulls and shapes, younger and with more vigor. Girls today are salon vets before they enter elementa...
What comes to mind when the words "child beauty pageants" are spoken? What some people think about is, crazy moms pushing their daughters to win, and little girls dressing and to look like Barbie’s. Is this setting a good example for children? It teaches them that people are only judged by looks, not their personality. Instead the lesson they are learning is that looks are the only thing that matters.
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
In one episode of the now discontinued tv show that had 103 episodes (IMDb, 2013), Toddlers and Tiaras, a 3 year old girl dressed up in an outfit modeled after Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Woman. This 3 year old, dressed as a prostitute flounced along the stage waving to the judges with hands on her hips. (Canning, 2011). Another example of celebrity mimicry for these pageants which sexualize these children that has been aired on Toddlers and Tiaras is when a 6 year old was stuffed into a padded bra in order to dress up as a busty Dolly Parton (Adams, 2012). These pageants then become a breeding ground for dangerous predators, Kidscape, an organization which attempts to prevent the bullying of children, CEO Claude Knights tells the Guardian Magazine ‘"We do know that predators or paedophiles continually tend to justify their interest in children by saying children are sexual beings. That children are now given a channel to become little Lolitas, to be portrayed as older, to almost become mini adults – these are all trends that give legitimacy to that kind of thinking."’ (Day, 2010). The phenomenon of sexual predators making child pageants unsafe has even infiltrated pop culture and has been spoken about in TV shows like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and in many documentaries such as America the Beautiful: Sexualizing our Youth. These young girls are put on stage and are given things like fake teeth, fake eyelashes and spray tans in order to look older, this is a thinly veiled opportunity to make children look sexy in the same way that 25 year olds looks sexy. Ignoring the looming threat of abuse, dressing and giving a child other beauty enhancements in order to make them look attractive in a way that America traditionally sees adults as attractive robs the children of childhood and will cause them to
Placing children in the public eye to be judged according to apparel, makeup, and hair pushes to grow up at a faster rate by turning them into hyper-sexualized objects. Bolsters social acceptance of these types of voyeurism can in return lead to serious criminal activities like child exploitation and pornography as they now believe that these are the actions they must act upon in order to gain a social acceptance in the adult world. As Meg Gehrke explains, "This exchange of beauty for power is ultimately destructive to women because it results in dependency on men and lowered self-esteem and sense of self-worth”(Darling Divas or Damaged Daughters, 432). The child stars seen on TV shows like Toddlers and Tiaras are often dressed up with heavy makeup, fake hair, and even false teeth and eyelashes before shown off on stage. Many of these children often wear revealing apparel critiqued as not age-appropriate. Psychologist Henry Giroux warns that when beauty pageants impose adult-like gender stereotypes on very young girls, the consequences can be dangerous”(Darling Divas or Damaged Daughters, 433). Encouraged by their parents, these children are too young to understand this correlation and are expected to not only act like adults and live up to these expectations but to embrace it as a part of growing up. Mothers like that of five-year-old Carley from Toddlers and Tiaras admits
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)
" Money, ratings and attention fuel the pageant/dance media machine, with parents and adults reaping the benefits. Purpose of Child Beauty Pageants For these young pageant girls, brains before beauty is not the case. Real-world priorities such as schooling, family, and friends are trumped by tiaras, makeup, and evening gowns. More value is often placed on being beautiful in the eyes of the judges, than on each girl’s individuality.
They are dressed up to look like adults and sometimes dressed provocatively. “Beauty pageants are a reflection of a culture in which women are not equal. Women’s bodies are not their own but are seen as objects of beauty for others.” (Nasso). Parents of the pageant world don’t always understand how provocative and wrong it is to dress their children up in show outfits or give the child additives to make them look better.