Over that last 3 years, four-year-old Eden Wood has competed in child beauty pageants. Her parents have used more than 70,000 dollars for Eden to compete in these competitions; because of her winnings she has produced between 25,000- 30,000 dollars in prize money. She has yet to receive any of her prize money because her parents use it to invest in the pageant circuit. Eden loves pageants and competing in them, but her story leaves me speculating if she is too consumed in beauty pageants, and the negative effects they are having on her (Lieberman). Even though beauty pageants help promote personal development, confidence, and communication skills; pageants have negative social and psychological effects on children and teens. It causes early childhood stress and anxiety and parents are putting their kids through the pageants to make a profit off of them.
Children making money starting at the age of three reminds me of the children in third world countries that are forced by adults to work in factories. These children work for pennies a day, but unfortunately the children in these alleged pageants make large amounts of money that they never see. Pageant kids could most definitely use the money at another time in their lives to aide them through college or technical training. A pondering question when talking on this subject is; do any of the parents of these children have any college education? And if yes then; how much was their college expenses, and are they going to be saving for their children or make them pay for it later on when it could have been paid for possibly after one of the pageants.
A study done at the University of Minnesota evaluated the association between childhood beauty pageants and adult eating disorders, de...
... middle of paper ...
...ppease to audiences. I believe pageants are bad for children and young girls because of the severity it causes them with low self-esteem, and the pressure to be perfect.
Works Cited
Carrwright, Martina M. “Princess By Proxy: What Child Beauty Pageants Teach Girls About Self-Worth And What We Can Do About It. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 51.1 (2012): 1105-1107. Academic Search Complete. 3 Dec. 2013.
Lieberman, Lindsay. “Protecting Pageant Princesses: A Call for Statutory Regulation of Child Beauty Pageants.” Journal of Law & Policy 18.2 (2010): 739-774 Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Wonderlich, Anna, Diann Ackard, and Judith Henderson. “Childhood Beauty Pageant Contestants: Associations with Adult Disordered Eating and Mental Health. Eating Disorder 13.1 (2012): 291-301. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
Child beauty pageants are a quite controversial topic, not only in the United States but all around the world. Beauty pageants teach young girls bad lessons and causes them to grow up too fast. The people who are strongly opposed to child beauty pageants view the children involved as being objectified and treated more like eye candy than little girls. Many people have had enough of the exploitation and are starting movements for change. Some countries such as France, have even gone so far as to ban children under the age of sixteen to compete in pageants. Anyone who violates this law faces heavy fines and possible jail time (Could Child Beauty Pageants Be Banned in the USA?). The United States should also look into the possibility of a law prohibiting the participation of children in beauty pageants. Beauty pageants exploit children and applauded them for their looks. Many people believe that “it’s human nature to be drawn to beauty”, but have they taken it too far (Holland, Kristen)?
Rapport, Lisa J. "Child Beauty Pageants: The Real Story Behind the Glitz." Child Beauty Pageants: The Real Story Behind the Glitz. N.p., 30 May 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Associations With Adult Disordered Eating And Mental Health.” Eating Disorders 13.3 (2005): 291-301. Academic Search Complete. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
The amount of money spent on these pageants have caused many families to go into debt, lose homes, or even divorcee because of the overwhelming cost required in some pageants. Parents put way too much into pageants when it comes to expenses. All of the fancy cars and make-up artists are not needed for kids especially if parents cannot afford it. Parents say it is all about the kids but most of the time it is to make them happy. If only pageant parents knew how they are teaching their kids about a materialistic life style. Kids should know more than fancy cars and clothes.
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 ...
Pageants have been around for a long time. In the past, pageants were an interactive way for girls to display poise and to compete against each other in different categories. Nowadays pageants have transformed completely. Young girls are being treated and made up as if they were women or dolls. On the TLC show, Toddlers and Tiaras, we begin to see this trend happening. Girls as young as the age of two to fifteen months are being put into these pageants and are shown off to the world as “role models” to other children. The show starts off with a glimpse of the young girls’ lives. We see how they interact with their families and we get a feel for how they live. Most girls display all their trophies and how well they do in each pageant. All of these young girls display attitudes and throw temper tantrums throughout the show. Parents spend an enormous amount of money for each pageant on things like dresses and make up. Other children who watch “Toddlers and Tiaras” might be impacted due to being the...
“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
Beauty pageants are linked with an immense variety of negative effects. These children are trying to be someone that they are not. The effects on these children can escalate quickly and affect them their entire life. When a parent first enters their child in a pageant, they do not think about the negative consequences they could have on their child. No parent wants to experience the tragedy that the Ramsey family did. Although some children do gain things from these pageants, the majority of them are harmed. The effects from these pageants range from eating disorders and body image problems to social and psychological problems. If there are not regulations put on these pageants in the near future, our young children are going suffer from growing up to fast. When will people learn that looks are not everything and we should let the kids be kids?
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...
26% of children in pageants have a diagnosed eating disorder” (Walker). However Walker suggest that the worst part is, “like in the scenario earlier, parents are the ones causing the eating disorders because they try to have their children maintain a certain fitness level; 30% of girls between 2-12 years old in pageants have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety, compare that with the 11% that aren’t in pageants that have been diagnosed, a couple of factors that lead into this depression could be losing multiple competitions consecutively, being forced to do things they don’t want to, or even from abuse or parental neglect”(Walker). Elizabeth Day, wrote an article in the Observer, about a story of a young girl, her name is amber and is only seven years old that love Miley Cyrus. Always she sleeps with her posters and loves music and watching videos on YouTube, dancing. Amber had a certificate for taking part in the Mini Miss UK competition years ago, and she is an aspiring for the child competition for beauty. She explained that her mom influence also for her to participate in the beauty concur. Sally is 36 years old, young mom of two kids Amber and her younger brother, she replays that amber always like to be in the front of the camera and into, she likes dancing and acting since she was three years, and the pageant was a new experience for her, something new that she wanted to try. The journalist asks Sally if this pageant and beauty concurs influence and affects Amber childhood to grow fast, she answer that she did not see any negative effect because she not allowed her daughter to wear mascara or other things, she let her daughter be natural because is a child (Day 1-3). Like in this example for Amber, that she like to dance and acting, is not meant that she have to participate in this competition
So in the end, they may not be terrible. I do not think little kids should be allowed to do pageants, but when they are older and know better it is okay. We have talked about pros and cons and whys and woes and why pageants should be banned and whether or not they are exploitative or beneficial. So the question still remains; Are beauty pageants harmful or beneficial to young children? Who is to say whether or not they are good or bad? Maybe one day down the road, all these tiny tots that are doing pageants now will grow up to be doctors and lawyers and help for greater good.
There are over 100,000 beauty pageants held in the United States every year, and over 2.5 million girls, ranging from ages zero to mid-twenties all across America compete in these competitions. A bountiful amount of people all over the world feel that beauty pageants are degrading to women and objectify them. I support these pageants to an extent. I do not feel that toddler/ child beauty pageants are okay considering they teach girls at a young age that they have to compete to look better with other girls. The youngest you should be to compete in a beauty pageant is 12. At this age and beyond I feel that beauty pageants are a valuable thing since they teach you life lessons on how to be healthy, confident, and informed about current events.
Pageants have a way of exploiting children by changing their looks and attitudes to make them more adult like and entertaining; dressing children in bikinis or provocative costumes just to be judged by how well they wear it and how pretty they are is demeaning and cruel. Children should not be taught that looks are everything and you get everything you want in life because when they're older it will be harder for them to accept reality. Imitating the fashion and looks of an adult is not how a child should grow up. A parent should want their child to grow up knowing that they are naturally beautiful and their personality and smarts can get them far in life rather than beauty beats brains, correct?
Beauty pageants have long been a form of entertainment, exhibiting beautiful women with ideal bodies competing with their talent and their 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.” (University of Kansas,
Many people are against beauty pageants, because people think that pageants are sexist, judgmental, and degrading of women. Do beauty pageants still serve their purpose in society? Yes, many contestants gain a lot by doing pageants. Contestants of any age and gender have their benefits from doing pageants.