The lights are intensely bright as they reflect off the stage, leaving numerous loud, edgy mothers in dim luminosity behind them. Six year old Cindy pounces into the rays of the spotlight with a sham smile, flaunting her rehearsed dance, facial expressions, and postures. She finishes with a brilliant beam and pose, thinking of how much she has gone through to be on that stage: the eye waxing, hair dying, extreme dieting, fake teeth, layers of make-up, clouds of hairspray, extensions that give her headaches throughout the day, and the hours of practice she is forced to execute. Up to three million child beauty contestants experience this scenario per year (O’Neill). Glitz beauty pageants exploit young children, teaching them that self-worth is in physical beauty only, while natural beauty pageants teach child contestants that natural beauty and personality is most important, encouraging them to be confident in who they are. Child contestants should not be allowed to compete in glitz beauty pageants; they should only be allowed to participate in natural beauty pageants, which promote healthy competition for contestants.
Child beauty pageants have been a part of American society since the 1960’s (Nussbaum). The children that compete in these contests are usually between the ages of two and eighteen, but there are some cases where the contestants begin competing in child beauty pageants younger than the age of two, or as soon as they are able to walk. Divisions include sportswear, talent, casual wear, swim wear, theme wear, decade wear, evening wear, interview, western wear, and outfit of choice. The child contestants are judged based on poise, perfection, looks, capability, and confidence. The prizes of the child beauty pageants di...
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...s - Debatepedia. International Debate Education Assosication, 30 May 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. .
"Effects of Beauty Pageants - Writing.Com." The Online Community for Writers. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .
Grosaru, Lucia. Toddlers and Children Beauty Pageants – Risk Factors for Severe Psychological Turmoils. 08 June 2011. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .
"Models." Independent Modeling. Aurora PhotoArts, 06 May 2009. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. .
O'Neill, Justin. "Should 4-year-olds Be Beauty Queens?" Scholastic 12 Dec. 2011: 20-21. Web. 04 Mar. 2012.
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.
Beauty Pageants.” Journal of Law & Policy 18.2 (2010): 739-774. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19. Mar. 2014.
It is 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning, and Sharon is about to awaken her eighteen month old baby, Jessica, to prepare her for a long weekend of make-up, hairspray, and gowns. Jessica is one of the thousands of babies forced into the many children's beauty pageants each year. Sharon is among the many over-demanding parents who pressure their young and innocent children into beauty pageants each year and this is wrong.
"How Do Child Beauty Pageants Affect a Child's Development?" Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014
Web. The Web. The Web. 18 Mar. 2014. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-are-we-teaching-our-girls>.
The lights are all on you, the make-up, the hair, and the extravagant dresses. Your blood pumps with adrenaline; you feel nervous, yet excited. All eyes are on you; the pretty girl strutting across the stage in ostentatious costumes that flicker once caught in the light. Many people have witnessed a beauty pageant whether it is one on television or stage. Not many are in denial of the lovability of the younger aged children executing their talents in front of crowds. Beauty pageants have been around since the 1920’s setting a trend in the American society, but the history of beauty pageants began in Troy and Ancient China, where the contestants consisted of sculptors, actors, poets, philosophers and public speakers etc. (Children and Beauty Pageants) Beauty Pageants consist of many age groups ranging from newborns to about twenty years of age. Girls between the ages of three to thirteen should not participate in beauty pageants.
Beauty pageants are a competition judged on physical beauty and the winners are awarded prizes or titles. Pageants are a very expensive hobby to have. Some people think beauty pageants are terrible to put your child into and others think differently. When many people think of beauty pageants they think of the tv show on TLC called “Toddlers and Tiaras”. This show displays a little behind the scenes of the process of a beauty pageant, but not everything. The process of a beauty pageant is very long, and many do not understand the process behind one.
In today's society there are many children who have not properly learning their worth and important life skills necessary for the real world. As the quote showed these harmless pageants cultivate good important life skills especially for the real world, and most importantly these pageants are shaping the personality of young children surrounding them with strong, confident young men and women. Issues and controversies states “Parents of child-pageant participants also claim to enter their children in competition to better prepare them for entering the real world. Some parents see pageants as a way to help their children adjust to the idea that they will, throughout their lives, be critically appraised and face disappointment.” (child beauty pageants)
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)
Imagine this, a six-year-old Mia is nervously waiting for her name to be called, just a few hours prior she begged her mom not to make her do this. Her mom bribes her with a new kitten that she knew Mia has been wanting for the past few months. Mia will do anything to get the kitten that has been promised to her if she does the pageant. Then, the show begins. Mia steps out onto the stage not thinking about the crown, kitten, or the judges, but she thinks to herself “am I beautiful enough?” Flippers (fake teeth), spray tans, hair and makeup are just the minimum amount of work that goes into preparing a young child for a beauty pageant. Young children who participate in these beauty pageants
Ever since the 1920s, where a rising entrepreneur used ‘the most beautiful child’ to promote tourism for his hotel business, child beauty pageants have ascended into a hot topic worldwide (Roche, 2013). In our current day, society has begun recognizing the various limitations and antagonistic consequences that arose with such contests. For the most part, the darker side of such pageants may have remained glossed over if it hadn’t been for the gruesome murder case of the pageant star, JonBenet Ramsey (DeWitt, 1997). Some still argue that the children involved in such competitions enjoy the attention and grow up to become some of society’s high functioning individuals, when in fact, the harsh reality of the repercussions remain overlooked due to the need for personal satisfaction.
Palmero, Paul “Do Beauty Contests Still Serve their Purpose?” Lifestyle.inquirer.net. 2010-2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Today there are many new extracurricular activities that occupy a lot of young Americans minds. One trending activity is beauty pageants. It is more common in children where the ages may vary between eight months and even older. The trending debate is whether or not beauty contest serve any purpose in society. While many Americans feel as though pageants are helpful to a child’s self esteem, many feel that the effects of the contest have a very harsh effect on child development by devaluing a child. Researchers have found that beauty contests are effective for women to help make platforms for their careers and also create new jobs for women to create like mentoring children.
(Lee, 2009; “Palisades Amusement,” n.d.) Therefore, parents should be prohibited from allowing their children to engage in the child’s beauty pageants so as to wipe out the concerns and to avert real life
" 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.