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What are the implications of beauty pageants on women
What do both positive and negative effects of beauty pageants have in common
What do both positive and negative effects of beauty pageants have in common
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Breaking News! A virus spreads like wildfire in the United States. Symptoms include tears, tantrums, and fits. This syndrome has been directly correlated with the participation of child beauty pageants. The Princess Syndrome still is being researched heavily. However, it is easy to identify. If you see a girl under the age of 10 with bleached hair, waxed eyebrows, fake nails, fake teeth (also known as flippers), an artificial tan, and/or provocative dresses she is most likely infected. Extreme beauty pageants are negatively impacting young girls in multiple ways. Children that partake in these beauty pageants are injected with an older look. In a “glitz” pageant girls spend hours getting ready for their performances. Things such as, fake hair …show more content…
It is truly sad that teenagers have to worry about this, more or less children. Girls in these beauty pageants have came to the impression that if they do not win they are ugly or fat. Pageants like these basically send the message if you are pretty, you win. This deteriorates little girls self esteem. “My daughter was in tears as she did not win and wondered why the judges didn’t think she was pretty.” Making young girls believing they failed. (Child Beauty Pageants give young girls the wrong impression) Beauty pageants cause not only emotional but mental harm to innocent girls. Body image problems set in when girls find the desire to be thin, this hobby gives girls that desire. Pageants have been proven to leave girls with more than just a crown. For instance when Brooke Breedwell, a former pageant star, spoke on ABC’s Good Morning America. Breedwell claimed that, “...pageants left her with stress, anxiety, and the feeling that she needed to be perfect.” (Qtd. in Lindsey) These young women are expected to perform perfectly, every time. “5 Reasons Beauty Pageants are Bad for Kids,” claims they are too young to even be able to say no, and when they can say no they are forced to do it anyways. (The Week Staff) This causes young girls to have unneeded weight on their
Most young girls like to play dress up in they’re mother’s clothing and messily put on old makeup at least once when they are young. This is all in good nature for the child to express them self’s and have fun with it; after all they are just curious. But pageants are not harmless fun, they take innocent dressing up to a whole new level with fake hair, professional caked on makeup, fake eyelashes, spray tans, fake teeth, and tons of embellished outfits that are sometimes vary improper. With all of this the kids also have to learn routines and poses that are also sometime not appropriate for young girls. According to Wiehe, “to the child, a message is given that sexuality- expressed in clothing, makeup, and certain postures- is appropriate and even something to exploit.” (493) I’m sure not all young girls will come up with this message, but for some that have been doing pageants for years that might think that their only self worth is their body
Children of any age are very impressionable and research has been to conclude that the “social acts of a person in later life are a direct correlation of the social network they grew up in,” (Cairns, 2010) Child beauty pageants damage the child’s health, for it can cause cognitive, physical, and psychological problems to the child (American Psychological Association, 2010). According to American Psychological Association, young girls are becoming sexualized in the media and have found that women who have participated in beauty pageants as a child were 39% more likely to suffer from an mental disorder; 28% are currently living with an eating disorder (APA, 2010). William Pinsof, a clinical psychologist and president of the Family Institute at Northwestern University states, “Being a little Barbie doll says your body has to be a certain way and your hair has to be a certain way. In girls particularly, this can unleash a whole complex of destructive self-experiences that can lead to eating disorders and all kind...
One professional psychologist and registered dietician has warned that competing in the beauty pageants may lead young girls to feel that the approval and love of their parents is based solely on their looks and whether they win a crown at the pageant or not. Losing in a pageant category may generate lower feelings of self-worth in young children who do not know how to properly cope with loss at such a young age. Additionally, there are countless examples of women who as children participated in beauty pageants and began stressing at a young age while attempting to maintain an impossible ideal of perfection. Many of the young girls who cannot keep up a perfect look will begin to feel body shame, depression and may even develop an eating disorder. In fact, one study was done on approximately 130 females who had participated in beauty pageants.
Fake hair, false teeth, spray tans, and waxed eyebrows are just a few things that some of these girls have when preparing to compete. The competition consists of young girls competing for the crown of beauty. Attention starved moms put their daughters in older aged attire and layer them up with makeup and glam to compete for the winning title. The judges pick for the most beautiful girl wins the title, a sparkly crown, a trophy, and cash. Even though beauty pageants teach children to compete, child pageants are affecting children’s childhood because the children grow up faster than they should and it teaches young girls that their true beauty doesn’t exist and they should dress and act older to make people think they are beautiful.
"The Health Risks of Child Beauty Pageants." Aol.on. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2014. .
She grabs the foundation and smothers her face with it; she creates a mask. She sprays the hairspray till the fumes clog the air. She squeezes into her bejeweled dress and puts on her heels. She transforms into someone who is unrecognizable, and fake. This is a little girl. The process of preparing for a beauty pageant is very demanding and stressful while little girls spend hours training and getting ready for their appearance on stage. Weeks are spent choreographing their dance routines and thousands of dollars are spent on, “glitzy” dresses, fake teeth, and spray tans. As long as beauty pageants for girls under the age of 16 continue, there will be an increase in mental and physical issues, an increase in the objectification of women, and there will be negative impacts for little girls.
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.
Imagine you are at home, watching TV. Flipping through the channels, you see a preview for next week’s episode of Toddlers & Tiara’s. They show the girls dressed in frilly, sparkly attire, fake teeth, fake hair, fake tans, and makeup that could transform their faces into someone in their 20’s. These children are usually misbehaving, disobedient, overdramatic and they are between the ages of four and six. Any person could see that this lifestyle is incredibly harmful to these children not just because of what it does to their appearance, but what happens when these little girls’ minds become tainted with the thoughts of needing to be beautiful and talented in order for people to like them.
These pageants led to physical and mental abuse to the child. Children being forced to participate in beauty pageants are usually faced with problems like disorders being bulimic, anorexic, and mental stability. Thinking that you have to be “perfect” in body and soul, as well as believing that you need to live up to an unrealistic image. The future outcomes of the child can led to bullying. It created problems of social interactions, thinking that they are better than everyone else and that beauty pageants are just like the real world, which could lead them to loneliness and isolation later in life.
Child beauty pageant affects child development in some ways. Child may be sensitive if they are looking good and they have materialistic concerns. Children may become more concerned with the development of their looks than with developing their internal selves. Beauty pageants stress looks, glamour and, often, insulting outfits not suitable for their age. Alison Bryant says, “Girls can be bitchy and competitive enough as it is, and entering them in beauty pageants only encourages the development of this trait.”
Judging girls on how they carry and present themselves and holding them to a higher standard on what they should look like is a horrible way to critique a young undeveloped child. “Not everyone takes criticism well especially when it comes to their appearance”. (Cartwright) . This quote is important because it shows that judging people off of their appearance is wrong and it could really lower a young girl's self esteem. Pageants send a message that looks and appearance are more important than brains and education.
Beauty pageants demand that competitors spend large amounts of money in synthetic enhancement. This is a poor focus for vulnerable girls and destroys the girls at a very young age. Beauty pageants convince girls that outer beauty is more important than inner beauty, which is totally a false claim. In this paper, we are going to talk about the pros and cons, whys and woes of pageants and if they are manipulative or valuable to kids. Even though that beauty pageants are a good way for girls to make friends. Beauty pageants are harmful to young children and they should not be able to compete until adulthood because beauty pageants teach kids that outer beauty is more important than inner beauty and beauty pageants pose a threat to the safety of children.
Statistics show that 6% of girls in beauty pageants record having suffered from long-term depression, 9 out of 10 girls in pageants ages 14-16 admitted to feeling suicidal tendencies or depression, and it is largely caused by the desire to be thin. (Facts/Statistics-Child Beauty Pageants) The question is, is this a proper place for young girls where they are encouraged to act and look as mature as adults? “These pageants force kids to grow up too quickly. The pint-size stars pile on fake hair, heavy makeup, and even false teeth before taking the stage. Many kids wear revealing clothing that critics say aren’t age appropriate.” (Anastasia, Laura) Pageant participants range from ages six months to sixteen years, depending on what competition section they are a part of, and participate in categories of swimsuits, talent, evening wear, and themed costumes. Most girls at these young ages wear overalls and pigtails rather than slinky ensembles and fake hair that overwhelms their features. Not many young girls have the opportunity to dress up in fancy clothes and flaunt what they can do, but there are other pains that come with such moments that can be uncomfortable and confusing to these children, yet to look good they are compelled to grin and bear it. “Four-year-old Karley stands in her
Children female beauty pageants such as the televised show “Toddlers and Tiaras,” have a bad influence on young girls. The show more or over is a reality show of young girls in between the ages of as young as 3 months and older. Truly, this is poisoning their brains. Not only are they poisoning the young childs brains, but teaching them that face and body image is everything. It does not help the young girls self-esteem; it is damaging them morally in the real sense that they are real people that are being taught looks are important. There is other activities to build up a childs self-esteem other than beauty pageants as parents believe; such as dancing, sports or acting lessons. Especially the younger children who get influenced faster, are taught to be more beautiful on the outside than the inside. For example, lots of the girls on the show and in local beauty pageants usually tan, wear wigs, wear false eyelashes, fake nails and makeup. What is this teaching them? It is morally wrong for a girl that young to be adding all ...
Parents of the pageant world dont always understand how provocative and wrong it is to dress their children up in show outfits or giving the child additives to make them look better. Sadly, some parents find this ‘cute’ or ‘fun’. They don't seem to understand how doing this to their children can change their attitudes in a negative way as they grow up. For example, some parents have dressed their children up as Dolly Parton, the ‘street walker’ from pretty woman, and much more. A pageant mom quoted this “I’d rather she be perfect and have a little frozen face. Some people say her eyebrows look a little pulled already but they look striking” (Child Beauty Pageants are Abuse). This type of behavior from a parent should not be acceptable. Another pageant mom who is a trained beautician said this “I’ll make her frown before injecting, which helps identify a potential wrinkle.” (Child Beauty Pag...