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Negative effects on childhood beauty pageants
Positive and negative effects of beauty pageants
Essays on child beauty pageants
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The popularity of child beauty contests seems to be increasing dramatically every year causing more and more controversy as time goes on. Many people do not agree with children being forced to fulfill their parents' dream by taking place in a pageant .It is very common for young girls to be obsessed over Barbie dolls, the perfect hair combined with the flawless makeup has provided a fantasy idol for all young girls to look up to, but who would have thought the doll would come to life as a 5 year old girl competing in a beauty pageant? Child beauty contests encourage Barbie stereotypes to prevail. These young girls go to very drastic measures to achieve the flawless Barbie doll look. They are spending hours after hours practicing their routines, interviews and perfecting there unrecognizable faces meanwhile spending thousands of pounds on outfits,hair and spray tans. The Barbie dolls from my childhood have became real life figures as these young girls have been over indulging themselves in makeup and dressing scandalously to try impress an audience. Futhermore,the age of the children participating in pageants ranges from 0 - 18 years old. That goes to show that the very young children participating are not in it for themselves but have been forced into it by their parents or guardians. Most of these children are too young to even understand what is going on. From the day these kids can crawl they are welcomed onto the stage of any pageant to compete for the grand prize. During childhood the foucus should be on learning and playing instead of being viewed as a Barbie doll. Paisley Dickey, age three, participated in a "Toddlers and Tiara's "pageant where her mother dressed her as a prostitute portraying Julia Roberts in the film "P... ... middle of paper ... ...t matter if you can't breathe. It matters if it looks good", says the mother of a beauty pagent child. This shows that the children are not at the best intention and its all about the prizes and publicity for some parents. Encouraging young girls to dress scandalously can lead to child pedophilia and also small mesasures of child pornography. Who would want to bring their beautiful children into such repulsive difficulties?. Beauty pageants have shown to cause serious effects on children such as, psychological issues,depression and eatting disorders. Children should not be entered in beauty pagents until they are old enough to make their own decisons about wethier it's what they want to do or not. The object of beauty contests is to win the nobel prize; a huge sum of money and the parents of these entering coach their kids to win,no matter how much it takes.
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.
At some point every single one of us was once an innocent child without a care in the world. The only thing that mattered was to make sure we had fun. There are many different things children do to have fun. Some children love to go outside and get dirty, others prefer to stay indoors and play pretend. Some girls love to play tea time or pretend to be princess. In some cases those pretend fantasies become true. Little girls get the chance to actually become a small little princess for a day. The only place that allows little girls to become a princess is at a child beauty pageant. Unfortunately throughout the years these pageants for little girls have been criticized and rejected by other people. There are many articles that discuss the reasons why child beauty pageants are rejected but there are also some that discuss the importance of them.
...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.
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.
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.
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
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...
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?
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, swimwear, theme wear, decade wear, evening wear, interview, western wear, and outfit of choice. Child contestants are judged based on poise, perfection, looks, capability, and confidence.
" In the end, children’s beauty pageants are essentially harmful to both young girls safety and minds. It may not happen to some, but most of the young girls that compete in beauty pageants seem to have a bit of an attitude towards their parents and other people who will not cooperate with them.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Saying that all beauty pageants oversexualize young children just isn’t true. It’s important to realize, that natural beauty pageants are hardly taken into account by the public. These pageants focus on the interview, talent and community service aspects of pageants. Competitors are even docked points for wearing make-up. A pageant with rules and standards to prevent the oversexualiization of children, shouldn’t be outlawed due to other pageants that take things too far. Point often overlooked, it is reality shows like "Toddlers and Tiaras" and "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" that are the ones introducing millions to the pageant world. These shows aren’t accurate depictions of what child beauty pageants are all about. On the positive side, individuals like Anna Berry and her daughter Ashley, long term pageant competitors, consider pageantry a hobby and suggest it’s not all the media makes it out to be. In Berry’s perspective, reality tv shows provide the public with a sensationalized view but fail to reveal the positive aspects and effects that can be seen within young girls who choose to do pageantry as a hobby. "I understand why public perspective tends to be so negative about the competitions, because they are little girls. I wish the public saw more about the experience we get,"
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)
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
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?
Do beauty pageants really help girls find their inner beauty or do they just change into faulty beauty queens? Looking deeply into what these competitions really create out of a person, anyone can quickly find that the contestants aren’t all rainbows and butterflies. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Pageantry changes some girls for the better, but can also change them for the worse. Young girls should not participate in beauty pageants because they apply too much pressure by judging females based mostly on their physical appearance and can cost up to thousands of dollars.