Children’s Beauty Pageants: The Ugly Truth by Karen Brooks

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Over the past few years with the coming out of the new hit show ‘Toddlers in Tiaras,’ viewers have brought up a controversial question. Are beauty pageants exploitive? Or do they simply build confidence in young children? People have been debating about this topic for years and will continue on for years to come. Will the debate ever come to an end? Or will it result in the banning of beauty pageants all together? These and many other questions have been brought to the surface. In these pageants many things take place. There are numerous sections and events that the children participate in such as formal wear, swimsuit, talent, personality and sometimes others.in the formal wear competition the contestants get dressed up in blinged out dresses. They also have their hair, and makeup done without flaw and walk on stage with big smiles to show off their outfits. The swimsuit competition, which is not always a part of the pageants, allows the girls to show off their swimsuits and maybe do a skit. This event also calls for a blinged out swimsuit and full makeup and hair. Most moms will get the children spray tanned as well. Next, would be the talent portion of the pageant. For this event, the girls display any talent of their choosing, with the appropriate hair, makeup and outfit of course, with such talents as singing, dancing or gymnastics. Finally, the children move on to the personality competition. In this competition, the kids preform anything they want to show the judges their personalities, wearing whatever outfit best expresses who they are. By now, you probably have your own opinion of beauty pageants. In a recent pole, 75% of the people asked if beauty pageants were harmful said yes. However there are many positive effe... ... middle of paper ... ...ml. McKay, Hollie. Parents of Children on TLC's 'Toddlers in Tiaras' Hurting Their Kids, Critics Say. February 14, 2014. Fox 411. June 03, 2010. http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/03/tlcs-toddlers-tiaras-returns-critics-say-parents-exploitive/. Roche, Marry. The ugly side of child beauty pageants. Irish Examiner. September 08, 2013. February 18,2014. http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-ugly-side-of-child-beauty-pageants-242192.html. Williams, Zinzi. Beauty Pageants and its Effect on Children. Children’s Beauty Pageants; December 6, 2010. purduecal.edu. February 18,2014; http://student.purduecal.edu/~zmwillia/1800-2200%20words.htm. Debate: Child beauty pageants. Are child beauty pageants tolerable, or should they be banned?. 30 May 2011. Debatapedia. February 18,2014. http://dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Child_beauty_pageants.

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