Eating Disorders And Sexualization Of Child Beauty Pageants

To begin with, about 250,000 children participate in around 5,000 pageants in the United States every year. Hence this, beauty pageants impact a child to have unhealthy values. Consequently, adolescent females could be oversexulized. Henceforth, youths are more at risk for eating disorders and body dissatisfaction. Child beauty pageants can result in unhealthy values, sexualization of young girls , and potential risk of eating disorders and body dissatisfaction.

First of all, pageants can influence unhealthy values to young competitors. Therefore, children may become overcompetitive and also try to beat their competitors at all cost (Lindsey). Also, contestants can become superficial, and manipulate children into believing their natural beauty isn’t good enough. For example, on the show Toddlers and Tiaras, tantrums usually occur due to the fact that the contestants feel they have to be perfect, and their beauty isn’t good enough. Lastly, the pageants train children that they are only worth something if they win pageants, or win an endless amount of trophies.

Usually, during the beauty portions of the pageants, contestants ordinally perform risque routines and wear provocative outfits. Generally, the typical preparation includes, “ fake eyelashes, fake nails, hair extensions, teeth whitening, eyebrow waxing and grooming, heavy make-up, and most recently, breast and butt padding to enhance the look” (Lindsey). The young girls imitate older woman by putting on risque outfits and sometimes adding breast and butt padding to enhance their outer appearance. For instance, on Toddlers and Tiara there was a routine when a 3 year dressed up as the prostitute played by Julia Roberts in the 1990 film, Pretty Woman which caused controversy around the country