Innocence at Risk Beauty pageants have been around since the 1920’s and child beauty pageants began in the 1960’s. There are different age divisions which are from 0-18 years old. Children are encouraged by their parents to participate in these competitions that are supposed to increase self-esteem, public speaking skills, and confidence. In reality these competitions cause great harm to these innocent children and do the exact opposite. Parents don’t realize that their risking their child’s health. Children under the age of eighteen should not be allowed to compete in beauty pageants. Such competition of youngsters causes negative consequences that are physical, social, psychological, and sexual health. To begin with, beauty pageants cause physical consequences in young participants. These children undergo hours of rehearsal. They don’t have regular child activities. Once they start participating in these competitions their life changes. These small girls have to go through several physical changes. One is to be spray tanned with a chemical called DHA. The FDA recommends avoiding contact between the DHA and the mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose and mouth. In fact merely inhaling the chemical can cause coughing, dizziness, fainting or rashes (Lieberman 755). Even with these warning adults continue to spray tan their children so they can have a chance to win these competitions. In the show “Toddlers and Tiara’s” the mother was told by a coach that in order for her daughter to have even a slight chance of winning she had to be spray tanned. The first thing that judges look at is the physical appearance of the participants so this causes parents and kids to be conscious in their physique. The girl has to fit perfectly into... ... middle of paper ... ...s, MO). 24 Feb 1997: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 17 Apr 2011. Eubanks, Andrea. “Youth beauty pageants: Beautiful children Ugly parents.” The Collegian. 22 february 2000. University of Tulsa. Web. 18 April 2011. Hunter, Nicole. “Effects of beauty Pageants.” Writing. 2007. Web. 18 April 2011. "Kids on the catwalk?" Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication 24 Feb. 1997: 3. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 18 Apr. 2011. Lieberman, Lindsay. "PROTECTING PAGEANT PRINCESSES: A CALL FOR STATUTORY REGULATION OF CHILD BEAUTY PAGEANTS." Journal of Law & Policy 18.2 (2010): 739-774. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. Reed, Billy. "Child Beauty Pageants Should Be Eliminated." Billy Reed Says (28 Aug. 2006). Rpt. in Beauty Pageants. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 17 Apr. 2011.
In “Toddlers In Tiaras” Skip Hollandsworth purpose is to get readers to understand that pageants are teaching young girls to young women that the sexualization of their looks are their main value, leaving a negative effect on contestants physically. He believes parents are usually the main reason why young girls join the pageants to begin with so, he targets parents as the audience of his essay. To get readers to understand his point of view and to persuade them to agree with him he displays evidences from reliable sources using ethos, pathos and logos throughout the article.
Reed, Billy. "Child Beauty Pageants Should Be Eliminated." Beauty Pageants. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. At Issue. Rpt. from "Time to End Child Beauty Pageants." Billy Reed Says. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Mar. 2014.
...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.
Many mothers who allow their children to participate in beauty pageants would argue that performing in the pageants isn’t as stressful and serious as the television shows portray them. In fact, “the pageant industry promotes this idea by advertising pageants as family affairs that are great for a child’s self-esteem and poise” (Wolfe 445). Also, in an article written by Lise Hilbodt-Stolley, a mother of a pageant princess stated “that while pageants may be ‘politically incorrect’ they are drug, alcohol and gang free” (3). However, many parents push their children to win because they are either greedy for the money and fame that accompanies a win, or are living through their young children because of their own feelings of inadequacy. These same parents who are blinded by the possibility of their baby...
Child beauty pageants have been a part of American society since the 1960’s. These pageants consist of modeling swimwear, evening attire, dance and talent. The young children entered in the pageants are judged on perfection, confidence, capability and looks. Judges would call this “the complete package.” Children are divided into different age groups to make the pageants fair. They are guided by there parents who spend well over 200 dollars for the pageants. Money is spent on fake nails, hair extensions, makeup, clothing, eyebrow waxing, and anything else their parents are willing to do to make their child the best looking. Keep in mind that these little girls range from ages 1-12. The issues with these pageants are that these extremely young girls are beginning to compare themselves to other “prettier” girls, which leads to negative effects in the future.
"How Do Child Beauty Pageants Affect a Child's Development?" Everyday Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2014
Lights, camera, pouty lips welcome to the four dimensional world of children 's beauty pageants. Over the years, child pageants have become a hot topic gaining a great deal of delight from numerous people around the world. From having a strong standing, ongoing fan base that keeps the hit TLC TV show Toddlers and Tiaras; on air to having some of Americans ' favorite beauty queens making guest appearances on shows such as the Ellen Show. Regretfully, the idea of putting an end to child pageants has become somewhat of a hotter topic than the pageants themselves. People often put down what they do not understand why dress a child like that? Why all the make-up? What some do not seem to understand is that there are advantages to being a beauty
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?
" 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 ... ...
Issues regarding the purpose of beauty pageants alarm women since majority of the beauty pageants are for them. Let us look at the good side of beauty pageants. First, allows the use...
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)
Cromie, William J. “The Whys and Woes of Beauty Pageants.” News.harvard.edu. 2000-2014. 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.
Beauty pageants have long been a form of entertainment, exhibiting beautiful women with ideal bodies competing for their talent and looks. Many pageant moms involve their daughters in children’s pageants to help them improve their social skills, exercise their talents, and boost their self-esteem. Although the pageants may seem like harmless competition with benefits, research shows that they may be doing the young beauty queens more harm than good. “.the girls are receiving conflicting messages: In order to win, the girls must show a unique personality, but they must also act and dress in a hyper feminine manner and conform to the pageant world's ideal standard of beauty and narrow set of conventions.”