“Perfection- a disposition to regard anything short of perfection as unacceptable; especially the setting of unrealistically demanding goals accompanied by a disposition to regard failure to achieve them as unacceptable and a sign of personal worthlessness.” Medical Definition from Merriam-Webster.
90% of girls from the age of 14 to 15 have suffered from depression with beauty contests as the main cause. People should not participate in beauty contests, especially at a young age; they really are harmful. Beauty contests can psychologically ruin its participants because of depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem/self-identity problems. If you do not think that sounds harmful then I am not sure what is.
Beauty contests lead to depression. As of January 1st in 2014 one hundred fifty thousand out of two million five hundred thousand women suffered from depression as a result of being a former beauty pageant participant. Some sources say that if a woman does not win a beauty contest, feelings of self-hatred will occur thus leading to a life of depression. Women are constantly comparing themselves to others, in order to feel “good enough” they need to win. If not, it could be detrimental to their psychological health. Of course, there’s still the two million three hundred fifty thousand women who aren’t diagnosed with depression but, does that really make those one hundred fifty thousand woman any less important?
Pageants are constantly causing eating disorders for women. 26% of one hundred eighteen women that won a beauty pageant now suffer from diagnosed eating disorder. “A Johns Hopkins study published a few years ago found that more than half of Miss Americas since 1970 have had a BMI below 18.5, placing them in the und...
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... they aren’t performing for anyone; It causes a sense of feeling lost.
This is not always the case, participating in beauty a contest doesn’t always lead to self-destruction. If handled correctly, participation as a child can lead to a very successful career in the future. If a parent makes it very clear that winning a beauty pageant is not everything then it could have a good end result. As long as there is a perfect balance then it most likely wont cause any damage. But, let’s face it: more often then not women will suffer psychologically from beauty contests.
In my conclusion I am going to put my foot down and say beauty pageants are, in fact, harmful. Beauty contests cause psychological damage to women because of depression, eating disorders, and self-esteem/self-identity issues. It is so clear that beauty contests are harmful if not handled correctly.
“A small study published in Eating Disorders the journal of treatment and prevention, that involved 22 women” (Hollandsworth). Girls are choosing unhealthy ways to stay fit and what they call the perfect size just to have a big appeal to the audience when at pageants. The encouragement of this behavior can lead to many body complications and disorders for these girls as they develop, only because they are not truly developing as an average young lady. “A 2007 report issued by the American Psychological Association Task force on the Sexualization of girls claims that parents who put their daughters in beauty pageants can contribute in very direct concrete ways to the precocious sexualization of the daughters” ( Hollandsworth). There has been research to prove that the actions of the young ladies is not all on their own, they have assistance with getting prepared for competitions and what to perform in competitions. Parents add more than what is necessary and can have a negative impact and not even know they are making matters worst than what they have to be. “Kiddie pageants are flourishing. Fueled by a reality TV show, an estimated 250,000 American girls participate in more than 5,000 beauty pageants every year” (Hollandsworth). Exploitation of these young girls is the “NEW BIG THING” to see and enjoy. Adults would rather watch little girls flaunt themselves
Nearly half of them stated they wished to be thinner and a quarter of them were believed to have an eating disorder (Wonderlich, Ackard, and Henderson 292). This same study found that self-esteem scores were lower and depression scores higher for those who had participated in beauty pageants. However, it is not the pageants themselves that are so catastrophic to a young girl’s sense of body image and confidence,
The effect that beauty pageants have on American women is overlooked because of the popularity of the event. I do not blame the pageant completely for the insecurities of women, but, it contributes to their insecurities. It is not fair that women who are 100 pounds are favored over women who are 130 pounds because they are slimmer. If beauty pageants are not banned at least stop televising them to the millions of public viewers. Society can be very influential when it comes to the appearance of women. Women should not feel like they have to reach certain standards or they will not be accepted. A women’s beauty should not be based on their weight, and height. Beauty comes in all sizes, shapes, and
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...
With parents trying to win every competition, pageants have brought negative effects on contestants. Identified by Zawn Villines, “Body-image distortions,” “low self-esteem,” “poor body image,” and “sexualization” are some potential effects that pageants have on the child’s mind. These effects can harm the children in the long term because it gives the image that beauty can lead to your success. Noted in Occupy Theory, “about six percent of beauty pageant participants have suffered from depression.” With all the pressure of being perfect and beautiful, children consequently feel that they are disappointing their parents for not being too perfect which ultimately leads to depression. With children, depression is hard to seek because their whole life revolves around their parents’ dream of winning a beauty pageants and children aren’t necessarily focused on their wants and desires thus making change in behavior thought to identify. Cited from Villiers, “Crash dieting… teaches children unhealthy approaches to food” is an unhealthy habit that can affect the child in the long. Crash dieting is designed for chi...
" 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 ... ...
Now let us know the other side of the story. Others argued that beauty pageants promote self-esteem. Facing other people is not easy. Only few are capable enough that can face the crowd with great confidence. It is indeed in beauty pageants that women gain confidence. It is in beauty pageants that allow women to be empowered. They are given the chance to meet other people. Meeting those new faces will boosts their confidence. It is in meeting those new faces and seeing people happy and proud on what they are doing on stage that they feel that they are given importance and they are idolize. It is also their time to show to others their hidden talents. It is in beauty pageants also that they want to prove to all that they can overcome their shyness in facing different types of people.
If no one stops exposing young girls in beauty pageants, what are our next generations going to look like? Young girls running around portraying fake looks, turning into someone completely different from who they truly are. Although beauty pageants may reinforce the fairy tale that physical beauty guarantees fame, fortune, and happiness, this activity may tarnish the child with physical, emotional, and societal lifetime difficulties. The exposition of children to the glitz pageant circuit is becoming evident in their growth and development as young women.
Kendrick, C. Ed.M. LCSW. (2011). Are beauty pageants bad for children? Life, Retrieved June 20, 2011, from http://life.familyeducation.com/emotional-development/girls-self-esteem/41305.html
Something I see in beauty pageants that reflects American culture is the overwhelming fact that Americans are obsessed with body image. Girls at an early age are expected to be skinny and look like Victoria Secret models. We have instilled the idea of looking perfect into young girl’s everyday life to where they are “growing up” at younger ages and feel the need to fit that image at a younger age. Martina Cartwright, who has a PhD and has studied child beauty pageants said in her article “Child Beauty Pageants Give Children Unrealistic Expectations”
Modern beauty contests started in the United States of America in 1880 with the first Miss United States bathing beauty contest held at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Since then, beauty pageants had been popular in many parts of the world. Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss International, participated in every year by more than fifty countries, ceaselessly attracts huge audiences and supporters. The biggest, the Miss World competition, had been running annually since 1951, and although it is less popular in the UK now than it was in 1968, when it attracted 27.5 million TV viewers, it still attracts an enormous worldwide audience of up to 3 billion viewers in 120 countries. [1] Although the main purpose of these pageants are to empower women, the crowned winners are also traveling around the world in order to support causes like HIV/AIDS and children's charity organizations. [2] Due to the success of these internationally produced pageants, various beauty contests for different classes of age, sex and sexuality stemmed up. However, even with the huge diversity, the content of each pageants have almost always been the same: all of them are comprised of the mainstream categories like swimwear portion and evening gown portion. With these content, beauty pageants gives out strong messages regarding what the ideal type of woman is, hence undermining the purpose of a beauty pageant: to empower women. Thus, although beauty pageants contribute to the entertainment of the masses, it promotes an ideal of female beauty that only a minority of women can realistically aspire, objectifies women, further advances cultural insensitivity among its candidates and uses up too much resources which is why it should be banned.
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 family’s kitchen, dressed in a bikini. Unrealistic expectations of being thin, physically beautiful, and perfect are at the heart of some disordered eating behaviors and body dissatisfaction. Scant research has been conducted to see if former pint-sized beauty pageant participants are more likely to suffer from eating disorders, but a small study published in 2005 showed that former childhood beauty pageant contestants had higher rates of body dissatisfaction.” (Cartwright, Martina)
Self-confidence is the number one reason to enter a beauty pageant. (Building Self-confidence pg.1) Miss Teen Arizona said, “ You would never catch me talking in front of large crowds, or being social at all, until my mom entered me in my first pageant amongst 213 girls! Talk about life changing!” (Building Self- confidence pg.1) She walked away being 4th runner up, and was in awe about how much self-confidence she had gained by participating in the pageant. If she can gain that much self-confidence by competing in one pageant, then imagine how many young women could be influenced for the better by deciding to compete in a pageant themselves.
Beauty pageants are too vigorous for children, and sending the wrong message as what beauty should look like. Beauty pageants have little girls as young as 4 years old spending hours preparing for a competition. They put on as much makeup as an adult would wear. They have fake eyelashes, fake teeth, spray tan, hair extensions, and some low cut outfit on, and then told to go on stage and impress the judges. If you are not a certain size and maintain that size, you are considered unattractive so many girls start obsessing about their weight at such a young age. They purposely starve themselves in order to stay at the "appropriate" weight in order to win. When contestants make poor judgments of themselves, it can lead to poor self- esteem and to eating disorders.
When performing in any contest where three girls get picked for being the prettiest, they become very confident. At any rate, gaining confidence isn’t always the case. Often, it causes the female to think of themselves on a higher level than everyone else. When confidence is not being gained, the contestants who lose can often have very low self-esteem as a result. In fact, many of the contestants in the larger competitions admit to not eating the day before the actual show because doing this makes their stomachs look less bloated. Some of the participants even become anorexic or