Research Paper On Toddlers And Tiaras

Paisley Dickey walks on to the stage to strut on the runway in her costume. Everything natural about her beauty is removed by wearing a bright yellow wig, fake eyelashes, a fake tan, fake nails, and fake teeth. Wearing a white cut-off shirt, a short, tight blue skirt, and knee high leather boots, she is dressed as the prostitute Julia Roberts portrays in the movie Pretty Woman. Paisley sounds like she is a 22-year-old stripper, but unfortunately she is a three-year-old girl who participates in child beauty pageants. Her performance became controversial and it spread all throughout the news. Her mother, Wendy Dickey, who has already stated that she is living vicariously through her daughter, was being criticized for sexualizing her daughter.

She, like many other pageant moms, force their daughters into these exploitative talent shows where they can become psychologically disturbed. (Toddlers & Tiaras). Child beauty pageants should be disbanded due to the moral degradation and low self-esteem in young girls from the physical and emotional abuse they face from being sexualized during the developmental years of their lives.
The sexualization of toddler females came to light when six-year-old beauty pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey was brutally murdered in her own home. “The first images of JonBenet Ramsey that were broadcast to the world showed a pretty little girl in heavy make-up and flamboyant costumes parading across a stage” (crimelibrary.com). People began to see how perverted these innocent competitions have become. These young girls are expected to look and act like adult beauty queens who believe that being the only way to be confident is to be sexy. “Essentially, the JonBenet case [brought] to surface both our horror at how effectively a child can be constructed as a sexual being and our guilt at the pleasure we take in such a sight” (Tamer 85). At ages as young as a couple of weeks, these children are put into flamboyant costumes and are exploited to crowds of people. This allows these girls to believe that they have to look and act mature to get what they want which can end up being psychologically harmful in the long run. This prevents these young girls from setting boundaries or solidifying their morals which can turn sour when they begin to grow up. Columnist Henry A. Giroux states, “watching a two-year-old parade around the stage in a Velcro rip-away outfit in stripper-like fashion induces more than repulsion; it also raises questions about the limits of subjecting kids to such pornographic practices and the distorted values these pageants provide for them” (Tamer 88). These events can put these young girls into real danger. Pedophiles are practically encouraged to view young children as sexual objects, and they end up believing that what they are doing is acceptable because society has grown fond of watching toddlers become sexualized. There has been a report in 1986 prepared for the United States Senate that pedophiles will always attempt to convince himself that his obsession is not “abnormal” but is shared with thousands of other people, and the images of child beauty queens foster their desires (Tamer 89). The sexualization of these young girls ultimately instigates danger within themselves and in their surroundings. The life of a young child should not be exploited in such a way if it involves such risks.
Beauty pageants are a huge competition and that means these children are taught to become highly competitive at a young age which can be detrimental to the development of their morals and social skills. These young girls are showed to do whatever it takes to win, whether that be manipulation, isolation, or psyching out the competition. “…girls are depicted stereotypically – enamored by their own reflections, shouting demands at assistants and expressing ambitious contempt for their competition” (Lieberman 748). These girls believe that they can receive anything they want by being manipulative – just like they have when they try to win the judges vote. They have an unhealthy obsession with competition and being the best; their social development can be stalled because they are shown to trust no one and believe that everyone is competition at a young age. “Child psychologists report that competition inhibits children from forming positive relationships with other kids. Failure to engage in healthy interplay with peers leads to…various problems relating to a child’s social capabilities” (Lieberman 753). Good morals that should be taught and encouraged at a young age are diminished by placing these children into intense competition. This can later lead to low self-esteem and psychological disorders. Studies have shown that girls who have participated in beauty pageants as children were more likely to become depressed and have an eating disorder. “The significant impact of childhood beauty pageant participation on body dissatisfaction, interpersonal distrust…can be linked to findings in past research related to media exposure” (Wonderlich 297). They claim that all their unhappiness comes from their drive of perfection and their will to be the best. Many of the women in the study claimed that they constantly feel “ineffective” due to the high competition they had when they were children, and it all led to the reasons why they have body dissatisfaction and a drive for thinness (Wonderlich 298). The effects of competition can take major tolls on a young child’s mind and can affect them for the rest of their lives. Child beauty pageants prove to be too harming on a toddler’s mind and therefore it should be banned for girls at such young ages to be put through a life of competition.
Emotional abuse can be connected to child beauty pageants. The definition of emotional child abuse from the American Humane Association is “a pattern of behavior by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological or social development.” The devastation and pressure these girls go through when their parents have such high expectations of them can be considered emotional abuse. Parents of these young girls are the main causes for the psychological illnesses they face. Competition becomes too important and winning as well as exploiting their daughters is all they care about. “Many parents live vicariously through their children and push towards achievement to buttress their own sense of adequacy and self-wroth. Others are blinded by the prospects of money and fame…” (Lieberman 757). There are psychiatrists that describe these children as “victims” of their parent’s obsessions because they feel insecure about themselves (Wolfe 430). These toddlers are placed on a pedestal and many claim to feel guilty when they cannot bring home a title and a prize. They expect to have disappointed parents who have spent so much time and money for a prize that they will never receive (Wolfe 435). An example would be Eden Woods, a highly successful and well-known beauty queen, her mother is not afraid to admit that she lives through Eden because she did not have the lifestyle she wanted as a child, and she considers herself as one with her daughter. This can be psychologically damaging to this young girl as she grows up because she may be able to find her own identity. Just as emotionally demanding these pageants can be, the parents can put a lot of physical stress on these toddlers.
Physical abuse is found through the harsh treatments of preparation for these pageants as well as the long hours they endure of constant competition.

In the television show Toddlers & Tiaras, one can view all the beauty treatments these girls go through. At ages as young as three, the parents make them wax body hair, get spray tans, get their teeth whitened, dying their hair, and so many other painful enhancements. The children will cry and complain about the pain but the parents brush it off and state that beauty is pain (Toddlers & Tiaras). A huge thing that these parents do is require their children to receive fake teeth that are known as “flippers;” the girls go through a long, uncomfortable process of getting them created and many of them feel uncomfortable while wearing them for performances. “Some parents even encourage their children to have plastic surgery in order to perfect their pageant looks. Younger girls undergo cosmetic surgeries, and have their teeth corrected prematurely” (Lieberman 756). Pageant parents are excessive when it comes to preparation for a simple competition and they are willing to put their child through any pain to win. These caregivers are also abusing their child with the large amounts of sugar and caffeine that are forced to be consumed to stay awake during a pageant. “Pixie Stix, a sugar-based candy, commonly known in the industry as ‘pageant crack’ is one standard method parents use to keep their pageant princesses full of energy”

(Wolfe 433). These kids will go through dozens of Pixie Stix during a long day of pageants and one can see through the television show that they are becoming addicted to it. Not only are they given sugar candies, but also drinks composed of high-sugared sodas and often energy drinks. A study from the American Academy of Pediatrics has reported that drinking excess caffeine can lead to “neurological and cardiovascular problems for young children,” also it can cause anxiety disorders as well as depression (Wolfe 434). One can view that beauty pageants can be physically demanding to a child at such a young age. The definition of “physical abuse” from Black’s Law Dictionary is the “physical impairment of the human body” (Wolfe 434). Parents of beauty pageants who put their children through so much pain and exhaustion should be accused of physical abuse. The protection and safety of children should be essential and therefore beauty pageants for young children should be banned.
Beauty pageants for children can prove to be rewarding, monetarily and structurally.

These competitions normally give out prizes to the biggest winners which can include money. “Pageant winners earn college scholarships, cash – and those cherished sparkly tiaras...” (O’Neill 20). Toddlers can win amounts from $100 to $10,000 depending on how many participants there are and how large the pageant is. Most parents end up saving this money to put away for college for the child in her later years. Although these toddlers can win so much amounts of money, but the amount the parents spend to get into the pageant is much more. “her parents have spent more than $70,000 on her pageant career…Eden has won between $25,000 and $30,000 in prizes” (Lieberman 739). Beauty pageants also bring structure early on in a young girl’s life. Ashley Berry began entering pageants at the age of five and fell in love with it and she claims that it helped her stay structured and it made her become a well-poised lady (Morgan). As structured as these children may seem, many often become perfectionists and never find the best in themselves. An example would be Brooke Breedwell who was a child pageant contestant and she claims that she suffered from anxiety attempting to strive for perfection (Lieberman 740). Toddlers may gain low self-esteem which can carry on to their teenage

years.
Parents claim that toddlers can build good character skills from participating in these pageants. “It’s just building that confidence early so she doesn’t have to hide away and she can achieve things she wants to achieve without being shy” (Rachel). Some parents see their children as too shy and so they place them in beauty pageants so they can gain confidence in themselves. Toddlers are put in front of crowds to perform and try to impress the judges with their personalities. Although this may seem good for the young girls, many critics believe that this is just exploitation of children. “Pumping your young daughter full of uppers, teaching her self-worth is tied to what other people think of her, and turning her into a total expletive monster” (Wolfe 429). Parents over do the confidence and people find it to be too sexual for the public and it is wrong to do so; many also consider it wrong to put their child up there for show. “…contests treated living beings as objects to be displayed, inspected, and ranked…defined humanity in purely physical, bodily terms and ushered in a secular, materialist worldview…” (348). This growth in assurance is being taught in a way where these children now believe that they have to put up a fake, flashy personality to gain what they want. Many believe that during the developmental years of a child’s life, confidence and any other trait should be brought up in a humble manner.
Beauty pageants are destructive competitions for young girls who only seek to find acceptance. Parents force their children to do them because they were not able to feel beautiful or sexy when they were younger. Living through children and making them do things that the parents would not do themselves is ultimately wrong. Children should be able to choose what makes them happy and if they find that beauty pageants are not fun, they should not be forced to participate. Parents should be tried for child abuse after watching documentary television shows and the children are in pain crying from getting plucked, inhaling dangerous chemicals, and consuming too much sugar and caffeine for their bodies. Beauty pageants can ruin a child physically, emotionally, and mentally and therefore they should be banned for young children who cannot make decisions for themselves.