Stereotypes In Toddlers And Tiaras

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Glitz. Glam. Flippers. Spray tans. Curlers. False Eyelashes. These are just a handful of items that comprise a beauty pageant. But it isn’t simply beauty products and hours of routine rehearsals that fill the screen on the hit TLC reality series Toddlers & Tiaras, everything from tantrums to sass function together to help form an episode of this popular TV show. Toddlers & Tiaras is a reality program that dives into the world of competitive beauty pageants, typically showcasing a few different young contestants, normally girls, and their families on their journey to the competition, from rehearsals to the performances and awards. It is informational in that the viewer learns about components of pageants and the judging process, but the series …show more content…

Most of the audience would believe that these girls are overly concerned with their appearance and how people judge them based on them. In general, Toddlers & Tiaras provides a stereotype that all children in pageants are “dramatic divas” that are too young to be worried about how they look, especially girls. The world today is so centered around sexuality and beauty that in airing a show plotted around these values in young children is giving the wrong message to viewers, including toddlers themselves. Another stereotype given is the typical pageant mom, and how crazy they can be, in demanding their children to undergo drastic beauty measures and wear sexy costumes, even if they’d rather just play and be a …show more content…

The quantity of mishaps, arguments and brattiness along with the emphasis on beauty ideals and gender roles leaves a sour taste in many viewers’ mouths. At the same time though, many viewers can’t turn away from these scenes of glitz, train-wrecks, and scandal. It has opened million’s eyes to the undercover world of pageants, but perhaps at the expense of disturbing sexualization of girls and reinforcement of stereotypes, which is

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