Beauty pageants have negative impacts on both those who compete in them and women in general. Some may argue that the women in the beauty pageants can feel good about themselves. However, the overwhelming evidence against this claim proves that beauty pageants also lower self-esteem of those in the beauty pageants and those watching. This can have major consequences in society concerning the status of women. Some positive aspects of beauty pageants do exist. For example, a positive message can get across to the contestants. One person notes that they had obtained independence and self confidence from beauty pageants (Sutton). Another, named Britney Leather, focused on changes in children for the topic that the contestants in that particular pageant had to choose (“Beauty”). Yet another, Melanie Britton, promoted herself through her donations to the arts (Block). There also are pageants specifically for Vietnamese, promoting beauty in all races (Lieu). Additionally, beauty pageants can promote the future of the individual. Some pageants offer career opportunities in modeling to the winner of the pageants (“Beauty”). Also, one person still puts on their résumé that they won a beauty pageant. They reminisce of the days when they participated in pageants and gained life skills (Trujillo). Despite these positive aspects of beauty pageants, there remain many more negative ones. One of these, a negative message, demeans women in general. For example, the winners of these beauty pageants get a lot of exposure to the media. As previously mentioned, the winners of some pageants get opportunities to join the modeling career (“Beauty”). Contradictory to that, many contestants want to become a journalist or politician, like S... ... middle of paper ... .... Print. Lieu, Nhi T. “Beauty Queens Behaving Badly: Gender, Global Competition, and the Making of Post-Refugee Neoliberal Vietnamese Subjects.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies. 34.1 (2013). Academic OneFile. Web. 5 May 2014. “More Time on Facebook Linked to Lower Self Esteem Among Young Women.” News Tonight. 11 Apr. 2014. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 10 May 2014. Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. Penguin Group: New York, 1994. Print. Sutton, Jessica. “Glitz, Glam, and Self-Esteem the Prize.” Manawatu Standard. 10 July 2010. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 12 May 2014. Trujillo, Jennifer. “I Was a Teenage Beauty Queen.” Newsweek. 26 Nov. 2007. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 12 May 2014. Woolf, Nicky. “High Hopes, High Heels.” New Statesman. 7 Mar. 2014. Points of Reference Center. Web. 12 May 2014.
Since the Miss America Pageant was established in 1921, conceptions of the beauty of American women have been based, in part, on the winner of this pageant. Sarah Banet-Weiser writes in her book, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, that “the woman selected as Miss America apparently 'represents' the nation” (Banet-Weiser 56). As a result of representing the American nation, the winner of the Miss America pageant is looked up to as a model for style and beauty among women. Since its inception, the Miss America pageant has come under attack from feminist organizations for exploiting women's bodies despite the fact that it is a scholarship program; the pageant rewards contestants a scholarship for continuing education based on their responses in the interview and the talent portions of the pageant as well as their performance in the swimsuit competition. A beauty pageant, such as the Miss USA pageant, is strictly concerned with a woman's outer beauty and does not include the talent or interview portions.
...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.
One professional psychologist and registered dietician has warned that competing in the beauty pageants may lead young girls to feel that the approval and love of their parents is based solely on their looks and whether they win a crown at the pageant or not. Losing in a pageant category may generate lower feelings of self-worth in young children who do not know how to properly cope with loss at such a young age. Additionally, there are countless examples of women who as children participated in beauty pageants and began stressing at a young age while attempting to maintain an impossible ideal of perfection. Many of the young girls who cannot keep up a perfect look will begin to feel body shame, depression and may even develop an eating disorder. In fact, one study was done on approximately 130 females who had participated in beauty pageants.
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." Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada] 9 Mar. 2012: L4. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
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?
"Effects of Beauty Pageants - Writing.Com." The Online Community for Writers. Web. 02 Mar. 2012. .
Shappert, Rhonda. " The Pageant Expert | What Are The Benefits Of Beauty Pageants?." The Pageant
" 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...
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.
Beauty pageants demand that competitors spend large amounts of money in synthetic enhancement. This is a poor focus for vulnerable girls and destroys the girls at a very young age. Beauty pageants convince girls that outer beauty is more important than inner beauty, which is totally a false claim. In this paper, we are going to talk about the pros and cons, whys and woes of pageants and if they are manipulative or valuable to kids. Even though that beauty pageants are a good way for girls to make friends. Beauty pageants are harmful to young children and they should not be able to compete until adulthood because beauty pageants teach kids that outer beauty is more important than inner beauty and beauty pageants pose a threat to the safety of children.
Cromie, William J. “The Whys and Woes of Beauty Pageants.” News.harvard.edu. 2000-2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
...e becoming available for women. Women are now using their platforms in their pageants and making them now careers. Some beauty contest winners are looking into careers in politics as well as mentoring positions for younger women. Even though some feel that the pageant industry is devaluing children and their self esteem, hindering their development, and expensive, some feel that the pageant industry is now becoming a center for bonding and creating lifelong relationships. Some may even feel that social media is also a source for the negative effects of the pageant industry. America can now see how the simple things like beauty contest could affect a whole nation and change the way the people of society view one another, and we also see how positive the changes have our nation become stronger and created new extracurricular activities for the average American child.
" Money, ratings and attention fuel the pageant/dance media machine, with parents and adults reaping the benefits. Purpose of Child Beauty Pageants For these young pageant girls, brains before beauty is not the case. Real-world priorities such as schooling, family, and friends are trumped by tiaras, makeup, and evening gowns. More value is often placed on being beautiful in the eyes of the judges, than on each girl’s individuality.