The Harm in Beauty Pageants Beauty pageants have been around for a very long time, they have always been acknowledged as a way for girls and boys to show their inner and outer beauty or so they say. To this day pageants are praised in a way that maybe they shouldn’t be, for example, the fact that they made a show titled Toddlers and Tiaras, which portrays just how difficult it is for the child and parent to accommodate themselves to what is demanded of these pageants. These little girls are prancing around in little outfits with makeup on their faces and extravagant hairdos that seem too heavy for them to hold up. I find that there’s a certain amount of things you should want to expose your …show more content…
These children’s mindsets are manipulated into believing that they need to be beautiful and that life sets these sort of standards upon them where being beautiful is all you need to get ahead. An example of the mental effects these little girls go through is in the article “The Ugly Truth to Child Beauty Pageants.” Written by Claire Lindsey where she says “ Little girls are dressed up as barbie dolls and paraded around, trying to achieve some form of perfection that shouldn’t exist in little girls.” These little girls are told to be the sort of perfect that they will never be because it just doesn’t exist and they will mentally push themselves into achieving that sort of perfect because they think that is what makes them beautiful but that is exactly what messes them up, believing that such perfect exists is unhealthy for a little girl. What makes them beautiful is the fact that they are not perfect the fact that they are allowed to make mistakes without feeling like it is such a bad thing for a little kid. The main and most heard about mental effect that these pageants have on little girls is on their self-esteem being told that they did this wrong or that they could’ve done this better or even that there was something even a little thing wrong with the way …show more content…
There is a lot of girls in the world who get bullied because they are different than the rest and that makes them feel like they are ugly or like they are not worth anything but these pageants give them a sort of push so that they never let the things people tell them to bring them down actually hurt them.Little girls at a young age should be taught that the judgeful things other girls or boys tell them they should not let get to them so much because the opinions other people have of them should not affect the opinion they have on themselves. Although, there is a lot of controversy on whether the effects of these pageants are more negative than positive there is no denying that people would prefer that their daughters and sons grow up with the confidence of loving the way they look and not letting the things other kids tell them get to them rather than them letting themselves be put down. In the article “Psychological Effects of Child Beauty Pageants” on the website effectsofbeautypageants.weebly.com it emphasizes just how this confidence helps these little girls in a positive way by stating “Contestants who are bullied before they enter beauty pageants have better self esteem, confidence and pride in themselves.” The quote illustrates
...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.
The USA pushes to ban self-expression in young children, restrict basic parental authority, and deny youth opportunities for growth and success. Anyone would find that statement a bit disconcerting. Thankfully, it isn’t actually the case, but it could be if we decided to outlaw child beauty pageants. When speaking about the morality of child beauty pageants, concerns for the oversexualization of children is often brought up. Additionally, the public believes that beauty pageants are teaching children the wrong values all together. The motivation to outlaw the competitions is understandable, but it is not the answers to these concerns. Child beauty pageants promote confidence and high self-esteem
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.
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...
“Pretty isn’t beauty. Pretty is how you look; Beauty is who you are. Pretty is in the face and body; Beauty is in the heart, mind, and soul. Pretty fades; beauty grows.” Michael Josephson emphasizes the difference between pretty and beauty. Unfortunately, the problem with young girls participating in glitz beauty pageants is that they are sadly being misguided. Glitz beauty pageants sexualize small children. Glitz beauty pageants exhibit “princesses by proxy.” Glitz beauty pageants sabotage young girls’ self-confidence. Furthermore, glitz beauty pageants are only harming young girls, not helping them.
In the year of 1880 a spontaneous event took place which piqued the interest of young woman and girls in competing in a competition which was solely made up upon having good looks; this competition is called a beauty pageant. Approximately 700,000 pageants take place a year all over the world, but the first pageant ever originated in Delaware in the United States. Although pageants claim to be an event which promises to help bring world peace, they are actually a very costly event which showcases young children in inappropriate clothing, acting much older than their age. To add to all of the negativities, mothers of these pageant beauties are manipulatively living their childhood dreams through their own child. Because beauty pageants can be detrimental to a young child’s physical and emotional psyche, they should be banned for children under the age of 12.
For nearly fifty years, children have been subjected to the world of beauty pageants where they have been forced to behave in an older way rather than their actual ages. I used the word forced because I believe that no 4, 7 year old would actually chose to go through what pageant kids go through every single day. Yet, some of them may view it as a “fun” thing, but it’s mostly that they are expected to see it that way. Rather than them actually believing it’s fun. Beauty pageants just causes unrealistic beauty standards which easily influenced young girls, and they encourage judging on appearance, rather than on a person's character.
East St. Louis High School Children Beauty Pageants Should Be Banned Bernice Dorris AP Language and Composition Ms. Morris March 09,2018 Outline I. Children beauty pageants should be banned A. Cause the children to be too advanced B.Lower children self-esteem at a young age C. Could be beneficial D.Conclusion II. Cause the children to be too advanced A. Inappropriate appearances B. Disrespectful behavior C. Loss of childhood experiences D. Attract older friends and audiences III. Lower children self-esteem at a young age A. Can make a child try to meet “society” standards
" 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 ... ...
First of all, pageants can influence unhealthy values to young competitors. Therefore, children may become overcompetitive and also try to beat their competitors at all cost (Lindsey). Also, contestants can become superficial, and manipulate children into believing their natural beauty isn’t good enough. For example, on the show Toddlers and Tiaras, tantrums usually occur due to the fact that the contestants feel they have to be perfect, and their beauty isn’t good enough. Lastly, the pageants train children that they are only worth something if they win pageants, or win an endless amount of trophies.
This will result of an entitled judgment that can make them feel insecure about themselves as when they get older. Lastly, children would learn discipline by allowing them to abide rules and easy for them to make friends, yet the claim is a ‘false’ friendship because the parents believe that in a competition, no friendships were formed but just a total gossip. The issues with these pageants are that these young girls are starting to compare themselves to other “prettier” girls, which can lead to a negative outcome in the
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)
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.
Beauty pageants have long been a form of entertainment, exhibiting beautiful women with ideal bodies competing with their talent and their 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.” (University of Kansas,
Can anyone actually justify judging someone by their physical appearance? Although parents enjoy seeing their little girls in the spotlight all dolled up, most children don’t enjoy the pageant experience as much as the parents, and this vicarious living is dangerous, and the pageants have the capability of exploiting the children. Beauty pageants have a background of treating women disrespectfully and as if they are not equal. Women’s bodies are seen as objects of beauty, as if we are just here to parade around for others. Today’s pageants are still set up in the same direction, even for the youngest contestants.