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Effects of beauty pageants on women
How Beauty contests affect women's self esteem
Effects of beauty pageants on women
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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 contests. They are dressed up to look like adults and sometimes dressed provocative. “Beauty pageants are a reflection of a culture in which women are not equal. Women’s bodies are not their own but are seen as objects of beauty for others.” (Nasso). Parents of the pageant world dont always understand how provocative and wrong it is to dress their children up in show outfits or giving the child additives to make them look better. Sadly, some parents find this ‘cute’ or ‘fun’. They don't seem to understand how doing this to their children can change their attitudes in a negative way as they grow up. For example, some parents have dressed their children up as Dolly Parton, the ‘street walker’ from pretty woman, and much more. A pageant mom quoted this “I’d rather she be perfect and have a little frozen face. Some people say her eyebrows look a little pulled already but they look striking” (Child Beauty Pageants are Abuse). This type of behavior from a parent should not be acceptable. Another pageant mom who is a trained beautician said this “I’ll make her frown before injecting, which helps identify a potential wrinkle.” (Child Beauty Pag... ... middle of paper ... ... about a pageant is being unfair because no one wants to be in a pageant they have no chance of winning. Donald Trump didn't want the pageant industries reputation ruined. Pageants have a way of exploiting children by changing their looks and attitudes to make them more adult like and entertaining; dressing children in bikinis or provocative costumes just to be judged by how well they wear it and how pretty they are is demeaning and cruel. Children should not be taught that looks are everything and you get everything you want in life because when they're older it will be harder for them to accept reality. Imitating the fashion and looks of an adult is not how a child should grow up. A parent should want their child to grow up knowing that they are naturally beautiful and their personality and smarts can get them far in life rather than beauty beats brains, correct?
“ I remember thinking when she was killed I was going to get killed to as well”(Hollandsworth). Pageant girls were scared to sleep and perform because they believed pedophiles were at the competitions seeking out who to kill next. Which lead to cause girls to feel what they claim to love will be the end for them. Being a concerned writer he adds a reported statement that is distasteful, believing it would hit parents to reconsider what they have their daughters involved in. “ Parents who put their daughters in pagaent can contribute in direct and concrete ways to the precious sexualization of their daughter”(Hollandsworth). People will see it as bad parenting and consider the consequences the young ladies may face by exhibiting unchild performance, but girls are only doing as they are told will help them win. "They are always applying makeup to their girls ' faces, dressing them up, and dyeing their hair...the message these little girls take away is that natural beauty isn 't enough — that their self-esteem and sense of self-worth only comes from being the most attractive girl in the room”(Hollandsworth). Confidence levels of young girls are low so they try to cover themselves with makeup to hide who they truly are and what they look like naturally. The comfort of their skin is not wanted they want to be seen as
Is it acceptable for toddler girls under the age of six to dress and act the way a twenty-six year old women would dress and act, just to participate in child beauty pageants? Young girls dressed in revealing clothing, being caked in make-up, getting fake tans, wearing fake eyelashes, teeth, hair, and nails, or even performing extremely mature routines are a few reasons pertaining to why it is unacceptable for toddlers to be in the modeling industry. Beauty pageants are very popular in the United States, and are growing rapidly (A Beauty Pageant Ban). Toddlers and Tiaras is a popular television show promoting children in beauty pageants causing contestant entries to rise. It’s estimated in the United States alone each year 250,000 children compete in child pageants of that, over 100,000 are girls under the age of twelve (Rapport). Out of the 250,000 participants in these beauty pageants, studies have shown that approximately half of these children are unhappy with their body and wish to go on a diet to fix their self image (Rapport). Youth pageants are clearly causing children to only focus on physical appearance and not the true beauty of the child's personality. Consequently, the negative effects on a toddler’s life, safety, mental, and physical health over power the benefits of toddlers participating in the beauty pageants.
...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.
When I hear the word toddler I think of little girls walking around in mommy’s shoes, and miss matched clothing (because she’s getting to the age where she likes to dress herself.) And of course a cute smile that’s missing a few teeth. The word glitz, glamour and sashes don’t come to mind. Nor does the image of a little girl who’s fake from head to toe. Wearing wigs, flippers (fake teeth), inappropriate /reveling attire and fake tans. I don’t think of little girls dancing around a stage in front of hundreds of people getting judged on their “beauty.” Well, that is exactly what children’s pageants consist of. Pageants exploit a child for their outer beauty, their talents and over all perfection or as pageant judges would call it having” the whole package.” I bet pedophiles think the same thing and find these pageants very entertaining. And most of all, I don’t want to see a mother trying to live out her dreams through her three-year-old child.
What comes to mind when the words "child beauty pageants" are spoken? What some people think about is, crazy moms pushing their daughters to win, and little girls dressing and to look like Barbie’s. Is this setting a good example for children? It teaches them that people are only judged by looks, not their personality. Instead the lesson they are learning is that looks are the only thing that matters.
She grabs the foundation and smothers her face with it; she creates a mask. She sprays the hairspray till the fumes clog the air. She squeezes into her bejeweled dress and puts on her heels. She transforms into someone who is unrecognizable, and fake. This is a little girl. The process of preparing for a beauty pageant is very demanding and stressful while little girls spend hours training and getting ready for their appearance on stage. Weeks are spent choreographing their dance routines and thousands of dollars are spent on, “glitzy” dresses, fake teeth, and spray tans. As long as beauty pageants for girls under the age of 16 continue, there will be an increase in mental and physical issues, an increase in the objectification of women, and there will be negative impacts for little girls.
Lights, camera, pouty lips welcome to the four dimensional world of children 's beauty pageants. Over the years, child pageants have become a hot topic gaining a great deal of delight from numerous people around the world. From having a strong standing, ongoing fan base that keeps the hit TLC TV show Toddlers and Tiaras; on air to having some of Americans ' favorite beauty queens making guest appearances on shows such as the Ellen Show. Regretfully, the idea of putting an end to child pageants has become somewhat of a hotter topic than the pageants themselves. People often put down what they do not understand why dress a child like that? Why all the make-up? What some do not seem to understand is that there are advantages to being a beauty
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?
Pageants are forcing young children to grow up faster than they need to, but because of pageants kids are also at a higher risk of other things that anyone should have to worry about. Sexual assault in kids is a growing problem facing our world today. Pageants are not helping this
According to Angie Lynch, “I have no desire to have my daughters ' looks judged against other people 's daughters ' looks. Being ranked from best to worst in a public forum is not how I want my children to develop their self-esteem.” I personally will never allow my children to participate in beauty pageants because of all the negativity along with it. I was hurt just from the one pageant that I did compete in as a child. I cannot imagine what another child may feel after competing multiple times and still never
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)
“Three parents who were interviewed put their children into pageants because they have birth defects. ‘Her plastic surgeon thinks it’s wonderful because he sees parents hide their children with a facial defect,’ according to one mother, whose daughter has a cleft palate. ‘We don’t go for competition or for her to win. We go to meet other children and parents. We don’t want her to think she’s different, that she isn’t beautiful.” (Cromie). The main reason people participate in pageants is the benefit of gaining confidence. (Shappert). Parents enter their children into pageants when they are young so they can learn to be comfortable with who they are and meet many new people. (Cromie). The downside of placing a child into the pageantry world is that it can become very costly. Parents can spend hundreds up to even a thousand dollars just on the dress, this is not including the hair, nails, fake teeth and coaching, if the parent wishes to increase their chances of winning. (Cromie). Another disadvantage to putting young children or even young adults into pageants is that the thought of winning can get to their head. The competition can become too serious for them. On television shows like Toddlers and Tiaras children are often shown throwing tantrums when they do not win.
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,
Do beauty pageants really help girls find their inner beauty or do they just change into faulty beauty queens? Looking deeply into what these competitions really create out of a person, anyone can quickly find that the contestants aren’t all rainbows and butterflies. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. Pageantry changes some girls for the better, but can also change them for the worse. Young girls should not participate in beauty pageants because they apply too much pressure by judging females based mostly on their physical appearance and can cost up to thousands of dollars.