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Child beauty pageants psychological effects
Child beauty pageants psychological effects
Childrens beauty pageants psyche
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Parents are and often losing money after paying entry fees and purchasing costumes. Pageant owners seem to be receiving the real profits from all the glitz and glamour. Rose Mary Roche wrote an article on irishexaminer.com explaining this type of behavior. Some competing families go into debt because of pageant costumes, fees, and grooming over expenses such as rent: some have confessed to spending up to $30,000 on the competitions (Roche, Rose par.8). Are these pageants really worth going into debt for? The amount of money spent on these pageants have caused many families to go into debt, lose homes, or even divorcee because of the overwhelming cost required in some pageants. Parents put way too much into pageants when it comes to expenses. All of the fancy cars and make-up artists are not needed for kids especially if parents cannot afford it. Parents say it is all about the kids but most of the time it is to make them happy. If only pageant parents knew how they are teaching their kids about a materialistic life style. Kids should know more than fancy cars and clothes. The average cost of a pageant dress can cost anywhere from $50 to $8000, depending on the designer of the dress, the amount of decoration on the dress and whether the gown was rented, purchased used or purchased new. This money could be spent on the child’s college education or a family vacation.
Some of these dresses are not appropriate for children. On an episode of Toddlers and Tiaras one mother had her daughter dress up like the prostitute from Pretty Women. Some of these dresses have cuts in the sides or in the back that reveal a lot of skin for children under the age of 15. Is this teaching our children it’s okay to dress up like a prosti...
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Lieberman, Lindsay. "Protecting Pageant Princesses: A Call for Statutory Regulation Of Child Beauty Pageants." Journal of Law & Policy 18.2 (2010): 739-774. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Apr. 2014. Roche, Rose. “ The Ugly Side of Child Beauty Pageants” irishexaminer.com Web. September.2013 TAMER, CHRISTINE. "Toddlers, Tiaras, and Pedophilia? The "Borderline Child Pornography" Embraced By the American Public." Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law 13.1 (2011): 85-101. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Wolfe, Lucy. "Darling Divas or Damaged Daughters? The Dark Side of Child Beauty Pageants and an Administrative Law Solution." Tulane Law Review 87.2 (2012): 427-455. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Recent female contestants they will understand the dangers of pageants and become more aware of what they need to do to protect themselves. Some will not care and believe it will not happen to them, that they are the one who can survive in the game. Economic classes are spoken to; upper class all they see is the glitter and trophies so they go to the extreme to go for the prizes of thousands of dollars and don’t care about what they need to do in order to get it. “Parents, many of whom have only modest incomes, pay for high-glitz coaches ($50 to $100 an hour), high-glitz photographers ($300 per session, with $150 for retouching), high-glitz wig makers ($150 to $175 a pop), and high-glitz spray tanners ($25 per pageant)”(Hollandsworth). Middle class they don’t see it as you have to have money to do it they can do just as good as those who have lots of money and do it better. Fans who support the pageant will consider how they perceive the girl as the model and perform their talents on
Rapport, Lisa J. "Child Beauty Pageants: The Real Story Behind the Glitz." Child Beauty Pageants: The Real Story Behind the Glitz. N.p., 30 May 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Beauty Pageants.” Journal of Law & Policy 18.2 (2010): 739-774. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19. Mar. 2014.
It’s pathetic how these parents live through their children. Every parent says they allow their child to decide if they want to compete. But these are the same parents who say their daughter has been in pageants since she was in diapers! So how did she voice her opinion then? I have been watching clips of the “Toddlers And Tiaras” and just about every mother says, “Yes I am very competitive I want to do good at everything I do!” Why is this when they aren’t the ones competing. Jordan’s (a child on Toddlers and Tiara’s) mother said “Yes I’m very competitive, when my daughters on stage she represents a product of me.” Or the one parent who said they see pageants as a great investment. How disgusting. Not only are these little girls exploited, but also it’s usually for the parents benefit. Ther...
Pageants have been around for a long time. In the past, pageants were an interactive way for girls to display poise and to compete against each other in different categories. Nowadays pageants have transformed completely. Young girls are being treated and made up as if they were women or dolls. On the TLC show, Toddlers and Tiaras, we begin to see this trend happening. Girls as young as the age of two to fifteen months are being put into these pageants and are shown off to the world as “role models” to other children. The show starts off with a glimpse of the young girls’ lives. We see how they interact with their families and we get a feel for how they live. Most girls display all their trophies and how well they do in each pageant. All of these young girls display attitudes and throw temper tantrums throughout the show. Parents spend an enormous amount of money for each pageant on things like dresses and make up. Other children who watch “Toddlers and Tiaras” might be impacted due to being the...
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
Child beauty pageants have been a part of American society since the 1960’s. These pageants consist of modeling swimwear, evening attire, dance and talent. The young children entered in the pageants are judged on perfection, confidence, capability and looks. Judges would call this “the complete package.” Children are divided into different age groups to make the pageants fair. They are guided by there parents who spend well over 200 dollars for the pageants. Money is spent on fake nails, hair extensions, makeup, clothing, eyebrow waxing, and anything else their parents are willing to do to make their child the best looking. Keep in mind that these little girls range from ages 1-12. The issues with these pageants are that these extremely young girls are beginning to compare themselves to other “prettier” girls, which leads to negative effects in the future.
The financial burden that pageants bring can really put an abundance of stress on the parents. After the shocking death of Ramsey, the High-Glitz portion of the pageant world surprisingly skyrocketed. Today it is now worth over $5 billion (Blue). With prices of everything today rising, this is not surprising news. The prices of new dresses, shoes, makeup, hair, spray tans, and even flippers (false teeth for young people to cover their always changing mouths) can really add up, not to mention the costs of pageants coaches to teach the kids the perfect way to walk and wave (Woolf 3). Regulars like Alana Thompson (aka Honey...
Beauty pageants have been around since the 1920’s and child beauty pageants began in the 1960’s. There are different age divisions which are from 0-18 years old. Children are encouraged by their parents to participate in these competitions that are supposed to increase self-esteem, public speaking skills, and confidence. In reality these competitions cause great harm to these innocent children and do the exact opposite. Parents don’t realize that their risking their child’s health. Children under the age of eighteen should not be allowed to compete in beauty pageants. Such competition of youngsters causes negative consequences that are physical, social, psychological, and sexual health.
According to Good Morning America show, the average cost of a pageant dress is $1,000 and some cost as much as $5,000. Also the entry fees for pageants typically cost $100 or $200. Also some pageants require contestants to wear several outfits, which can raise the price even further. Lastly, the high cost travel expenses that the parents will have to pay. And let’s not forget about the money they’ll have to pay for makeup experts, trainers to teach the child how to move and act and doctor’s appointment if the child has pimples or not aligned tooth. So, the average cost the parents will pay is not going to be less than
Imagine waking up early to get ready after weeks of rehearsals and spray tans, hours and hundreds of dollars spent on a short, sparkling dresses, heels, and at times revealing outfits. Kids are seated for hours to do hair and makeup, and last minute preparations; parents make sure they do not become impatient so, they hand their child a juice box to calm them down. However, this isn’t helpful for a 5 year old being forced to participate in pageants in order to make her parents happy and boastful that their child has won the “Grand Title”. Some parents, in order to win these prizes, have to hide their childrens’ imperfections with heavy make-up, spray tans, and flippers (fake teeth) to make judges see them as a flawless. Parents have entered their children into these activities before the age of one!
Child beauty pageants are a quite controversial topic, not only in the United States but all around the world. Beauty pageants teach young girls bad lessons and causes them to grow up too fast. The people who are strongly opposed to child beauty pageants view the children involved as being objectified and treated more like eye candy than little girls. Many people have had enough of the exploitation and are starting movements for change. Some countries such as France, have even gone so far as to ban children under the age of sixteen to compete in pageants. Anyone who violates this law faces heavy fines and possible jail time (Could Child Beauty Pageants Be Banned in the USA?). The United States should also look into the possibility of a law prohibiting the participation of children in beauty pageants. Beauty pageants exploit children and applauded them for their looks. Many people believe that “it’s human nature to be drawn to beauty”, but have they taken it too far (Holland, Kristen)?
We might think beauty pageants are a new thing but they have actually been around for a long time. Beauty pageants rose to prominence in the early 20th century marketed to the general public as contests of great importance.
People argue that beauty pageants help boost self confidence through performance on stage and that pageants can help you later in life. “The pageant has given me a lot of self confidence and self-esteem. The pageant directors make me feel wonderful and brought out qualities in me that I never knew were there” (qtd. in Decker). This is not always the case. Different scenarios affect girls differently. She stated that the directors made her feel wonderful but there is no guarantee that a director or anyone will pay special attention to a child. Another argument is that beauty pageants help later in life. An example of this is Shannon Depuy. She won prize money in pageants which helped put her through college (Decker). Shannon Depuy did pageants for a lot of her life. She is described as a “veteran All-star of American beauty pageant circuit” (Decker). This is good for Shannon since she had practice, but beginning beauty competitors may not be so lucky. Depuy having a history of pageants gave her an advantage. The fact that beauty pageants help boost confidence and help later in life is great for the girls this applies to, but this is not the case for beginning beauty competitors who are usually the main competitors.
Child beauty pageants can be very damaging to a young girl from a psychological perspective. If the child does not win the contest, they are forced to believe they have faults, which do not make them perfect. Instead of teaching girls to appreciate their fault for making them unique from everyone else. Beauty pageants promote an atmosphere that it is wrong to not be perfect. Most grade school girls are not concerned with self-image, until someone, points out their ears may be too big or they suffer some other imperfection. A four year old should not be told she is not as attractive as another girl. Kids that age should be taught that every individual is unique and exceptional in his or her own style. Not that there is a perfect mode that we must survive to fit.