Beauty Contests Are Bad for Body Image

659 Words3 Pages
The issue arises as to whether we should accept that beauty contests are bad for body image. This is on the basis of statistical information derived from 2006, showing that 40% of children that participated in beauty pageants have problems psychologically, the other remaining 60% are unhappy during the pageant itself. As Professor John Morrison of Yale observed, "Most people love you for who you pretend to be. To keep their love, you keep pretending- performing. You get to love your pretence. It's true, we're locked in an image, an act". A number of perspectives to determine whether to support or reject this contention will be looked at. One reason to accept that beauty contests are bad for body image is the suggestion that many women start beauty pageants too young an age. Their parents become very competitive and force the children to take drastic adjustments to their bodies to make their image better. This can lead to five year olds and younger having fake tans, hair extensions, permanent mascara, waxed eyebrows and legs and whitened teeth. This is teaching the child that their aesthetics are what defines them, but realistically they don’t need to be altered to improve themselves. An objection to this claim is that really the children could be taking these matters into their own hands some time in the very near future. Due to peer pressure and social media, it could be beneficial and safer to have the support and supervision of their parents. Another reason to believe that beauty contests are bad for body image is that Beauty pageants have allowed young girls to think that they have to be beautiful. They teach kids that beauty is on the outside and not the inside. When you teach kids that beauty is only on the outside it can cause major problems, not only health problems but also social, physical and mental problems. This is based on the idea that it could

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