Child Beauty Pageant

1274 Words6 Pages
Youthful Beauty In the world of spray-tanned nine year olds known as 'Child Beauty Pageants', spending thousands in an effort to win a simple tiara is a common--almost mandatory--act. Although, the tiara is not all that is won in these pageants; a sense of pride and supremacy is also at stake. What is risked when these pageant parents put all their emphasis on the outer beauty of their impressionable daughters? At such a young age, a child's future mentality depends on the morals and priorities they are brought up to have. To prevent the potential superficial women that may come from these pageants, there should be an age limit present in child beauty pageants. As these children become adult women, their appearance-focused mindset may be a breeding ground for a variety of mental disorders, such as Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Anorexia, Bulimia, and Depression. A study published in Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, that involved 11 former child beauty pageant participants out of the 22 women, concluded: There were "no significant differences" between the two groups on measures of bulimia, body perception, depression, and self-esteem. But it did find that the former pageant girls scored significantly higher on "body dissatisfaction, interpersonal distrust, and impulse dysregulation [an inability to resist performing actions that would be harmful to themselves or others]." Their feelings of inadequacy stems from their learned need to be the best, to be the most beautiful girl in the room. That is what these beauty pageants are teaching. Although there are talent divisions included in the beauty pageants, they are overshadowed by the show dog-like struts used to showcase each contestant's carefully applied eyeliner and perfectly practiced posture. According to Mary E. Doheny, Ph.D., of the Family Institute at Northwestern
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