For most parents and their little girls it is just good fun. They do not take the beauty pageants seriously. For a few parents the beauty pageants become an obsession. This is when beauty pageants for children can suddenly become very harmful. “Critics of the industry warn that the stresses of competition, coupled with an extreme focus on physical appearance, can have a negative effect long before these girls will be eligible for Miss America.” (Triggs, West and Aradillas 160-168) The loss of self-esteem, the inability to show a full range of emotions, the fear of failure, the extreme focus on physical image, and the discord with or fear of parents are a few of the symptoms those little girls will suffer from.
Trying to keep up with the world’s ever-changing standards of beauty is exhausting and can be quite devastating to a young women’s self-esteem. Social expectations are sustained by a false sense of reality and place an unfair burden on innocent girls at a young age. Even before a girl child is born, parents decide to dress her in all pink. Young girls are covertly programed at a young age to conform to society’s beliefs on gender roles and responsibilities. As referenced in the first stanza of this poem: “This girl child was born as usual/ and presented dolls that did pee-pee/ and miniature GE stoves and irons/ and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy” (Piercy, 2012,p.
Indeed today, beauty pageants for young girls are becoming more and more popular. However, I believe that young girls should not be allowed to participate and join beauty pageants because it affects their overall well-being in a negative way. First, these child beauty pageants damage the young girls psychologically and physically. A lot of child advocates and psychologists have already spoken out against child beauty pageants and claim that these pageants are not really helpful for healthy child development. According to William Pinsof, a clinical psychologist and president of the Family Institute at Northwestern University, “Being a little Barbie doll says your body has to be a certain way and your hair has to be a certain way.
Children’s Beauty Pageants: Are They Moral? Beauty pageants are potentially harmful for little girls’ self image in the future and are completely unnecessary. Lipstick, big hair, and sparkly glitter crowns: the world of beauty is every little girl’s play ground. The issues of children’s beauty pageants are extremely controversial. “It aggravates the average viewer because, how can a parent put their child through that emotional roller coaster and get upset when they do not win; make up excuses on why their child did not win because heaven forbid their child has a flaw.
They compete against other contestants for an award of money, pageant titles, trophies, and a big sparkly tiara. However I don't approve of the parents position to put their child through this, and how they treat their daughters throughout the competition. Not only are they exploiting their five-year-olds for their own personal gain, they are putting their child through so much misery to look beautiful. They live through their daughters fame and glory, and make their daughters look very high maintenance. The Toddlers and Tiara girls go through hours of make-up, to different hairstyles, and wearing big fake wigs.
However, once beauty pageants were introduced to the world, public opinion about them instantly split into two opponent sides (Nussbaum, 2000). On one side of the issue there are those, who purely support child beauty pageants and believe in their benefits. On the other side, those who consider them as harmful for the participants and even seek to ban them. Proponents of child beauty pageants state that these pageants not only make children beautiful outside, awarding with costly prizes, but also are crucial in future development of a child as a person. They believe that every child deserves to feel beautiful and beauty pageants are merely another way of making them feel comfortable and pretty in their skin.
It is okay to help teach your daughter proper behaviors for when in public (Saying “Yes ma’am, no ma’am”, Being aware of surroundings, not talking with mouth full, dress accordingly etc.) and encourage them to be a little bit competitive. Toddlers and Tiaras is a perfect example of what happens when mothers do not do this, or take it to the extreme. There are 5 year old girls up on stage in provocative outfits meant for women over their twenties. Research show most mothers enter their daughter into this pageant for bragging rights.
Fans praise Dove for this innovative and unique campaign that celebrates women of all types, sizes, and color; but some, however, are calling foul play. Some critics believe this campaign is preying on certain women for not having “real beauty”: the women who enjoy wearing make-up, working out, and the women who strive to fit the “Barbie” like image. Dove has good intentions. Do not get me wrong, but I believe they are out to exploit the women who enjoy “fake” beauty; the women who gain their self-confidence from their high-end designer make-up, constant gym routines, and teeth whitening. Entering into its first decade of this campaign, should Dove have not even started this campaign?
When the children grow older they start to have self esteem issues which can lead to depression and other mental health problems. Another reason child beauty pagents should be banned is because of the innaproapriate outfits that parents make the children wear. An example of this is when a mother made her 3 year old daughter wear the Pretty Woman outfit. Most of the outfits worn by the small children have cuts in the side or back exposing a lot of skin, teaching children that dressing like this is acceptable. Child beauty pageants can also be financially straining.
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.