They possess the characteristics most typical in anorexic patients, including perfectionism, high ambition and the excessive drive to succeed. Incorporate the intense lifestyle of a ballet dancer and the demands of a strict teacher, and dancers are highly susceptible for developing body image distortions. The constant reflections in the omnipresent mirrors, the dress code of a bodysuit and tights, the close scrutiny of every muscle, and the final presentation on stage for hundreds or thousands of viewers leaves some daunted. This unique existence is articulated excellently in Lorie Ann Grover’s novel On Pointe. Through free verse, readers are taken into teenage Clare’s head.
Beauty pageants have been a controversial part of western society, particularly in America, for decades, because of the values that they are associated with such as ‘ideal’ notions of beauty and an over-sexualised image. Perhaps more notorious are child beauty pageants, which come with them the same values attached, but applied to children, more often than not girls, as young as 2 years old, sometimes younger. As with any cultural issue associated with children, these pageants are a sensitive area of popular culture which has been met with extreme debate in the recent years. Make-up, hair extensions, teased hairstyles, clouds of hairspray, flippers (fake teeth), sophisticated costumes, screaming crowds (mostly mothers), weird postures, twitched facial expressions, tiaras, trophies, money and more or less talent are the ingredients for the usual children beauty pageants, along with exercised smiles and hysterical crying and tantrums both on stage and behind the scenes, (and that's not just from the kids!) The children that compete in these beauty contests aged generally between 2 to 10 years old (sometimes even younger) usually have one only goal: get the money and get the tiara.
The youth described above is six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. In the powerful novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout is like most children: loud, playful, and energetic. She can be rude, demanding, and rowdy, which causes a problem for some around her. Scout is naïve at this stage in her life, and has much to learn about society, etiquette, and most of all, morals. In her small town full of gossip, lies, racism, and more, will Scout be able to blossom into a mature, wholesome, young woman?
These statistics show that child beauty pagents are harming children, but why else should they be banned? Child Beauty Pagents affect a childs development. Most children who compete in these pageants think that looks is everything and are taught that if you are pretty then that's all that matters. This also causes children to have unrealistic expectations for when they grow older. When the children grow older they start to have self esteem issues which can lead to depression and other mental health problems.
Despite trying to portray her feelings in an abstract and metaphorical way, Miley’s music video ended up coming across as overdramatic, inappropriate, and in a sense, masochistic. These themes present in the music video along with the sex appeal override the ethos and true meaning behind the song. As a young female, Miley Cyrus hopes to relate to her main audience, who are teenagers and young adults that also experience heartbreak and emotional pain in similar ways. Those teenagers and young adults who have grown up with her and support her through her career love her just the
Keisha Dotson July 19, 2010 English “Should Children Beauty Pageants Be Consider Harmful” Most people when they think of a child beauty contest or pageant, they think of the glamour, big hair styles and the over the top make up jobs for the child in question. Really and truly the pressure of the pageant itself can lead to serious self esteem issues and other psychosomatic issues. Children beauty pageants should be consider a psychological health risk for young children and their childhood. The main reasoning behind child beauty pageants is that the parents say that they enter their child or children are to give an increase in confidence. But according to (Lalan Maliakal), she states that “the mothers pressurize their children to work their appearance to look like a Barbie doll.” Young Children forgo their improvement and childhood years for beauty pageants and pressure by their mothers to be the best, which for the most part is not good because the child’s virtuousness have been blemished and compress by false synthetic similes and counterfeit eyelashes and sophisticated appearance .
TLC’s hit show “Toddlers & Tiaras” has captured the drama and exploitation in the world of child beauty pageants. Young girls are paraded around in expensive costumes, some in overly adult costumes complete with padded breasts. “….viewers and pageant skeptics have been expressing horror at an industry
The Inner Beauty That One Does Not Always See Do many people believe the statement “Beauty’s Only Skin Deep” immediately or over a period a time? Some people probably believe it immediately while others have to endure challenges to make them believe the statement. At first, Alice Walker falls into the group of people who place more importance in outward beauty, but as she matures, she learns to trust her inner beauty rather than her physical beauty. Alice Walker as a child has great confidence in her beauty and abilities during her first stage of her life. At the second stage of her life, Walker is full of shame but gains academic and social success by interacting with her peers and teachers after a corrective surgery to her injured eye.
Child Pageants: Unethical or Healthy Competition? By Cassie Pombrio October 21,2009 They arrive on stage dressed head to toe in pageant couture; faces painted resembling baby clowns, and as they begin to perform rehearsed routines, they eye the reason they’re there: the 5 foot-tall trophy and crystal tiara lying enticingly in the judge’s grip. According to the Rocky Mountain Collegian, child pageants provide poisonous competition at such a fragile, developmental stage in a child’s life. I quote them, “What these pageants communicate to participants is false conception such as: beauty merits recognition and self-worth based on physical attributes.” Is the strive to become “the complete package” in one of the fastest growing industries in American culture detrimental to self esteem or healthy competition? Beauty pageants entered American society in the 1920’s.
According to modern day society, girls should walk and talk pretty, have perfect skin, and cake on makeup; they should watch their weight and keep up with the newest trends in fashion. The mass media depicts unrealistic images of beauty, which have led many adolescent girls to attempt to become these unattainable figures. Girls go to extreme measures to imitate society’s impractical beliefs of beauty. The pressure that society puts on women to be thin is unhealthy, which links to the increasing rate of eating disorders and psychological problems among young women. There have been plenty of studies linked to the negative impacts of body image caused by the media.