Dr Carr-Gregg, a respected Australian adolescent psychologist, stated that these pageants are “bordering on child abuse.” (Carr-Gregg cited in Gearin, 2011) Others have called for legislation of age restrictions for beauty pageants, and a code of conduct for all forms of child performance. (Gearin, 2011) Painted Babies clearly demonstrates “the complete package” requires children to be pampered and preened to resemble performing dolls. This objectification includes excessive hair, make-up, fake-tan even dental treatment in the pursuit of physical perfection. The children develop song and dance routines to display their talents. These often have an adult, sexy over-tone some argue is ‘creepy’ causing a ‘general discomfort’ in the viewing public.
Little did our country know, that 40 years later, children as young as 6 months would be competing in beauty pageants. 1960 was the mark of the first child beauty pageant in the U.S. and it started a major American trend. The death of Jon Benet Ramsey in 1996, child beauty pageants have been a hot topic for debate. Ramsey’s death opened a new door to the skepticism of beauty pageants by allowing the media into the world of child beauty pageants through a more curious eye. TLC’s hit show “Toddlers & Tiaras” has captured the drama and exploitation in the world of child beauty pageants.
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.
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 .
In the article, “Controlling your reality” Paige Pfleger states “Reality television can also preserve old fashioned notions about sexual stereotyping. Women are encouraged to fulfill roles as “the slut” and are simultaneously devalued by doing so” sadly these are the types of stereotypes young girls and women grow up with (3). Little girls are told to act a certain way only for society to reject and humiliate them for it. In The Hunger Games Collins makes a point by sexually objectifying Glimmer, a career tribute, because she looks like the stereotype of sexy. In the novel Collins writes, “The girl tribute from District 1, looking provocative in a see-through gold gown…With that flowing blonde hair, emerald green eyes, her body tall and lush… she’s sexy all the way”(125).Collins makes it clear that society has a very specific image of what sexy should look like.
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.
They make it look like it’s fun and that other people should try it. TV shows have changed teenagers today by creating these horrible role models. “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” were supposed to show how hard life is when you’re pregnant at a young age, but it’s the exact opposite of what it’s really doing. Now that the first two seasons of “16 and Pregnant” are over, they are looking for a new group of pregnant girls to be on the new season. Girls recently are found to be trying to get pregnant to get on the show.
In this article we are presented with two images, one depicts a young Balinese girl dressed up in all traditional styles of dress performing the local folklore dance as per tradition. While the other picture is of the US pageant start Eden Wood dressed up in a swimsuit with full hair and make up. Harmer presents her contention well; she explains that people shouldn’t be getting all up in arms about child beauty pageants because in reality everyone exploits their children at one time or another in their own way. Her contention is also introduced in the title of the article with the words “SO WHAT!” which sends the message that people really shouldn’t care as much as they are now. In Harmers opening sentence she makes reference to a personal experience that she had while she was holidaying at a hotel in Bali, she says she watched young Balinese girls with their “torsos wrapped in golden fabric, hair elaborately styled, nails painted, eyes fully made up and lips stained ruby red” while they performed alongside their big sisters and mothers, dancing with sheer talent.
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.
Beauty pageant participant, Kelsey Killeen said, “When I started going into pageants, it gave me so much self-confidence.” Pageant moms believe pageants are a good way to teach their daughters skills needed in life. Eight main skills mothers thought or hoped their children would learn from pageants were acquiring confidence, learning to be comfortable onstage and around strangers, gaining poise, determining the best way to present oneself, realizing the need for practice, learning good sportsmanship, becoming more outgoing and learning to listen (“Child Beauty”). Some parents have even said that they have placed their children in pageants because of a birth defect their child had (“Child Beauty”). These parents wanted to support the fact that their children are normal and beautiful no matter if they have birth defects (“Child Beauty”). In numerous pageants it is required that the contestant raise money for a local