Behind The Beauty Pageants
“No child should be paraded in front of adults and judged on a group of
variables,” according to the psychologist, Emma Kenny. Lights, entertainment, wigs,
pompous dresses, false teeth, juries, big smiles, excited parents are things that come in
child beauty pageants, whose competitors start from the age 0 to 12. These contests
began in 1960 and so far have been developing a multimillion-dollar industry because of
the high entrance fees and their attraction (Rholetter). Since 2009, these have become
very popular with the release of a reality show created by TLC, Toddlers and Tiaras.
This TV show exhibits the backstage scenes of beauty contests, how kids are rated by
their physical appearance and the inappropriate attitudes of parents. They compete to
win prizes ranging from $ 100 to $50000, scholarships, tiaras, and sashes. It is
undoubtedly a very controversial topic that has been banned in countries like France.
Government should ban child beauty pageants because they generate psychological
and physical problems, child sexual objectivization, exaggerated importance of physical
beauty, a negative environment, and extreme situations.
Beauty pageants teach that physical beauty is the most important thing to
succeed and that a typical stereotype must be reached to be accepted by society. Girls
need the complete package that includes the perfect tans, bright dresses, false nails,
hair wigs and sneakers that make them look better, to win. Trying to recreate the
stereotype of Barbie that society has imposed, and forgetting what they are, kids.
Parents turn their children into a unrealistic version of a girl. It is unfair for a young girl
to suffer the pain and discomfort that beauty brings, such as waxing, wearing contact
lenses or using lots of makeup and dyeing their hair. Besides, beyond the physical
things, the parents make their children believe that their only goal is to become a false
child that is pleasing to the eyes of the judges like Eden Woods, former pageant
contestant from Toddler and Tiaras, who is known because of the many crowns and
titles that she won. Also, they learn that superficiality is acceptable. They should be
judged not only for their beauty but for how they are as a person, their values, and all
the things that make them be children such as their innocence and cuteness. Frances
Fitzgerald, Minister of Children in Ireland, called pageants “theft of childhood” and said
that the childhood is impossible to recover after it is stolen (O’Halloran).
The desire of girls for the acceptance of others and for gaining the competencies
generate physical and psychological diseases. It is logical that many of the girls
