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Child Beauty Pageants Essay ; Impact on girls! [5]
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Child Beauty Pageants; What are we Doing to our Girls
Child beauty pageants; why should they be considered exploiting and abuse of children? Throughout the years child beauty pageants popularity has grown an exponential amount. And now in the year 2012, they are seemingly becoming an epidemic. It's estimated in the United States alone each year 250,000 children compete in child pageants of that, over 100,000 are girls under the age of twelve (Rapport). Of the children who participate in these pageants, studies have shown that approximately half of them are unhappy with the size that they are, and have or want to go on a diet (Rapport). Comparing pageant children to others, they are sixty percent more likely to go on a diet by the age of ten (Carwright par 2). Is trying to loose weight really what children should be focusing on?
Child beauty pageants in many aspects are indeed doing much more harm than good, both mentally physically and emotionally. On a mental level, pageants have been proven to cause in many cases mental distress; this is mainly due to the amount of pressure put on the contestants. Children aren't equipped to handle high stress situations; as a result they are more prone to suffer with some kind of mental strain (Cannold par 6). Physically these girls are striving for perfection, resulting in the possibility of eating disorders, extreme dieting and exercising. Emotionally many girls actually acquire low-self-esteem; this many times is expected to carry on into ones adulthood if not handled with proper care (Cannold par 3). Not only that but many contestants that partake in child beauty pageants have a low level of self-worth, they many times view themselves as not being good enough, this is perceived through their subconscious ("McDaniel").
There are two categories in the pageant world, high glitz and natural. Natural is exactly what it sounds like "natural", they keep the child looking semi natural. There usually isn't as much makeup, hairpieces, fake nails or an excess of really anything that is material. But when it comes to the high glitz pageants it's a very different story. High glitz is much more extreme, and guiltier of exploiting children. The girls wear racy attire consisting of bikini swim suits, short dresses, and revealing costumes ("Kincaid"). They have womanly appearances, wearing an excess of makeup spray tanned skin and flippers (these are removable false teeth that cover their baby teeth) all take away from their childish beauty ("Rapport"). But it doesn't stop there you won't find a contestant not wearing there fake nails, hair extensions, and eyelashes ("Rapport"). Getting a contestant ready for a high glitz beauty pageant takes weeks of non-stop prepping planning and practice, and just to get a child ready to walk up on to the stage it takes hours just to get everything on including hair makeup.
Beauty pageants inevitably are creating a standardized beauty. Emitting expectations and standards for the girls almost telling them what beautiful should look like makes many feel like they can never achieve it, psychologically in many cases this can scar a child ("Hunter"). Loosing contestants at their age don't fully understand yet that losing a competition doesn't mean they aren't beautiful or even less beautiful than the others. Children haven't yet grasped an understanding that beauty pageants are a competition, not a rate on who is more beautiful than they are.
A perfect example of the many ill effects caused by competing in beauty pageants at a young age is Nicole Hunters story. Since she was four she had been competing in high glitz beauty pageants all over the world unwillingly. She explains how it wasn't her dream but her mothers, she felt as though she didn't have the option to say no. In a blog that she wrote specifically about her experiences she shares how to this day she still struggles with a low self-esteem, especially when she doesn't wear makeup. For many years now she has been fighting anorexia nervous, and just now as an adult she feels as though she has it under control. She says and I quote "I wouldn't recommend any mother to allow a child to participate in pageants especially as a child" ("Hunter"). Though not every experience of pageant children will end up feeling the same as Nicole Hunter there are many that indeed will.
Society as a whole is a contributing factor in supporting child beauty pageants. Its society that is allowing children to compete, although getting rid of pageants all together is clearly off the table there could be an age limit. Though not intended society has made these child beauty pageants what they are today. Society obsession with youth as well as beauty, this fuel's the progress of reality TV shows about child beauty pageants. We have built this growing industry. Child beauty pageants are more popular now than ever, a multi-billion dollar industry, child beauty pageants popularity is growing despite its corruption.
I recently conducted a survey at a high glitz child beauty pageant. In attending this beauty pageant I was surprised in many ways. The majority of the audience was mothers of the contestants; they cheered them on with much enthusiasm and would stand behind the judges mimicking there child's routine. After the pageant was over and winner was announced, along with all the other runner ups the room was completely silent. When they were done with the announcements many of the young girls were extremely upset some even crying after realizing they didn't win anything. This caught me off guard completely; I didn't expect the children along with the mothers would be as upset as they were because they didn't win the "grand supreme".
After it calmed down, in all my efforts I was only able to survey eight pageant mothers and ten pageant contestants. I had conducted two separate surveys, one for the pageant mothers and one for the child contestants. Many of the mothers wouldn't allow the children to do the surveys alone, but even in spite of that, four of the children still responded negatively to being in child beauty pageants, despite the fact that their mother was right beside them reading the questions allowed. Seeing how these girls mothers responded was somewhat predictable, two of the mothers began to reassure their daughters that "yes you like pageants", trying to change their daughters response. In reference to the mothers, all of the eight pageant moms responded with positive feedback about pageant competitions.
In my survey for the child contestants I asked them "what do you dislike about doing pageants?" Three of the children named four things that they didn't like. And four of the ten named two things that they didn't like. Some of the dislikes about doing pageants were getting their hair done; they were saying that it hurts. Two of the girls said that they don't like having to wear there "itchy" dresses. These responses were all very similar, in all reality most of them didn't like having to get all dolled up and practice for these pageants, and they would rather be doing other activities. But the one thing that every single girl had in common was at one point or another in the survey they all referred to their mothers' saying that they liked pageants.
Beauty pageants are sexualizing children. Although no mother intends to put their child in harm's way it's exactly what they are setting themselves up for. Making a child look older than they are in most people's mind is trying to make them look sexy, which unavoidably will attract unwanted attention. It's like fueling a fire; allowing young vulnerable children to be seen in public inappropriately dressed.
Unfortunately mothers are wrong when they think that supporters of child beauty pageants aren't the only ones watching. Statistics show that in the past markets for children such as beauty pageants have been funded a considerable amount by pedophiles ("Brock"). To say the least it's unsettling to know that pedophiles and molesters have the ability to go watch these pageants on TV or in person ("Kincaid"). Though it may be against the law for these people to attend the pageants, no one has to go through a screening or have a background check to get in. This I came to find out when I personally attended a pageant, you just walk in and take a seat they don't even require a name.
Mounting evidence; children who participate in pageants. "Beauty pageants for children are indeed unhealthy vicious and exploitive" ("Kincaid"). Studies show that children who compete in beauty pageants are sixty percent more likely to be unhappy with the size they are ("Carwright" par2). "Adults need to be aware of the potential long term impact super-competitive, beauty driven pursuits can have on young girls" ("Carwright").
Let children be children. As I was told by my mother when I was a girl" don't be in a hurry to grow up" this is possibly the best advice I have ever received. And in this particular instance it sums it all up perfectly. Case and point child beauty pageants are forcing children to grow up too fast. It indeed is robbing these children of their childhood can never be replaced or given back to them.