Banning Children's Beauty Pageants

First, we will talk about how child beauty pageants started. The upbringing of child beauty pageants is very interesting. It started off with “Pageants celebrating female beauty and charm being fixture at fairs and festivals the U.S. since the 19th century”(Hilboldt), and then “Their rise in popularity probably dates back to 1954, when the miss America pageants was first broadcasted on TV”(Hilboldt). “In 1960, a miami broadcaster hosted the first locally televised pageant for children, Little Miss universes”(Hilboldt). Around “The 1980’s child pageants had become an inextricable part of life in the South…”(Hilboldt). Pageants have dated back for centuries, but did not rise in popularity until it was first broadcasted on TV. Furthermore, the number of kids that participate in beauty pageants is eminence. A majority of little girls wanted to be in pageants, because “They began dreaming of one day becoming Miss America”(Hilboldt). With so many kids in pageants “It’s estimated that 25,000 children compete in more than 5,000 pageants in the U.S. each year”(Hilboldt). It is crazy how many little girls participate in beauty pageants each year just so they can hopefully become the next Miss America. While beauty pageants are still relevant and legal in the U.S. France is trying to ban them. “France is considering a move to ban beauty pageants for girls under 16 as a way to fight the hyper-sexualization of children”(“France”). While,“Under the proposal, organizers of beauty pageants aimed at young children...could face up to two years in prison and fines of $40,000”(“France”). Also, “The measure is a part of of a wider law on gender equality and was approved by the French Senate after garnering 197 votes in favor of the ban,

When I hear the word toddler I think of little girls walking around in mommy’s shoes, and miss matched clothing (because she’s getting to the age where she likes to dress herself.) And of course a cute smile that’s missing a few teeth. The word glitz, glamour and sashes don’t come to mind. Nor does the image of a little girl who’s fake from head to toe. Wearing wigs, flippers (fake teeth), inappropriate /reveling attire and fake tans. I don’t think of little girls dancing around a stage in front of hundreds of people getting judged on their “beauty.” Well, that is exactly what children’s pageants consist of. Pageants exploit a child for their outer beauty, their talents and over all perfection or as pageant judges would call it having” the

Beauty pageants have changed drastically in the past fifty years. Beauty pageants used to be all adult females who dressed in their Sunday best and walked on the catwalk at the county fair. Now, little children are decked out in glitzy outfits, have wigs that make their hair twice as long, and have teeth to make it seem like their baby teeth haven’t fallen out yet. In this literature review, I reviewed different articles, some against child beauty pageants and some that showed a firsthand look into the beauty pageants. Based on the reviews, I have made a decision as to whether child beauty pageants are

A child beauty pageant is a beauty contest for children younger than 16. The girls are judged based on individuality in looks, capability, poise, perfection and confidence, which the judges call, "the complete package". The contestants compete to win a variety of prizes and trophies: the trophies being taller than the girls themselves. In my opinion, child beauty pageants should be banned, as they are destructive to childhoods and futures.

The world of child beauty pageants is similar to the twilight zone. It’s hard to believe that children as young as 2, have hair extensions, professional grade makeup, and spray tans. TLC’s hit television show “Toddlers & Tiara’s”, depicts the horrifying and true events of what actually goes on in these pageants. Nationally broadcasting the inherent sexualization of little girls for all to see has become completely desensitized. The lasting effects that preforming in beauty pageants has on girls who have been through years of competing is far greater than the trophies and tiara’s displayed on their shelves. Dressing toddlers in costumes, forcing them to dance and parade around on stage only to be judged on who is the prettiest by adults is sick and disturbed.

Everyday across the country thousands of children are dress up to compete in pageants based on who is the cutest. The children are judged on their personalities, goals, and outfits. This does not seem so bad at first glance and really it is not. The problem starts when children are put in make up padded bras high heels and swim suits then sent down a catwalk with hundreds of people looking at them. This is where child beauty pageants cross the line.

Can you imagine little girls doing catwalk with heavy makeup on the stage? Can you imagine those girls wearing miniature ballgowns in high heels? However, these can be seen frequently in child beauty pageants, the beauty contests for participants who are 16 years old or younger. Although some people may believe that beauty pageants can help boost children’s self-esteem. However, I believe that the problems with child beauty pageants outweigh benefits for the following reasons: they put financial burden on families, mislead children’s values and do damage to their physical health.

Dating back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, the standard of “ideal beauty” was looked upon very highly. Now, the idea of following the societal standard of beauty seems to take over the lives of young children and teens. Beauty pageants for young children have been rising in fame through some famous reality TV shows such as “Toddlers and Tiaras.” Young children as young as three enter into these contests with the pressure to win and compete with other young children. While some people say that child beauty pageants teach young girls and boys about confidence and to work their very best, I think it is wrong for young children to be participating in these pageants. Today, young girls and boys are constantly being bombarded with the pressure to look and feel beautiful and the last thing they would want to do is fake a smile and stand pretty for an extended period of time. Are we going to continue to let these pageants sexualize young children?

¨Child beauty pageants are a form of child abuse, since they exploit children and place them in harm's way. The children who participate in beauty pageants are often hurt by the experience, suffering damage to their self-esteem and later developing eating disorders, like anorexia, due to skewed values about their bodies. Additionally, dressing children up with adult clothes and makeup appeals to sexual predators, placing them at risk of falling victim to a pedophile. Because of these potential dangers to children, no one under the age of eighteen should be allowed to participate in beauty pageants.¨ (Reed) Puffy dress, high heels, spray tans, hair extensions, inappropriate dancing for judges, energy drinks, abusive parents, a competition based

Children beauty pageant should be banned because it is an indirect child abuse, cause financial strain and affects children’s behaviour.

The portion of child pageants that people are not really fond of, is the aspect of young girls having the appearance of adults. The phrase “Growing up too fast” is used to characterized child pageants greatly. Young girls are trained to look and act a certain way in order to win someones approval. These girls are being taught that in order to be considered beautiful you must look, act, and dress a certain way. When did being chubby, having pale skin or missing teeth become an issue for children. Physical perfection should not be on the minds of young girls at such tender ages; instead they should focus more towards being indivduals not

Beauty Pageants over sexualizes little girls at a young age. As it seen in “Toddlers and Tiaras” a show by TLC show, little girls are being sexualized at a young age, by introducing them to hair extensions, make up, flippers (fake teeth), sexualized dresses. According to Paul Peterson, president and founder of A Minor Consideration, beauty pageants are “feeding the sex industry (Agadoni).” Girls are not physically ready to wear make up or hair extensions, and all of that just hides the natural beauty of a child making them more self conscious about themselves at such a young age. Little girls are going to think of themselves as not beautiful because they hide their real selves behind a ton of make up.

Child beauty pageants have been around for ages. Many people make a big deal out of them because of all the glitz and glam. I believe that there is nothing wrong with them, the affect a child’s development. They teach kids a lot of things. They’re beneficial because they teach the kids endurance, help them with their self-esteem/confidence, and mature them quickly than the rest. From being in the pageants, the kids learn to sit still for a long period of time, respect others, mature quickly, etc.

Did you know children in beauty pageants take up to 10 pixie sticks as a pre-pageant boost and parents spend thousands of dollars on dresses and makeup for their children to compete? I think beauty pageants are wrong and thousands of dollars are spent just so the child can win something they may not have even signed up to do. Beauty pageants are a time for children to be dressed up in expensive dresses and put onto a stage. Parents enter these children, and because lots of them are so young, that the children can't say no and not do it compared to older children who can have a choice. Young children shouldn't be allowed to enter beauty pageants because they can cause harmful effects on the children which will harm their future.

There is an average of 5,000 beauty pageants a year with over two million contestants who sign up to participate. “Toddlers and Tiaras” is a show on TLC that first aired in 2009 and is dedicated to the viewing of child beauty pageants. The show shadows the process of getting ready and the performance of the three young girls in the contest (Padmore, 2016). The ages of the girls range from only a couple months old to young girls of around fourteen or fifteen-years-old. The juvenile individuals were pictured wearing skimpy little outfits including bikinis and short shorts with a crop top shirt. The show had an average of 1.3 million viewers every week (Padmore, 2016). That is 1.3 million people, including men and child rapists, watching these little girls wearing little or next to nothing dance around the stage. Speaking from a personal standpoint, I have watched “Toddlers and Tiaras” and have witnessed a children’s beauty pageant in person. What I saw was something I could never forget. I watched