Beauty Pageant Argumentative Essay

Beauty pageants have been around for a long time, making people believe that nothing could go wrong in such events. Nevertheless, when I consider women who glide across the stage, I recall skinny women, in specific, who appear to have unrealistic features such as: perfect teeth, skin, and bodies, putting pressure as only women who appear that way are in magazines, television, and movies. Subsequently, this begins when young women participate in beauty pageants. [ Dante Ultius] Society today thinks that entering young children in beauty pageants can help self esteem. Society believes it will make them feel beautiful, perfect, socially involved, discipline, self confidence, and so on. Well it turns out thatś the exact opposite of what they think. Putting children in beauty pageants at a young age can cause health issues like depression, low self of esteem, anxiety, eating disorder, and also the absense of a normal childhood. Research shows that over the past 10 years, there has been a 270% increase in the number of girls being hospitalized for eating disorders, some of these girls are as young as 7 years old [Kelly Kammer]. Competitions can display adult body dissatisfaction in their later years, and that it is also possible for them to suffer from various eating disorders [Psychologist Martina Cartwright].

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,

“It doesn’t matter if you can breathe. All that matters is if you look good”. Just Googling the search term “beauty pageants coming up,” will result in 2,710,000 results appearing in 1.18 seconds. Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual children's competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace. April Brilliant, reigning Mrs. Maryland and the director of Maryland-based Mystic Pageants, says pageants give little girls a chance to "play Cinderella." However, playing ‘Cinderella’ can cause children to develop insecurities or self-hatred if they don't

Zinzi Williams explains the downsides of pageantry in “Do Pageant Children Behave Differently than Other Kids?” The central claim is that there are many psychological differences between children who compete in the world of pageantry and children who don’t. Williams states the minor claims that children who compete in beauty pageants put beauty ahead of schoolwork and play time. Her other minor claim is that beauty contests affect the way the children who compete view their bodies and there overall appearance. She states that statistic that if there are 20 girls competing in the pageant, that each contestant only has a 5% chance of winning, which is very slim! Williams explains that in her research she found that on WebMD, a medical website,

Why is that we are told everyone is beautiful in their own way yet society pressures us woman to be prettier than the next. Women are taught as little girls that being beautiful is important but there is more to life than being beautiful. I believe parents should not let their daughters compete in beauty pageants because it sexualizes young girls, affects child development and discourages self worth. Is exploiting your child really worth some cash, a sparkly tiara and trophy taller than her. If you don’t believe me check out TLC’s hit show toddlers and Tiaras. Toddlers and Tiara is show about child beauty pagents where it looks like little girls throwing tantrums are forced to compete. The show

In some ways, child beauty pageants can be great for young girls to compete in. Pageants can build confidence by putting girls in front of lots of people to perform and speak. This leads to confidence through life and public speaking skills. Another positive outcome of competing is winning scholarships and prize money. Scholarships will help a child receive a higher education later on. Next, in order to continue competing well, a girl needs to stay fit and healthy. She must also work hard and be disciplined. While these are great life traits to have, there are many

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.

Many pageant parents say that doing pageants help their child’s self esteem. How does not winning the beauty pageant boast a child’s self esteem? In fact many children start to cry after not winning a crown. Some even say they feel guilty or like they have let their parents down. The parents also get upset if their child loses. One mother admitted that after hearing her daughter won overall princess instead of overall queen, she stormed out, threw the crown on the ground and ran over it. I bet that did wonders for her child’s self esteem and taught her self-discipline (Lets not forget the crown was her daughters, and not hers to smash.) Not only do these children feel bad after not winning a crown but they are also being sent a very bad message. They are being taught that beauty is everything, and the more crowns you have the more beautiful you are. This is only going to hurt them when they get older and forced to realize nobody’s perfect, and looks

One of the contestants in this year’s Miss USA pageant made national headlines last week even though she didn’t ultimately win the competition. Social media users praised Miss Indiana for having a “normal body,” rather than being a “complete twig” in her bikini. “I think the normality that everybody keeps talking about is just the fact that I’m relatable,” the contestant, whose real name is Mekayla Diehl, said in an interview with People Magazine. “I’m confident in my own skin. I didn’t obsess over being too skinny or not being tall enough.”

It is easy to say that pageants are something that girls want to do pageants because they get to wear pretty dresses and get all dolled up. But these toddlers are screaming and crying and telling their parents that they want to sleep, do not want to do the pageant, and do not want to be made up, so why make them do it? People can also say that children having a hobby is good wanting to be competitive is a good but the level of competition in pageants are not healthy for the kids. They are told not to be friends with the other contestants, that they have to win, etc. Children should not be forced to do something that they obviously do

Beauty Pageants make children feel insecure about themselves and therefore cause them to have low self-esteem. Sadly, a lot of these contestants end up insecure, broken and confused. Nicole Hunter an ex-pageant contestant states that “When children enter beauty pageants at too young of an age, they can develop poor self-image, low self-esteem and even eating disorders.” Nicole reflects on her own experiences an ex-contestant. She explains that a child is not capable of understanding rejection. If a child is told that they did not win, they immediately feel inferior to others. A child is not just going to overcome this rejection, these horrible feelings of not being good enough will stick with them throughout their life and this leads to further mental health problems such as depression. In this generation, everyone should be able to feel comfortable in their own body, the poisonous effects of beauty pageants crush a child’s self-esteem. These children grow up to be paranoid and self-conscious. Every day of their lives they will feel as if they are back on that stage getting judged about how they look and act. This is a horrible thing for anyone to go through.

Every little girl dream is to win a pageant for their mother or father, but what if they don’t win. Girls from ages 4-8 have very emotional when it comes to winning or when their parents put a lot of pressure on them to win. I think parents should let the kids decide whether they would like to join a pageant for the fun of it. Even though girls like to dress up, put on make-up, and have fun doing talents that are unique, their parents would like to embrace their personality to the world. I think little girls have feelings and they can get hurt in pageants because of their make-up, dresses, and sometimes talents.

Nevertheless, competition of this type reduces the amount of self-confidence when they believe their value is determined primarily by their looks. Cynthia E. Johnson, an Extension Human Development Specialist, argues in her article “Children & Competition” that, “Six to eight-year-olds suffer lowered self-esteem when they lose, especially if parents stress winning. Research says that activities for young children should be noncompetitive but should promote the practice of a limited set of skills” (Johnson). In child beauty pageants, the majority of parents emphasize winning; therefore, children feel that they need to win to gain their parent’s support. Feelings of self-worth become reliant on external sources of appraisal as a result of these intense competitions. Participants are exposed to extreme pressure and ultimately feel that they are a failure if they do not win a title. They are also so focused on winning that they are repressed from forming positive relationships with other contestants (Lieberman). Failure to participate in healthy interaction with other children leads to delayed social development. Children who lack behind in their development acquire weak social skills and do not fully understand how to act in normal day-to-day

Pageants are costly and Parents will spend upwards of five grand on a dress that will probably only be worn once. Entrance fees, travel, hotel rooms, makeup, and coaches are thousands of dollars per year that parents spend on their children to compete in a contest that most children don't have a choice if they compete or not. These children have

Beauty pageants have been around for a long time, but what is the purpose of it? The little Miss America started in the early 1900s. “Competitions 25 years ago really only required a party dress and a satin hair bow” (Fleishman par. 2). When beauty pageants first started out, parents use to spend so little on beauty pageants and the children wore little to to no makeup. Now, in the twenty first century, girls ages four to seventeen wears a full face of makeup and fancy little dresses, walking down a runaway getting judged whether or not they look good and if their posture is just right.Beauty pageants for young girls can make them feel like their worth depends on physical beauty and not on their character which is why beauty pageants should be discontinued because they make young girls feel emotionally empty and physically unattractive when they lose these beauty pageants.Parents are putting their young girls into something they can not comprehend and so the child is confused. Parents start their girls out when they are less than a year old, and they eventually start wearing makeup, using self tanner on their delicate skin, wearing fake eyelashes, fake hair pieces and even fake teeth just to get judged on stage.