Persuasive Essay On Beauty Pageants

In America Over 250,000 children are entered into a beauty pageant annually and out of that number over 50% of those children wind up having issues in their teenage and adult years. Also 73% of parents who have kids in beauty pageants spend more money on the pageant instead of their kids' education. Is this a serious issue? Yes, Child beauty pageants became part of the American society in the 1960’s. They were originally for teenagers 13-17 years old. However child beauty pageants have become more and more popular and now children as little as toddlers participate in these pageants. Children who are entered in beauty pageants have a negative future ahead of them. Beauty pageants have created unrealistic expectations for young girls because these stereotypes contribute to low self esteem, depression, and eating disorders.

Child beauty pageants may seem like harmless fun, but the actual effects it has on adolescents is not worth the public adoration. Some people believe that pageants do not have long lasting effects on them, and that, for children, pageants just give them the opportunity to play dress up. Even though children may not be affected immediately, the values that pageants instill are buried in their subconscious. By judging children at such young ages based solely off outward appearance, they grow up with a distorted psyche, which later affects them in their adult life. Since the media provides children with unrealistic standards of appearance, and pageants teach them that attractiveness is the key to success, many downsides follow, including poor

Each year, around three million children, ages 6 to 16, will compete in a beauty pageant. When a child enters to compete in a beauty pageant, it not only damages the child now, but as well as later in life. Also, the standards that these children are held to while competing in a beauty pageant is affecting their development.

Imagining if one day you saw your five year old daughter with a full face of makeup and high heels. Now she looks like a miniature adult. Not only is she a miniature adult, but now she also is very self conscious of herself and has an eating disorder at five years old. Child beauty pageants have some pros and a of lot cons to them. Also, they can affect a child’s development. One should consider that child beauty pageants can lead to a lot of mental health issues for kids at a very young age.

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,

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.

Picture if you will John Bennet Ramsey and Honey Boo Boo. Both are beauty pageant princesses on different sides of the spectrum. As you look at both of these girls, you see their features are very different. Is one more favorable than the other? Why? We have all been pre-programed from a young age to believe that beauty is perceived in one certain way. When we all think of beauty, we all have very similar ideas. But it’s so subliminal that you don’t even know it’s happening, until one day you realize that you all think the same. The detriments of child beauty pageants can be seen over and over through child psyche all the way through adulthood.

In “Beauty Pageants Draw Children and Criticism” by Kristen Schultz and Pleshette Murphy, it discusses how girls from infants to 16 years old enter beauty pageants and those who support beauty pageants would say this is a great way for girls to play like cinderella but they don’t realize

1. There are about 250,000 children in child beauty pageants all throughout the United States. As many people know, child beauty pageants consist of children dressing up in revealing dresses, tons of makeup, and fake hair. Many of these kids grow up to have struggles with perfection, dieting, eating disorders and their body image. These kids need to learn that beauty isn't just what’s on the outside and that there’s a lot more in life than the need to always look perfect.

Many Children are actively involved in beauty pageants, and many people have different opinions about them. Some feel that they are good for kids, others think that all they do is harm them. Opinions vary from person to person, and reasoning also varies. But, the real question is “Do child beauty pageants harm kids in the long run?” What comes to mind when the words “child beauty pageants” are spoken? What some people think about them are, crazy moms pushing their daughters to win, and little girls dressing up to look like Barbie dolls. What these people do not see is that beauty pageants teach girls to be confident and independent.

'Most people love you for who you pretend to be. To keep their love you keep pretending, performing. You get to love your pretence. Its true we're locked in an image, an act' a quote from the lead singer of The Doors, Jim Morrison (Cartwright). Pageantry has been around for 95 years. Starting in the 1920's in an Atlantic City hotel, originally for adults, pageants have slowly become more popular for children in the past 40 years (Nussbaum). Over the years child pageants have grown more and more, with the hit TLC show Toddlers & Tiaras people are able to have a firsthand look at what really goes into the pageantry behind the scenes. Many people believe that pageants give the contestants confidence and self-esteem (Williams). Does pageantry really have any

In modern day society, people often tune into TLC’s hit show Toddlers in Tiaras. Most see it as a harmless pastime for the children, but child beauty pageants are far from harmless. In recent years, child beauty pageants have become increasingly popular all over the U.S, making it a 5 billion dollar industry. Almost 5,000 pageants are held with 250,000 children participating with the majority of the contestants under the age of twelve (“Child beauty Pageants”). Unfortunately, what most viewers do not realize is that many contestants will suffer from sexual abuse and eating disorders by the time they are teenagers. With that being said, beauty pageants have a negative impact on female adolescents.

(Andrea Canning & Jennifer Pierera) Let us not forget the fake eyelashes, nails, makeup, teeth whitening and hair extensions; put it all together and you have got a beauty queen. Does being beautiful mean you have to be sexy and promiscuous? The talent portion of the pageant consists of the children dancing sexually, winking, posing and blowing kisses to the judges. This kind of activity pressures little girls to be flirtatious and engage in sexual actives at a young age. Today’s pageants force children to do everything an adult would do and wear, ultimately leading them to believe they are mature enough to behave and engage in the same activities as adults do.

The world is a beautiful thing but society has corrupted it to the point only perfection can be appealing. Pageants display what society finds attractive. Contests held like this are only toxic for young minds because they only influence their views of beauty. Media has evolved this into the competitive game that’s seen today. Parents should stop participating their children in beauty pageants because they cause psychological problems, unrealistic standards, and social prejudice.

“Mommy I am tired, and I don’t want to perform,” a young girl pleads as her mother urges her to go up on stage. At the tender age of four, children are not independent enough to make their own decisions, and many parents take advantage of this by forcing their young kids to compete in pageants. Money prizes, trophies, and praise overcome the better judgement of many parents who continuously spend thousands of dollars on glitz and glam for their children. Childhood beauty pageants are continuously on the rise due to reality shows that follow pageant children and their families. Many parents seem to find nothing wrong with having their children compete in them, but beauty pageants are not great activities for young kids to partake in. Childhood beauty pageants should be banned because they sexualize young children, force children to use artificial means to gain self-esteem, and can lead to long term psychological effects.