Child Pageants And The Sexualization Of Young Girls

“A small 2005 study, published in Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention, that involved 22 women, half of whom had participated in child beauty pageants, concluded that there were ‘no significant differences’ between the two groups on measures of bulimia, body perception, depression, and self-esteem. But it did find that the former pageant girls scored significantly higher on body dissatisfaction, interpersonal distrust, and impulse dysregulation” (Hollandsworth 7). With this statistic, readers can see the negative effects on a smaller scale which enables them to understand and agree with what Hollandsworth is saying. “The promise of a tiara has always been a fast, easy sell to young girls who pine to be princesses— just ask Disney, which reportedly makes approximately $4 billion annually from its more than 26,000 princess-related retail items. The connection between princesses and pageants exploded in 1954 with the first televised broadcast of the Miss America pageant; 27 million viewers tuned in” (Hollandsworth 3). This shows an example of cause and effect; they can see that the media encourages little girls by giving them an unrealistic dream in order for them to join pageants. The facts that he uses are based on the idea that pageants are allowing companies to sexualize children by offering them things that are unnecessary for their age. "Now,

with trends in girl culture and reveals insights into the ideologies about the construction and positions of female minors. The program shows that it is utilisable for the construction and positions of pageants obstinate certainty about girlhood identity. The girls on Toddlers & Tiaras are a component of a “docile-bodies” during the pageant makeover process. They are offered with inhibited power and must submit to the will of their parents and the pageant expert to become someone whom they are not supposed to be. The programs additional depicts an excruciating desire for fame and celebrity as demonstrated through their parent in an effort to make their

According to Vernon R.Wiehe in “Nothing Pretty In Child Pageants” he states that allowing your child to be used as sexual objects condone pedophiles to sexually abuse children. (Vernon R. Wiehe) We are practically throwing these girls to the wolves. It’s pretty disturbing at the thought of someone in the crowd may be lusting over your child. For instance, in 1996 little JonBonet Ramsey, a six-year old beauty pageant winner was found dead. Twenty-one years later her murder resolves unsolved and many believe a predator could have killed her. The Ramsey case reveals how regressive notions of femininity and beauty are being deployed in this conservative era to fashion the fragile identities of young girls, but also how willingly adults will project their own fantasies onto children, even if it means selling them on the beauty block. Images of six-year-olds cosmetically transformed into sultry, Lolita-like beings are difficult for most of us to watch. (Henry A. Giroux). Beauty pageants rob the innocence of little girls who are not meant to be sexy.

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.

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.

From as young as the age of two, girls who participate in child beauty pageants are being affected by America’s addiction to beauty. These little girls are expected to wear tight and revealing dresses that are meant to flaunt curves that they have not yet developed. Spray tans, hair extensions, fake nails, fake eyelashes, “sexy” outfits and bathing suits, these are only a few of the things these children are expected to wear. Furthermore, girls in child beauty pageants are often made to wear fake teeth called flippers, because what used to be “innocent and adorable” about the gaps in a child’s teeth from losing them is no longer pretty enough in the eyes of the judge. Unfortunately, as a result, many girls grow up to believe that beauty is

Julie Costello Pre-College English #7 Mrs. Flynn March 9, 2015 Child Beauty Pageants (Little Miss Perfect) Most people believe that child beauty pageants are ridiculous and should be banned. They feel this way because these girls do not have a choice to be in the pageants. “Beauty pageants started in the 1920s in Atlantic City. The business owners needed a way to keep tourists there past Labor Day so they introduced pageantry.”

Discuss why there has been growing fears about early sexualisation of children and comment on whether you think these fears are justified. Early sexualisation of children is a hugely important and sensitive issue that incites growing concerns from parents, teachers and policy makers alike. Acquiring a precise definition for sexualisation has proven difficult but for the purpose of this essay, sexualisation, as outlined by the American Psychological Association, refers to; when a persons’ value comes solely from their sex appeal or sexual behaviour, when a person is sexually objectified and/or when a person has sexuality inappropriately imposed upon them. * Early sexualisation therefore occurs when any or all of the above are true in relation to

Today’s generation of children has grown up with makeup, fake nails, and spray tans (Baik). It is not acceptable for children to be pressured to be an adult when they should be having fun, like a child. According to American express of PBS, “A beauty pageant was first considered a form of entertainment in the city of Troy” (Shabanov). The first child’s beauty pageant began in the 1960s, and it was very different than they are today. The pageants were for teenagers from ages 13 to 17, but were they discontinued in 1966. They started back up in 1975 and have continued on since. Now, children can start pageants at the age of 12 months. At the children’s pageants they started to model sportswear and evening wear and were encouraged to dance and display a unique talent. The judging is based on variables such as poise, confidence, perfection, personality, and appearance; modern pageants

I. It is 6:00 a.m. on Friday morning, and Sharon is about to awaken her two year old daughter, Jessica, to prepare for a 4 hour car ride. Jessica has not gotten much sleep in the past few days due to long hours of practice and is now very cranky. The only time Jessica will get to nap is during the 4 hour drive but then must stay awake the rest of the day. They pack the car with numerous suitcases all containing loads of make-up, hair supplies, and costumes, all for Jessica. The family has a long and busy day ahead of them. Sharon is one of the many over-demanding parents who put young and innocent children into beauty pageants each year.

Did you know child beauty pageants display real life sexualised dolls? They also show off toddler girls who are told to tease judges by flirting and pouting. Young beauty contestants wear heavily coated makeup in order to look like adult women (Reist). These sugar-coated and glamorized events communicate to the younger age group that it is OK to wear smiles after the unpleasant process of preparation that beauty pageants demand. More and more people who watch these activities are starting to see the harm and effect it can have on the kids involved. The public is realizing that child beauty pageants are a disturbing social issue in our society because they support blatant exploitation, puts an overemphasis on physical appearance and increases

Imagine a young female sitting in her room crying. A pageant, she entered was concluded by another contestant who won due to being more beautiful, and owned more money than the crying child. Would our victim to a mental breakdown, choose that it was only a loss and pass on, or would her self-esteem slowly deplete? Pageants were enlisted in early 1900’s. In the year of 1937, there was a law enforced that only women of ages 18-21 could join pageants due to a fifteen-year-old winning a pageant in an unfair advantage of her attractiveness. Pageants are making young females cause a depletion in their self-esteem, causing families and TV crews a costly amount of money, and causes sexualization of young females and draws a line with what a female

Adolescent Beauty Pageants: Judging the Beauty of a Child A growing trend in America, mainly in the southern states, is beauty pageants for young girls. Families flock from all over the country to watch these competitions, and some are even televised due to their popularity. Not only are these contests inappropriate for young girls, what are the competitions teaching them about beauty? At this age girls are easily susceptible to believing that beauty is the most important thing.

Since the first beauty pageant in 1888, un uprising in the comparison and judgement of women swept the world. The whole concept of beauty pageants is corrupt and disgusting as they put the primary focus on the outer appearance. Some may argue that the contestants are judged based on talent and other abilities too, but those portions of the contest do not count near as much as the girls physical beauty. In pageants that do consider talents, such as dancing, the dances are often very provocative and inappropriate for their age. Infact, there are even shows s like “Toddlers in Tiaras” that show the insanity of the pageants. In one episode of the eye opening show, a

This essay, High Glitz Beauty Pageants and the Ugly Truth, examines the role high glitz pageants play on young adolescent girls. There are two major types of pageants which include natural and glitz. Natural pageants are morally appropriate and acceptable for young girls because they promote a much more healthier lifestyle as compared to glitz beauty pageants. On the other hand, the impact that glitz beauty pageants have on young girls are highly negative. This particular type of pageant puts girls at risk for both psychological and physical harm. Parents of pageant contestants should not be allowed to subject their daughters towards the superficiality advertised by glitz beauty pageants. With all things considered, the negative aspects of high glitz beauty pageants greatly outweighs the positive. Therefore a call for regulation is needed before more young girls become involved.