How Does Someone Truly Convey Who They Are?

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.

In the story, “How I Lost the Junior Miss Pageant” by Cindy Bosley, the narrator tells her story about how she lost the Junior Miss Pageant. She takes us on a journey about how she watched pageants and rated the females as if she was the judge and how she got into the pageant and practiced. She told us about her and her mother’s struggles with money, men and ultimately how she lost the pageant. She went even further after the pageant was over, to tell the reader how disappointed her mother was because she did not win and her mother’s ultimate sorrow, her loneliness. This descriptive narrative allowed me to understand the text's main point: being accepted by others.

My pageant was on June 3-5, 2016. I remember practicing the endless interview questions and my personal introduction every free moment I had. I wanted to be one-hundred percent prepared for anything the judges asked me. The weekend finally arrived. I had all my shoes, suits, and dresses packed and loaded in my mom’s Tahoe. The three-hour journey to Baton Rouge felt like a lifetime. My nerves were fizzing over the edge like a soda can that had been shaken up and opened. Like any other girl competing, I wanted to win. I wanted the opportunity to represent the state of Louisiana at the national pageant.

All questions courtesy of Houghton Mifflin's The American Pageant Guidebook; A Manual For Students, Eleventh Edition, 1998

The article “Toddlers in Tiaras” was written by Skip Hollandsworth, and was published by Good Housekeeping on August 2011.The author argues that child pageants can have negative effects on the young girls’ lives. Hollandsworth wrote this article in response to the popularity of the TV show “Toddlers and Tiaras”. This article “Toddler in Tiaras” can be divided into five sections. In the introduction, the author presents an example of a young girl getting ready for a pageant. Hollandsworth then introduces a pageant girl by the name Eden Woods and her mother Mickie. The author Skip Hollandsworth describes every little detail about Eden’s process of getting ready from all the thick layers of foundation they’re putting on the 6-year-old girl face,

“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

Each titleholder has a platform. A platform is a non-profit organization the young women can relate to or feel passionate about to make a difference. The title holders make appearances and hold events throughout their year of service. In addition to her personal platform, Miss America remains as a goodwill ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. This national platform provides the Miss America Organization the opportunity to not only raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, but to also raise extra money for the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Scholarship Foundation. It increases exposure and awareness in both organizations. The driven women want to serve their community and be that role model to the younger generation. Young girls think Miss America is a real princess and watch her every move. The crown might look pretty and shiny, but it does so much more—it makes a

When Heather’s mom attempted to explain the concepts of rhythm and pronunciation, and failed she thought dance class would help. She was enrolled her in ballet class in hopes (of ) that she would develop a better understanding of rhythm. Not long after joining, the love she had for ballet grew and she continued to dance until she danced herself all the way the to the Miss America competition. Heather started her career in beauty pageants in the Shelby County Junior Miss program. Although the Shelby County Junior program wasn’t considered an actual pageant it gave Heather the confidence she needed to start entering real ones. She entered many pageants and won Miss Cullman Area in 1994. After she won Miss Cullman she went on to win Miss Alabama and soon enough it was only her and Miss Virginia standing up in the finals for Miss America and it was then announced she had won. Each competition she entered helped to shape and mold the way Heather interacted the judges. “The first time I stood on the stage in Atlantic City and looked out over the empty convention about a year before I won the Miss America title, I was amazed not at its size, but at the fact that I was there. The journey to the Miss America Pageant did not begin four years ago when I first competed in a local pageant. It began when I was eighteen months old, when I lost my hearing.” -Heather Whitestone. Heather said that when her mom was told her daughter was

The Miss America Organization is giving me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and experience something I never thought I would; all while being able to get involved in the community and support the Children’s Miracle Network. I believe that the title of Miss Greater Waterbury will give me the chance to bring awareness to my platform of anaphylactic allergies. The Miss America Program allows strong women to raise awareness of something they are passionate about, as well as other important social and political issues in America.

To be honest, participating in a beauty pageant was never where I would have pictured myself, but when my step-sister's best friend needed to recruit 10 potential delegates in order to compete internationally & friends & family learned I was recruited they displayed

'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

I love attention, but I live in fear that someone will google me and find my glamor headshots. I still have close friends that don’t know I subjected myself to competing in the Miss Alaska’s Outstanding Teen Scholarship Pageant. When I told others in the past, it was more often than not followed by, “You? You did a pageant?” Movie cliches and stereotypes of pageants paint the exact image of what I am not. Except, I had decided pageantry was the only way to provide myself the validation any girl starting high school believes she needs. I was enthralled with the opportunity to advocate, perform, win thousands of dollars in scholarships, and most importantly, value my self-worth solely on how I looked.

Breathe. Your name has to be coming up soon. You made it last year. Oh, no, the tenth name. I don’t believe it. I feel sick. These are just excerpts of the thoughts racing through my mind as I stood amongt 27 other girls during the announcement of the Top Eleven finalists at the 2015 Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen Pageant. It was my second year competing, and I had made the Top Eleven cut the year before. I never expected NOT to make it the following year. Admittedly, I was expecting to make the Top Five! Instead, I watched the rest of the competition from the audience in devastation. I was not accustomed to failure, and losing hit me hard.

Pageants supporters believe the competitions to have a positive impact on their participants because they teach important skills, provide opportunities, and supply an outlet for young girls. Sabrina Nooruddin, who has dedicated most of her adult life to empowering girls with her program, Beauty Without Barriers, knows first hand the skills that pageantry can instill in young girls. After competing for four years, she confidently tells USA Today that, “[She is] a true believer in the confidence and character that pageantry builds.” [Nooruddin P2]. Sabrina credits her interview skills to her years of pageants, saying that her quick thinking and ability to express herself was learned from the competitions. Along with this, Sabrina explains that

3, 2, 1, its go time. Work it, work it, work it. Sabrina Nooruddin, Miss India Georgia 2009, article “Not irony: Beauty pageants make strong women” is based on the ideas of personal unrealistic thoughts and opinions. It is strictly based on only her specific experiences that were beneficial to her. Her claim, that beauty pageants make strong women is misleading in the fact that she is not clear and concise with her main ideas, she lacks ethos, logos, and pathos, and does not cover the actual act of strutting down a run way with glitz and glam.