Negative Effects Of Beauty Pageants

Some people come to think that there is absolutely nothing positive to come from beauty pageants, but they are so wrong. In “Child Beauty Pageants Have Good and Bad Points Parents Should Consider Before Competing”, it brings out the point that “Children learn to be comfortable in front of crowds due to pageants.” This is so true. To perform at a top level, kids must be able to lose the fear of being in front of large crowds and this is what pageants promote. Pageants also have many advantages: scholarships, letters of recommendation, and name recognition. These opportunities are only three of many that relate directly to life in the future. These beauty pageants also relate to sports more than you know. In article 3 it explains, “Contestants must have the will power to eat properly and stay in healthy but also, top physical shape to perform their best.” This lesson can be used all throughout life. You have to work hard for what you want, and if

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].

The opinion that beauty pageants are all fun and games is a very dangerous one to have. The lives of participating children are never the same because of the long term emotional and psychological effects that are brought on by early

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.

Child beauty pageants started in the 1960’s, and have been increasingly more popular in the past decade. Currently, there are over two hundred-fifty thousand children under the age of fourteen competing in beauty pageants (Triggs et al 2012). There are no age limits in place; age groups range from zero months to eight months all the way up until eighteen years of age. Parents who enter their children in pageants can damage their children for the rest of their lives. However, pageants do help the beauty industry, and essentially create jobs.

“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,

In the world of beauty pageants, many people find themselves entrapped in the expensiveness of the gown, the extravagance of the hairstyle, and how attractive the woman sporting all of this truly is. However, when entered into this arena at a young age, one where you are not fully developed and deep in adolescence, this presents a problem not all are aware of. Many people don’t understand the emotional stress that almost everyone that participates in pageants goes through. Women face various issues after everything has been said and done. A number of pageant contestants start at a relatively young age, some as young as infants, and grow up in this seemingly glamorous world of pageantry, from which they learn to present themselves in a

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 is in the eye of the beholder” - Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. This stands to be true in the circumstances of beauty pageants. However, the age old question continues as positive body image and confidence twindle among young teens. Do pageants create unrealistic ideals of young women?

In defense of the pageants and parents, they say that the pageants are fun and a healthy way to build self-esteem, poise, and accomplishment and even earn college scholarships. Some of the contestants like the beauty pageants because they are a way to bond with her peers and to make new friends. It also is actually a good

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.

Participants have to consider their mental state and make sure they are ready, and their bodies have to be ready to be in the competition wear. These women hold goals for themselves and some have goals to help their communities. Doing the competitions are a excellent place for their goals to be fostered and for them to grow. In a personal account by, Sabrina Nooruddin, she aims to change pageants view of beauty. She says in her article “Last June I competed in a pageant that was specifically designed for women under 5’5 tall thus giving an equal opportunity for young women to become role models and promote their platforms.” She ended up winning the competition and spoke about her beliefs about beauty being different from one perceived image. The last thing people commonly overlook is the confidence the participants

Beauty pageants have been around in America for decades; however, they have not gained notoriety until the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" aired on national television. The airing of "Toddlers and Tiaras" has brought child pageants to the attention of many Americans. Not many people were aware of what took place in beauty pageants, but ever since the show debuted in 2009 there has been an intense controversy about children as young as newborns being entered into pageants. Some people say that pageants raise self-esteem and teach responsibility, whereas others say that pageants are necessary and children should take advantage of their youth. Although pageants teach etiquette and communication skills, ultimately they carry a vastly high

Beauty pageants send the message to contestants that appearance is the most important thing about a person. Children will think that they need to spend thousands of dollars to make themselves look good. They will only desire to try and look beautiful and they won't care about more important things like paying bills and saving money for future things like a new house, cars, and many other things that are more important than just beauty. Pageants also encourage girls to fit narrow invented standards of beauty. Girls try and act like adult celebrities; dressing and walking like them across the stage.