Should Child Beauty Pageants Should Be Banned

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.

A Child Beauty Pageant is a beauty competition among children under 15 years old. These competitions are divided into different sections, includes talents, casual and swim outfit, interview,Evening wear and theme outfits. Beauty pageants make children to believe that without heavy make-up, fake lashes, wigs, expensive outfits and also white teeth, they will be one of the ugliest and weirdest child in society, it teaches children that they have to be fake until everyone like them. Because of the many detrimental effects on young children, society needs to abolish child beauty pageants.

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.

“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,

The most important factor of these pageants, beauty. When competing in and watching beauty pageants at a young age, girls believe that their outer beauty matters most. Girls who watch Toddlers and Tiaras focus on the contestant’s beauty, causing them to do the same with themselves. The skinny girls hidden under piles of makeup on tv make both the contestant and viewer think that this is normal. Before a pageant, a mom injected botox in her 8 year old daughter’s face to take away her wrinkles. Another mom fed her daughter tapeworms to make her skinnier. Soon after, the girl was in the hospital. In no situation should little girls have to go through this just to improve their outer appearance. If this is what it takes for a girl to win, then we are better off without these pageants.

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.

Pageants with beautiful little girls that look as if they could be in their twenties can catch the eye of anyone. Dating back to the 1960’s when beauty pageants first started out, young girls have been participating in them, showing off their looks and talents to the world. Ever since the beginning, pageants have been very popular and the popularity is always growing. Most people watch the movies and tv shows about it and even attend these pageants and do not see anything wrong with what is going on. However, these pageants are harmful to the little girls and cause body image and self-esteem issues in the adult years of the competitors. As you watch the pageant as it is going on, you never think of what the outcome of these little girls will be like in 10, 20 or even 30 years. Makeup, hairspray and spray tans are extremely harmful to the skin and health of anyone let alone a small child. These girls grow up with body dissatisfaction when they are applauded on how gorgeous they look with their hair and a face full of makeup. Sooner rather than later they begin to feel as if they are not good enough without the aide of makeup, tan skin and beautifully done hair. Whether it is a current problem or something that is going to come about later on in life, child beauty pageants are harming the lives of little girls all around us. The focus on appearance, issues in adult years and being forced out of their childhood are the three most harmful

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.

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.

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.

There is nothing wrong with little girls wearing cute pink dresses and walking down a stage to perform a few adorable stunts or tricks. However, there is everything wrong when these actions could potentially lead to long term damages in young girls. And therein lies the problem with child beauty pageants, they have the potential to create long term issues for the many of the female children who are asked to participate in them. This is the stance that “Toddlers and Tiaras” takes regarding the issue of child beauty pageants; the author of the article, Skip Hollandsworth, asserts that “many psychologists believe that developmental and emotional problems can stem from pressure and value system that pageants embody” (493). Hollandsworth in her

“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.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the negative effects of children beauty contest on its contestants. Although many people argue that there are some benefits of this contest such as build up the confidence, self-esteem, public speaking skills, tact, and poised it is also true that it can result to negative psychological effects and interferes in child development worldwide. The Toddlers and Tiaras, and Little Miss Perfect are popular reality TV shows that features young girls the real hardship and obstacles from their mother’s pressure or preparation for the pageant. They are ages from 1 to 12 years old, with main goal of winning and get the tiara and money or ribbon or teddy bears. Generally, the parents of these young girls believe and make decision that the beauty pageant is okay. Pageants, particularly those designed for younger children, focus primarily on appearance, attire, and perceived “cuteness.”