The Benefits of Beauty Pageants for Girls

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.

First, we will talk about how child beauty pageants started. The upbringing of child beauty pageants is very interesting. It started off with “Pageants celebrating female beauty and charm being fixture at fairs and festivals the U.S. since the 19th century”(Hilboldt), and then “Their rise in popularity probably dates back to 1954, when the miss America pageants was first broadcasted on TV”(Hilboldt). “In 1960, a miami broadcaster hosted the first locally televised pageant for children, Little Miss universes”(Hilboldt). Around “The 1980’s child pageants had become an inextricable part of life in the South…”(Hilboldt). Pageants have dated back for centuries, but did not rise in popularity until it was first broadcasted on TV. Furthermore, the number of kids that participate in beauty pageants is eminence. A majority of little girls wanted to be in pageants, because “They began dreaming of one day becoming Miss America”(Hilboldt). With so many kids in pageants “It’s estimated that 25,000 children compete in more than 5,000 pageants in the U.S. each year”(Hilboldt). It is crazy how many little girls participate in beauty pageants each year just so they can hopefully become the next Miss America. While beauty pageants are still relevant and legal in the U.S. France is trying to ban them. “France is considering a move to ban beauty pageants for girls under 16 as a way to fight the hyper-sexualization of children”(“France”). While,“Under the proposal, organizers of beauty pageants aimed at young children...could face up to two years in prison and fines of $40,000”(“France”). Also, “The measure is a part of of a wider law on gender equality and was approved by the French Senate after garnering 197 votes in favor of the ban,

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 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

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 competitions date as far back as Ancient Greece. Greek Mythology tells the story of a dispute amongst the goddesses Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, whom were arguing over who was the most beautiful. The three goddesses called upon Alexandros to decide which of the three had the most attractive looks. Each of the goddesses bribed him until he selected Aphrodite who promised him Helen of Troy. Chaos erupted and eventually, the Trojan War was set off. (People and Events: The Origins of the Beauty Pageant). The origins of modern day pageants date back to the early 1920s. An Atlantic City hotel owner hosted a contest to determine which little girl was the prettiest attracted the attention of hundreds and was used as a marketing tool. The contest was very relaxed and the young girls would dress very conservatively in church-like dresses and wear little to no makeup (Evolution of Beauty Pageants). Present day beauty pageants are completely different from the pageants of the past. Instead of leading to war, they are a war. Pageant girls today prepare for highly competitive contests with weeks, sometimes even months of grueling training. The girls compete for awards such as trophies, cash prizes, and scholarships. With such a tough competition, females indulge in grooming choices that cause young girls to look like grown women. At each contest, there is only one winner, crushing all confidence any of the other participants may had had because they were not chosen. Beauty contests

Beauty pageants claim "oh, we're building character" and "we're letting girls feel beautiful". Being pampered with makeup masks only hides everything that defines them as a women. If pageants are the only way for girls too feel beautiful, that's going against everything we're teaching the youth. They teach kids that beauty is on the outside and not the inside. Judging off of every thing visually, simply does every thing but build character, but breaks down their confidence and self-esteem. Glorifying everything visually causes women to focus on every thing but the things which will stick with them much after their glory days, like their

Although there are massive amounts of negatives that go along with child beauty pageants, there are also some positive aspects to them. Some women have gained a great deal of success from entering into beauty

Although they seem undisputed and lighthearted, child beauty pageants are one of the most contentious and criticized of all children's activities. While all other types of beauty contests are often viewed as distasteful, child beauty contests yield an even greater unfavorable response. Many individuals go as far as critiquing the pageants as being child abuse. Some say the beauty pageants sexualize the young girls and place unnecessary expectations of beauty at too early of an age. Contributors argue that the pageants help to build confidence and to teach the girls traits such as having poise and self control. Child beauty pageants are contests constructed to reward adolescence for their looks and charisma. There are many different components to every pageant. The children are often judged on how well they do during their interview, they're judge on their appearance, then on their talents. The events are set up by age groups, such as 0 to 6, so the criticism is fair. Each age division winner usually wins a crown or a trophy.

Beauty Pageants General Purpose: To argue Specific Purpose: To argue that beauty pageants are exploitive Thesis Statement: Beauty pageants have a bad effect on society because: 1) it spotlights only one kind of beauty, 2) it lower’s women’s self-worth and self-esteem; and 3) it affects a child’s development Introduction I. [Attention Step] When meeting someone for the first time it’s usually not the person in the inside that you notice first, but rather their physical features. II. [Topic Justification] In a new survey from cbslocal.com it is said that 37% of people notice your smile first, while 33% notice your eyes, 15% judge your weight, 9% your hair, and 2% judge your nose, but what if that was all you were being judged for, was how you

The experience of participating in a beauty pageant from a young age will hone a child’s confidence and will benefit them in the future. However, this is not true because it is unlikely that children will experience a boost in their self-esteem when they are not deemed the winner which is the case in so many situations as there will always be more losers than winners. In fact, it is the opposite as they are not deemed as beautiful as the winner which will cause negative thoughts and emotions and decreases in self-esteem and confidence. However when the child does win, they will be led to believe that their outer experience is what society values them for and can cause the child to become arrogant and

Some people approve of the influence that pageants have on girls and some do not. Pageants can be seen as a way to instill certain qualities and attributes in young girls in which they lack. Confidence is something that can be gained as a result of being introduced to pageants at such a young age. Girls have become accustomed to public speaking or knowing how to “carry” ones self in a professional or graceful manner. This quality of pageantry could easily be accepted by a large audience.