Toddlers and Tiaras Essay

This topic could be argued either way. There are people that believe that pageants have positive effects on children and there are people who think they are just terrible. The points in these articles reveal the truth behind beauty pageants and what they are all about.

For years, beauty pageants for young girls was considered a way to boost self-esteem in young girls. According to the article Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls? in Psychology Today beauty pageants today have changed from the way they were years ago. Young girls now are being seen in outfits that are normally worn by adults and their faces are plastered in makeup. Some of these young girls grow up thinking that natural beauty is a thing of the pass and to be considered pretty you must have on a full face of makeup. According to Martina M. Cartwright the "The Princess Syndrome" as I like to call it, is a fairy tale. Unrealistic expectations to be thin,

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.

In her first Toddlers and Tiaras episode, beauty pageant contestant Alana Thompson proclaimed, “A dollar makes me holler, honey boo boo!” The interviewers and camera crew laughed in response. This and other statements rocketed Honey Boo Boo Child Alana Thompson’s popularity as the clips were turned into memes and GIFs and shared all over the internet. As a result, a Toddlers and Tiaras spinoff was created with Alana and her family as the focus—Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. The show and family promoted the brand of the authentic life of a white, Southern family. However, they fell victim to the producers who edited the way the family was portrayed and the audiences who interpreted their performance of authenticity. Therefore, they were stereotyped as a Southern, white trash family, despite their proud claims of being themselves. The

Children should not be allowed to participate in beauty pageants at such a young age. Preparing children for beauty pageants is physically harmful. Beauty pageants are also psychologically harmful to children. Children raised in beauty pageants lead them to believe that life is superficial. Competing in pageants can potentially lead to three major mental health problems— eating

“Toddlers and Tiaras” was a hit television show that premiered on the channel TLC on December 12, 2008.  “Toddlers and Tiaras” ranked up a number of two million viewers per episode, which went on for seven seasons.  This show was so successful that a sequel called “Another Toddlers and Tiaras” aired on August 24, 2016.  “Toddlers and Tiaras”, not surprisingly, took a look into the lives of young pageant queens and what goes on behind the stage and all the makeup.  Many, but not all, young girls love to dress up and wear their mother’s high heels, but this trend has been taken up a notch in the last few decades with prizes and money now at stake.  Some people consider, what is being called child beauty pageants, cute, while some believe that it is disgusting and ruining children.  In this article, the different viewpoints on child beauty pageants can show as to why it can affect a child’s development positively and negatively.

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.

The world of child beauty pageants is similar to the twilight zone. It’s hard to believe that children as young as 2, have hair extensions, professional grade makeup, and spray tans. TLC’s hit television show “Toddlers & Tiara’s”, depicts the horrifying and true events of what actually goes on in these pageants. Nationally broadcasting the inherent sexualization of little girls for all to see has become completely desensitized. The lasting effects that preforming in beauty pageants has on girls who have been through years of competing is far greater than the trophies and tiara’s displayed on their shelves. Dressing toddlers in costumes, forcing them to dance and parade around on stage only to be judged on who is the prettiest by adults is sick and disturbed.

I remember being home one day, surfing through the television channels. I stumbled on TLC, and saw a show named Toddlers in Tiaras. The show is about child beauty pageants and all the work children have to do, and also all the money parents put into it. It portrays how crazy some moms could be, and how spoiled some children are. Beauty pageants can boost confidence and self-esteem, but it is degrading to women all over the world. Only one part deals with intelligence, but that doesn’t prove anything. Someone could easily come up with an answer out of thin air, say it out loud and everyone would think she is brilliant because of how much words they say. Child beauty pageants deprive children of their childhood. Parents become obsessed with winning and they take away the joy that their children could possibly have while in or preparing for a pageant. The controversial question on beauty pageants is: Does competing in beauty pageants adversely affect child development? My answer is yes it does, and in the following I will explain why.

Unfortunately, the negative effects only continue, becoming increasingly harmful. In addition to being ripped away from friends and missing out on chances to have a regular lifestyle, a 2013 study done by the American Psychological Association asserts that all pageants do is teach young girls “to see themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated for their appearance.” Children who enter the pageant world are suddenly drilled with unrealistic beauty expectations, telling young kids with impressionable minds that they can only win if they are pretty. This negative ideology only contributes to negative body image, which can be extremely detrimental and have long term consequences. For instance, the British Journal of Psychology reported

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

Every year in the United States there are about 5,000 child beauty pageants with around 250,000 participants. Of these a shocking 6% will suffer from depression later in their lives. So that's 15,000 children suffering from depression due to beauty pageants. Girls who have been in beauty pageants suffer from high levels of body dissatisfaction which can lead to depression; they may feel that they are not beautiful unless they have make up caked all over their face and skin looking orange from fake tan. Is this really how we want children to feel? Pageant girls are also more likely to struggle to achieve perfection when they are older. This may make them more vulnerable to eating disorders. From a young age they have been taught to value outer beauty and thinness, and they will go to any lengths to achieve it.

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.

Imagine seeing a little girl, no older than eight, walk on stage with her beautiful, blonde hair curled so perfectly behind her, her teeth as white and flawless as those seen on dental commercials, and an impeccable mound of makeup caked on her face making her appear to be in her early twenties. She is wearing the most stunning pink, shimmery dress that has been tailor made to fit every detail of her body. The reaction of most people is, wow she is a very beautiful young girl, but what most people do not realize is that behind that beautiful little girl is a young child who does not get to live a normal life like the average eight-year-old. There is no going to the park and swinging so high that she gets butterflies in her stomach or hanging out with friends and playing with dolls. Instead, it is long, countless hours of rehearsals and dress fittings, hair and makeup, and time spent in a tanning salon to create the perfect golden skin color. Children beauty pageants should be banned because of the sexualization of young girls, risk of mental and health problems, no time to just be a kid, and the sole factor that these kids are too young and unknowledgeable to say no.

The TLC Show, “Toddlers and Tiaras,” is not an accurate representation of all that goes into preparing children for pageants. The show dramatizes the mostly the negative side of childhood beauty pageants. It depicts competitors that want to win strictly based on appearance. Despite the bad reputation that beauty pageants have, they equip young men and women with skills and opportunities such as chances to win scholarships, improving self-confidence and promoting social skills.