Trophy Babies Essay

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.

They promote a materialistic belief that tells young girls that physical beauty is most important. The number of young girls who are growing up too early is growing rapidly throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Kids are deprived of their childhood because pageants take up all their time and they make them eager to grow up because of all the makeup and glitz. When they want to go outside and play with their friends, they are forced to practice for hours before an upcoming pageant. They grow up way too fast because parents are allowing them to wear revealing clothes and act inappropriately for their age. For example, “Windy Dickey dressed her daughter, Paisley, Winner of many Child Beauty Pageants, up in a costume that was exactly the same as Julia Roberts' character wore in the movie "Pretty Woman" – the fitted, skin-baring white blouse, the tight blue mini-skirt and thigh-high, shiny black boots (Canning).” These young girls wear tons of makeup, false eyelashes, have their eyebrows done, have fake hair and even flippers which are fake teeth. Beauty pageant contestants may develop a misconception about life and beauty while being involved in them. They may grow up to believe that only physical beauty matters and that it is the primary judge of one’s self-worth. “Pageants can damage the self-esteem of a young girl when things do not go as she would hope (Nussbaum).” What will a mother tell her three-year-old daughter if the child says that she didn't win because she is not pretty

Child beauty pageants may seem like harmless fun, but the actual effects it has on adolescents is not worth the public adoration. Some people believe that pageants do not have long lasting effects on them, and that, for children, pageants just give them the opportunity to play dress up. Even though children may not be affected immediately, the values that pageants instill are buried in their subconscious. By judging children at such young ages based solely off outward appearance, they grow up with a distorted psyche, which later affects them in their adult life. Since the media provides children with unrealistic standards of appearance, and pageants teach them that attractiveness is the key to success, many downsides follow, including poor

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

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.

Mothers are making their children grow up way too fast. According to “Never Too Young To Be Perfect,” “ Even infants can win a crown.” (Karen De Witt). Their moms are making their children believe that it is right to want to be perfect. “Children can begin participating basically as soon as they can sit up.” (Claire Lindsey). Later on in life they start worrying about being perfect. “Struggles with perfection, dieting, eating disorders, and body image can take their toll in adulthood.” (Martina M. Cartwright) states. Beauty pageants can also be harmful not only mentally but also physically. “Seeing four year olds be spray tanned.” (Claire Lindsey). Contestants in beauty pageants are wearing fake eyelashes, fake teeth, caked on makeup, and fake spray tans, that can all be chemically harmful to them. One could say that we are treating our babies as if they were Barbies. Getting spray tanned can increase the risk of skin cancer, and you can inhale Dihydroxyacetone (DHA) while the process is being done. All of these reasons surely show the physical damage that could be done to a young child’s body. Mothers do almost anything to make their daughters become “Beauty Queens.” “Armed with spray bronzer, the moms dutifully ‘carved’ abs into their daughters bare midriffs.” (Martina M. Cartwright). Which leads to the next

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

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.

“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.

Beauty pageants have been around for some time and have even become apart of our American society, however parents don't realize or comprehend the risk they are taking with their children. Society has made the beauty pageant industry seem appealing, especially with shows like "Toddlers and Tiaras". Meanwhile, young girls are being forced to grow up in an environment where they are taught to look and act like adults. Instead of having normal encounters with costumes, high heels, and makeup, they are being forced by their mothers to wear tight sexualizing dresses, more makeup than most women, and even false teeth to present themselves as beautiful. These factors could lead these children to have depression,

Beauty pageants harm young girls self of stem. The women in beauty pageants sets unrealistic standards for young girls. Since pageants only stress looks young girls believe that they should only concentrate on outer beauty. When girls see the pageants contestants they think thats how they're supposed to look.

Beauty pageants have become a controlling part of our society, based on statistics, around 5,000 child beauty pageants are held every year and 250,000 child contestants are participating. In general aspect of beauty pageant, more than two million girls are competing in beauty pageants every year. A child beauty pageant is a beauty contest featuring contestants under 16 years of age. Competition categories may include talent, interview, sportswear, casual wear, swim wear, theme wear, outfit of choice, and evening wear. Depending on the type of pageant system, contestants may be found wearing makeup to fake teeth, known as flippers, as well as elaborate hairstyles and custom, designed and fitted, outfits to present their routines on stage.

Pageants are costly and Parents will spend upwards of five grand on a dress that will probably only be worn once. Entrance fees, travel, hotel rooms, makeup, and coaches are thousands of dollars per year that parents spend on their children to compete in a contest that most children don't have a choice if they compete or not. These children have