...With events like “The Miss America Pageant” being nationally televised, movies like “Little Miss Sunshine” being produced, and shows like “Toddlers and Tiara’s” and “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” being watched by millions, children’s beauty pageants are becoming more popular than ever. Today more than 16,000 child pageants are held annually, with an estimated 290,000 contestants (Bowling). Behind the popularity, however, follows the controversy. There are essentially two types of children’s beauty pageants, the “natural” pageants and the “glitz” pageants. In natural pageants, children under a certain age are not allowed to wear make up or fake teeth (flappers), spray tans and big hair are discouraged, and there are specific age appropriate dress guidelines that the contestants must follow. In contrast, at a glitz pageant you will see fake smiles, fake tans, heavy stage make up, and wigs on almost every girl. Advocates of both types of pageants argue that they are a good source of friendly competition and healthy for a child’s self esteem. Critics of child beauty pageants, however, argue that the glitz pageants, more so than the natural pageants, could potentially have damaging effects on the child contestant. One of the most significant reasons parents cite for entering their children into beauty pageants is to boost their child’s self esteem, and to teach poise and confidence. A group of parents interviewed by TODAY contributor Michael Inbar claimed that putting their children...
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...Significance of the Study Beauty pageants take place everywhere around the world, and as the researcher observed, they never fail to draw various sectors of audiences. As Cohen (1996a) described it, beauty pageants, as diverse as they are in their cultural and historical contexts, they do something similar wherein they establish an ideal of beauty that best represents the locality. Indeed, Filipinos have been always fond of beauty pageants that it has become a significant part of their lives. No town fiesta or festival can be called as they are if there was no beauty pageant held. And beauty queens and even beauty contestants are always admired and considered as one of the beautiful icons in the country. But as the Philippine culture easily being influenced by the American society, this research hopes to emphasize the distinction of Philippine beauty pageants from American beauty pageants for it is in beauty pageants that the epitome of a Filipino is being showcased around the world. With that in the mind, this research also hopes to discover and unravel the purposes behind the staging of beauty pageants in both American and Philippine society. Background of the Study The researcher, who is not a stranger in the world of beauty contests in her school, has been asked by a judge on what she thinks is the purpose of beauty pageants in the society and whether its purpose is still prevalent. Intrigued, the researcher decided to do a research on beauty pageants. The TLC TV series Toddlers...
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...Hlavaty Argumentative Research Essay Exploitation in Beauty Pageants In 1920, the World War I ended and the women’s movement began to take off, marking the first year of the American beauty pageant formally known as The Miss America Pageant (“Child Beauty Pageants,” 2011). Women from all over the United States were given the opportunity to show their talent, superficial beauty and inner intelligence. Little did our country know that 40 years later, children as young as ten months old would be competing in these beauty pageants; since the tragic death of JonBenet Ramsey in 1996, child beauty pageants have become a topic of debate (“JonBenet Ramsby,” 2011). Ramsey’s death opened a new door to the skepticism of beauty pageants. The media began to see beauty pageants as a threat to children and their safety. Children were exposed to the world at a young age with a made-up face of inappropriate maturity. Destruction of a child’s self-esteem and attentiveness to appearance are major ploys that continue to grow, ploys of outstanding expenses, loss of educational concern and loss of innocence also remain. Strengthening the fact that beauty pageants are harmful to children who compete in them therefore, children under the age of ten should not be allowed to participate in beauty pageants. Children who are aspiring beauty queens tend to be pressured by their parents. According to the article titled, “The child beauty-pageant queens who grew up” (2008), mothers hire make-up artists...
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...Child Beauty Pageants Beauty pageants are one of the most controversial and debatable subjects where many critics have tried to explain and understand what the concept of the word beauty means. The definition of the word beauty to the critics was the pleasing or attractive features of something or by other words it is something that generates pleasant sensations. All of these years the whole world has been captivated and charmed by the beauty pageants shows on the television, but the real and ugly truth is that it is a mixture of a disgusting and not admired show that have kept on grabbing the attention of many viewers just for money and fame. “As child reality TV star Honey Boo Boo continues to capture the attention of audiences with her boisterous personality and her own show about life on the child beauty pageant circuit”. (Cartwright, University of Arizona; Princess by proxy: When child beauty pageants aren't about the kids, 2012). Beauty pageants are appearing more in magazines and on television all the time such as the models that appear on a fashion show where they look skinny and frail. The beauty pageants contests is harmful for the young children’s prosperity because it makes the children reach to a conclusion that the physical beauty is the most important condition and primary judge of their character to win the contest, and they put into their minds that they are not beautiful from the inside and also think that they look ugly without putting a huge amount of cosmetics...
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...Picture it. A beauty pageant has just ended a young girl walks off with a crown on her heavily hair sprayed hair. A wide smile on her face that has been pounded with makeup. How old is this girl? Fourteen to sixteen years old maybe?, wrong. She is 7 years old, Are children's beauty pageants damaging or beneficial? Child beauty pageants are competitions with different categories in which girls compete to be the prettiest, the most talented, or the overall best. They have been popular and have had several shows based around it. For example “Toddlers and Tiaras” on TLC. They originated in 1950. They have gained popularity in recent years. Currently 5000 child beauty pageants are held annually in the United States. There is a lot of controversy...
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...Child Beauty Pageant There are lots of extracurricular activities for girls and boys, like baseball, basketball or soccer and the parents drive to and from their games. Some time they have more than one child to take them to their games. Lots of parents get son involved and start cheering and sometimes get to an arguments if the referee or judge makes a bad call. Then the mother or father starts a fight, because they get so into it. It no difference when parents want their child to complete in a pageant show, because there is competition and sportsmanship their also. Beauty pageants stated in the U.S. in 1921, with the introduction of Miss America pageant. Child beauty pageants did not start until the 1961 in New Jersey. The first was started at amusement park in Bergen County. It was intended for 13-17 year olds, but got more participants and they started to split the contestants by age. The little Miss American pageant was...
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...Makeup, big hairdos, spray tans, gowns, high heels, and a lot of glitter – this is what child beauty pageants consist of. At a very young age, little girls are exposed to the world of child pageants and often forced to participate in the contests. The popular television show, Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC which aired first in 2009 exposes viewers the life of young pageant stars. It entertains viewers by displaying how the young girls and their families deal with child beauty competitions which is not all fun, as it consists of tantrums and attitude. Toddlers and Tiaras displays how the young girls wake up early on the day of their competition, get dressed up with their big gowns, apply heavy weight of makeup, and walk down the stage in front of...
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...Child beauty pageants should be banned It is a major problem and concerned in our society today the many women and girls who are dealing with low self- esteem. Beauty pageants are not leaving anything positive to our little girls. Little girls all covered under makeup, big hair, color treated hair, teeth whitening treatments just to name few, only learning how to compete with other little girls at such a young age when their main focus should be to enjoy their childhood and spend quality time with their love ones. This type of pageants it is a form of abuse to those little girls, knowingly or not by their parents. Little girls have been trained to believe they are better than other ones and they have to be in order to win a crown and prices. There are only two lessons a child can learn from a beauty pageant: either they are great, beautiful and confident with a big ego issue later on in life or they will deal with frustration, emotional distress and low self-esteem. Submitting children from ages as young as three years of age to have eyebrows done, hair dying, dieting, tanning, and much more it is a type of child abuse, and it has to stop. There is no difference between hitting your kid from having her for long hours having all kinds of adult beauty procedures in order to be better than any other contestant and brain wash the child’s mind with a “you have to win attitude”. The way these young girls are exposed to be sexualized is insensitive and should not be legal. That...
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...The ugly face of child beauty pageants Leslie Cannold May 21, 2011 OPINION * A child beauty pageant participant. DO AN internet search on "child beauty pageant" but be prepared. Not just to be depressed by images of overblown, cap-toothed, heavily made-up under-fives but the obvious yet rarely commented upon fact that all these kids are girls. This issue is red hot in Australia right now, as the June date for the first American-style child pageant to be held in this country approaches. But as psychologists predict future insecurity, eating disorders and depression for participants, and religious pseudo-feminists rhapsodise about lost childhood innocence, it's critical we separate the hyperbolic wheat from the chaff. What is the real problem with child beauty pageants and what, if anything, should be done about them? Hard data is thin on the ground and so far doesn't support the future mental illness thesis. But what one US study found when interviewing 41 pageant mums – and it is nearly always mothers who push girls as young as one into competition – is that often social class and female life experiences are behind the choice. Some pageant mums are living out their own dreams of "go[ing] somewhere in life", as one mother put it, rather than being "stuck at home" due to early childbearing. While self-focused female ambition continues to be stigmatised in Western societies – with the ambitious working woman always contrasted unfavourably with the mum who sacrifices...
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...English 102 Dr. D. Pineda 10 December 2013 Child Beauty Pageants: What’s The Harm? Although there are many adults who suffer various consequences of child pageant participations, they still look back at their childhood and have some good memories of fun. Some even enter their own children into these pageants. Unfortunately, however, the damage is still the same and the cycle continues. Child beauty pageants are detrimental to the psyche of young children because these pageants promote sexualization far beyond their years and lack regulations to govern the actions within these contests. Because these children are being pushed into time-consuming, grueling preparation for these pageants, and because their performances are considered to be far beyond their years leading to self-objectification or sexualization, and the lack of regulations within these pageants there should be some boundaries set to minimize the psychological effects of participation within these contests. As we approach the Christmas holiday this year there are many who remember the horrific murder mystery of JonBenet Ramsey, a former child pageant star, and wonder if her participation in the beauty pageant world is what ended her short life. It’s been 17 years since her body was found in the basement of her parents’ home and her face was plastered all over the news. When the name JonBenet Ramsey is heard doll-like images flash through our heads from her pageant photos. Would she still be alive today had she...
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...At the age of 16 months to 16 years old, it is estimated that 3 million children compete in beauty pageants(“Beauty Pageants Draw Children and Criticism”). Some parents enroll their children into these pageants in order for their children to follow the steps of celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner, who began modeling at a young age and now have a successful career. Parents enroll their children at a young age to get the urge of starting to become famous at a young age to be cast into acting and get movie parts; however, the child may not want to participate and is forced to. Enrolling children into beauty pageants at a young age is not acceptable. Parents should stop the enrollment of their children into beauty pageants due to the...
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...Child Beauty Pageants: Are They Moral? Com/172 March 12, 2011 Ron Tatum Child Beauty Pageants: Are They Moral? They say that beauty comes from within but if this is true why do parents parade their young children around and make their five-year-olds dress, look, and act like they are 18 years old. Child beauty pageants are very upsetting. “It aggravates the average viewer because how can a parent put their child through that emotional roller coaster and get upset when they do not win; make up excuses on why their child did not win because heaven forbid their child has a flaw. Child beauty pageants are upsetting to the child also because if they do not win it is like the end of the world. They through fits act like complete brats, and they think that maybe their parents are lying to them because their parents tell them that they are beautiful but now the judges and other people who did not vote for them to win are saying in not so many words that they are ugly.” (Becky Adams, personal communication, March 12, 2011.) Something is wrong with this society that is absolutely frantic to the point of obsession about pedophilia so much so that it is to the point of parents passing their beliefs on to their children who most likely have no notion of it whatsoever and would rather be outside playing. Over half the population accepts this form of pedophilia as morally correct. They allow these children to prance around in barely anything at all and think that is cute. They...
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...Why Beauty Pageants are Harmful to Young Girls “Since I was three I was pressured by my mum to be perfect. But living up to her expectations was impossible.” This is a quote from national pageant star, Brooke Breedwell. In 1855, a national contest that circus entrepreneur, businessman, huckster, and all-around exploitation artist P.T. Barnum orchestrated, called the "National Baby Show," attracted 143 child contestants and 61,000 viewers nationwide. This was the first child beauty pageant. But what most people don’t know, is that Barnum attempted to orchestrate a teen pageant, but failed because society found that it was immoral. So why is it okay to but babies in pageants but not teens? Child beauty pageants are harmful to young girls for...
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...PAGEANTS: LITTLE GIRLS IN BEAUTY PAGEANTS Pageants: Little Girls in Beauty Pageants Terry Williams-Reed Western Governors University “FINAL PAPER” Pageants: Little Girls in Beauty Pageants In today’s society, being beautiful is very important to women and many little girls. Beauty pageants are a major source of entertainment for little girls. Beauty pageants have been around a long time, setting a trend in thee American’s society. Children as young as two months old are being entered into the world of beauty pageants. While the beauty pageant industry continues to grow, the controversy surrounding the effects and harms these pageants can have on the contestants has also grown. Children are entered in to these competitions for a variety of reasons. Maybe some of the potential prizes awarded to the winners tempt many parents to get their children involved in these events. There are many risk factors that may take effect in some children, like developing eating disorders and having mental health problems. This not only takes their innocence away, but also makes them likely to develop several mental and emotional imbalances later in life. The glitter and glitz of the glamorous life with its elegant dresses, elaborate hair-dos, sparkling tiaras, heavy make-up, and the deafening applause is short-lived. These fairy tales fades away into a nightmares that can leave these children with a notion of a world that is not as...
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...The popularity of beauty pageants started to increase in America after the first contest was held in the early 1921’s but the ideas that used to run the competitions back in that time changed drastically when the contests started being televised in the mid 1950’s (Watson). With more than 100 000 pageants taking place every year, more people were watching and more women were being exposed to the idea of the ideal American woman that is depicted by the participants chosen to compete (Barash). Over the years, the objectivity of women has been shown in the most obvious ways during the certain contest rounds and disturbingly, pageants are still being socially accepted. Beauty pageants should not be allowed to continue because they do not portray women in the correct manner but instead allow the misconceptions of self-objectification and self-concepts to continue. When beauty pageants were first created, they were meant for young teenage girls usually between the ages of 16 to 25 (Smart). Unfortunately, child beauty pageants started to arise in the 1960’s. For over fifty years, children have been subjected to the world of beauty pageants where they have been forced to behave as young adults rather than the five year olds they actually are and being taught unrealistic ideas of what they should look like. "What they are learning basically is that they have one characteristic which is of total primary importance, and that is their body and their attractiveness," said Syd Brown, a child...
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