...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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...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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...Beauty pageants Thought out America many people argue that beauty pageants for kids should be legal because it helps little girl feel bit more confident, and beautiful, and on the other side people think it should be banned because it rottens little girls minds and over sexualizes little girls. Kids beauty pageants should be banned because, it over sexualizes young girls, teaches young girl a bad message, and lastly unhealthy attitude shown by the child regarding her self-esteem. In the United States, legal adulthood and ability to give consents around age 18, yet in child beauty pageants, the children's consenting guardian allow them to participate. Beauty pageants are not inherently sexual, but when a child wears a ton of make-up, wears high heels and skimpy clothes, and after that makes flirtatious poses it pretty hard not to say people end up sexualizing little girls at such a young age. Beauty pageants took part in the American society in the 1920's, but child pageants started later in the 1960's. Child beauty pageants consist of modeling, dance and talent, but above all else Beauty. Young girls are taught that beauty is the most important thing at such a young age, and how what’s in the outside is more important than the inside. “Contests promote physical beauty as a main value, complimented of course by the “special talent” and “warm hearts”. A child, especially a female that is going to pay so much attention to her looks and that knows she is being assessed for...
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...Think back to when you were a little kid. What was most important to you? A trip to the store to pick up the latest baby dolls, teddy bears, Barbie’s, and doll houses? Imagine your childhood dedicated to applying hairspray, lipstick and working on your strut for the runway. Child beauty pageants are becoming more popular and hinders a healthy childhood by exposing a child to pedophiles, encourages that beauty is a judge of one’s character, and could affect one future outcome on life. Beauty pageants were started many years ago but became more prominent in the society in 1921, when a hotel owner started a contest to keep tourists in town past Labor Day. The winner of this contest would be called Miss America. Miss America pageants have been a yearly event ever since then, except during the Great Depression. Then, in 1960, pageants were getting so popular that a Little Miss America was started for parents who wanted their children in beauty pageants (Nussbaum). Our past has played a remarkable role in today’s society of children beauty pageants. Pageant mothers may say that its healthy competition and it encourages socialism at a young age. There are pageant age divisions that start as young as 0-11 months of age. How much competition and socialism does a child this young need to encounter? As we see today these young girls spend hours and hours preparing for their competition. These preparations can include rehearsal, shopping for revealing talent costume, endless make-up and...
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...Paper (Spring 2013) All Dolled Up: The Effect of Child Beauty Pageants on Contestants Reality TV shows like Toddlers and Tiaras and Little Miss Perfect expose the growing popularity of child beauty pageants. These shows have turned pageants into an industry that is valued at $5 billion (Cartwright 1105). This newly created pageant industry has changed the child beauty pageant system—contestants are competing at younger ages, they are wearing more makeup, and the focus is shifting away from natural beauty towards glitz and glam. The emergence of a pageant industry has changed the pageant system, but what affect does this industry have on contestants? More importantly, do pageants’ effects on young contestants warrant regulation? As more young girls compete in pageants, answering these questions and determining the effects of child beauty pageants becomes more important. These questions need to be answered so that the well being of pageant participants is ensured. The issue of regulation is of particular importance since parents, pageant companies, and the media all contribute to the growing pageant industry. Some regulation is needed to protect the young participants. Generally this regulation would be the parent’s responsibility, but in this paper I will argue that the industry merits specific regulation. In order to prove that regulation is warranted, I will analyze the negative impacts of the pageant industry using research from psychologists and sociologists...
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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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...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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...Children are usually seen in parks, exploring the outside world in their little innocent minds, living their lives irresponsibly. Today, child beauty pageants opened kid’s eyes on things they are not supposed to encounter in their early childhood. Kids now act like adults; they have unleashed their innocence and pure minds for the sake of beauty.Child beauty contests resemble young kids, under the age of 18. Contestants are usually divided into groups according to their age. Very young aged kids are usually not interviewed dude to their very little knowledge, so only outer appearance is considered. Kids are shown up on stage in different outfits typically wearing make-up and overage hairstyles.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/child beauty pageant )In 1921, the owner of Atlantic City Hotel struck upon the idea to help boost tourism “Most Beautiful Child”. Business owners adopted these competitions, because it increasingly bought about a billion dollars a year. People loved the idea; they encouraged their kids to attend such contests.(zinzi williams, 12/6/10)The murder of Jon Benet Ramsey, born August 6,1990 turned the public spotlight in the late 1996 into child beauty pageants. JonBenet was murdered in her house, the six years old girl was found in the basement with her hands tied up and strangled after nearly 8 hours from being reported missing. However, this case remains unsolved. Critics began to question the ethics of parents who would present their child in such a way.( kareen...
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...Jeanine Ingalls Professor Linda Gross-O’ Neil English 099 3 December 2014 Beauty Pageants By wearing costumes, pretty shoes, and caking your face with makeup, a beauty pageant seems like a lot of fun for young girls. Dressing up like a Disney princess, winning an extravagant tiara, or lots of cash sounds perfect, right? Wrong. These girls are learning from a young age things that they shouldn't be taught. They are all dolled up in clothes and makeup and hair products that their parents spend thousands of dollars on that could be put towards important things, such as their children’s' futures. They are not developing any sort of personality or education; just what is taught through these competitions. Most importantly, they are learning to be comfortable with becoming a completely new girl that hides her sense of realness with fake eyelashes, and a pound of makeup. Beauty pageants are a way to exploit young women, and are killing the mockingbird within these children. The first American beauty pageant took place in 1854. It was quickly shut down by public protest. Another American pageant didn't come along for thirty more years, when one was held in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. This time it was not shut down to protests due to the strict rules and regulations. The women also wore modest clothing. Beauty pageants continued to grow in popularity, but the 1920s was when the idea of pageants completely changed. The 20's were a time of economic growth, and social change...
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...Diana Aldana Eng. 1301 Sanchez-Hatch 2/12/14 Beauty is Pain John Ramsey and his family made the top on national prominence in 1996, when Ramsey's 6-year-old daughter JonBenet, a frequent child pageant contestant, was found murdered. John now regret putting his child in pageants and says they are bad for young girls. Beauty pageants are beautiful but they can cause pain in different ways. Children beauty pageants are bad because they are sexualize young girls, wear high heels, cause cognitive and emotional problems. French lawmakers want an all-out ban on child pageants. They are accusing the media and reality TV of promoting stereotypes that transform young girls into sexual morsels. Look at the growing number of schoolgirls as young as 8 who wear padded bras, high heels, or makeup, and strike suggestive poses. What is that telling the children about how they present themselves to society? In the other hand, children in pageants can carry over into a multitude of other activities, like dance, drama, music recitals, and future public speaking. A pageant girl usually learns to be comfortable in front of strangers, giving her self-confidence a big boost When little pageant contestants wear heels it unnecessarily pushes their weight forward, causing lower back pain and hindering proper development of the feet. In some cases, these girls are forced to continue wearing heels outside of pageants because their feet have grown in a way that makes wearing other kinds of shoes...
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...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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...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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...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 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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...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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