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Brianna Faig Ms. Caruso ENGL 1103 1 October 2012 Toddlers and Tiaras: Where Does The Innocence Go? Growing up in this world today, we as human beings are pressured into looking and acting certain ways. Television shows, magazines, and pop culture affect us so much that we let it influence our day-to-day schedule and how we look at ourselves. As parents of children being brought up today, they want whats best for their children. Some parents put their children in sports or after school activities, but for others, they turn to beauty pageants. As Goldstein stated, Beauty pageants started in the 1920s in Atlantic City. The business owners needed a way to keep tourists there past Labor Day so they introduced pageantry (1). Today, beauty pageants are so much more than a way to keep tourists busy. A childs beauty pageant consists of children from the young age of just a couple days old to the teenage years, both girls and boys, parading around a stage, flaunting their stage personality, all dolled up in costumes and make up. The show Toddlers and Tiaras gives us a brief look into the children beauty pageant world. The channel that airs this show, TLC (a television channel that airs both true life television shows as well as shows that educate America on real-life situations that provide pure entertainment) states, On
bri faig 11/18/12 2:27 PM Comment: Revisions: 1)The fluidity of sentences, changing them to ultimately make more sense and also go with the paper more 2)Changing the beginning of a sentence of the next paragraph to make it flow better. This is what I had a lot of trouble with at first and what held me back on being happy with my paper. 3)Adding bits of information to sentences to help them make more sense 4)Adding sentences to make the paper fuller and more informative 5)I changed paragraphs around to make them sound better and to have a constant fluid feeling throughout the paper. bri faig 11/18/12 2:25 PM Comment: 1) I changed around the sentence that was deleted below because I feel that it made the paragraph choppy, and one thing in my paper that I was very unhappy with was how inconsistent I was with fluidity. bri faig 11/18/12 12:58 PM Deleted: As parents, they always want the best for their children, some look at it as putting them into sports and getting them into group activities, for others, its beauty pageants

Faig 2 any given weekend, on stages across the country, little girls and boys parade around wearing makeup, false eyelashes, spray tans and fake hair to be judged on their beauty, personality, and costumes (TLC par. 1). Toddlers and Tiaras goes behind the scenes to families, mainly the mothers who put their children into these pageants, and lets the public see what it is really like when children are put into disguises that make them look years older than they actually are. With the amount of attention from Toddlers and Tiaras, as well as each audience from pageant to pageant, it may tend to get a bit excessive for a young child.. At the young age of their toddler years, they already have a name in the pageant world. Not only do the pageants make them well known, but also the fact that these children are put on television shows makes them known worldwide, which could be detrimental in the long run. For example, a young girl by the name of Alana Thompson, is a well known child pageant star due to her debut on the hit show Toddlers & Tiaras, not because of her success in pageants, but because of the entertainment and diversity that her family provides. A more familiar name that seven-year-old Alana goes by is Honey Boo Boo. Which may be more recognizable on the hit show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo which is a reality show of Alana Thompson and her rather colorful family. Many of its 2.2 million viewers of this show have mixed reactions. It is good entertainment, but is all of this attention and publicity going to affect how Alana grows up, as well as her safety? This question relates back to JonBenet Ramsey, a worldwide child beauty pageant contestant, suddenly murdered at the age of six years old, who was found in the
bri faig 11/18/12 2:25 PM Comment: 4) I added this sentence to make it more clear, because after I re-read this it didnt make sense to me. I never really introduced the show properly. bri faig 11/18/12 2:14 PM Comment: I added this little bit of information because I did not make it clear as to who JonBenet Ramsey was, even though most people know, it could still be unclear to others and is just a good thing to do in a paper, it makes the reader more aware. bri faig 11/18/12 2:25 PM Comment: 2) I deleted the sentence below and edited it because I never really knew how to word it correctly, or so that it sounded somewhat decent. But after taking the time to truly word it out and connect the two paragraphs, I changed it into what I have now. bri faig 11/18/12 1:09 PM Deleted: The amount of attention that these children face while being in the pageant life is excessive

Faig 3 basement of her parents home in Boulder, Colo., the day after Christmas, worked hard at winning beauty contests (Adler 1). Although Honey Boo Boo and JonBenet Ramsey are not directly related, the fact is that these children are being put into the spotlight at such a young age and revealing their bodies, which in the long run can ruin their selfesteem and put them in danger. You truly never know what kind of people are out there and what they are capable of doing, and by putting young, nave children in the spotlight it can truly be harmful to them. Due to all of this attention these little girls and even boys are getting as well as having to walk the ramp to showcase her looks, poise, and confidence in different types of costumes; formal wear, sport wear and casual wear (Goldstein 3) can truly affect how these children grow up. Not only is having their tiny innocent bodies exposed harmful to their safety, but also harmful to their child-like behaviors. Another harmful issue due to children being in beauty pageants is the affect on their innocence. A childs innocence is stolen by fake plastic smiles, false eyelashes and a polished appearance (Goldstein 3). By having their bodies exposed, it gives them the idea that it is okay for them to reveal themselves and each time they will have people applauding them for it. Also, by the childrens parents cheering them on and telling them to have more attitude when youre on the stage and having these skin-tight costumes on with make up caked on their soft-skin faces can cause major development issues. A child is supposed to be playing games on the playground, having play-dates, and being silly,
bri faig 11/18/12 2:29 PM Comment: 5) I moved the last two sentences from the paragraph below to the paragraph above because it seems to fit better there. Also because the main point of this paper is the loss of innocence, so I wanted to have a paragraph solely for that. Also, 3) I deleted the two words below and re worded it so that the two paragraphs would make sense together instead of jumping around. bri faig 11/18/12 1:31 PM Deleted: A big bri faig 11/18/12 2:26 PM Comment: 3) I added this in to make it more clear and to make the transition between sentences more fluidly. bri faig 11/18/12 1:29 PM Deleted:

Faig 4 but when they are exposing their bodies on a stage where hundreds of people can see them, their innocence is revealed, making them more grown up (psychologically) than a teenager. And due to all of these differences from other children, many questions may occur. One major question that may come to mind is how being in beauty pageants as a child will affect them as they grow up. As they transition from childhood innocence to pre-teen years instantaneously, it can be truly detrimental to how they may grow up and what actions they will make. Dr. Nancy Irwin, a doctor of psychology stated, what can happen when children are forced to view their beauty, their value and their sexuality and their attractiveness at this young age, it can interrupt the psychosexual development. By being put onto a stage and having to sell themselves to the judges, it can affect how the children view themselves. This may lead the children into making their appearance a major priority day after day. Along with the changing of their appearance, a common perception of children being placed into beauty pageants is that they will develop an eating disorder due to the obsession of their appearance. This is not a rare occurrence and it is something that parents of children beauty pageant contestants should look out for. All together, children in beauty pageants may have fun, but it can truly be detrimental to them further on in life. Dr. Nancy Irwin also stated, the seeds are being planted for their sexual behavior later on which is another factor that parents have to watch out for. Beauty pageants may be a good thing for children to get involved in to
bri faig 11/18/12 2:28 PM Comment: 1) I changed this sentence because it isnt how I want it to sound. After reading it a couple of times it kept sounding to choppy, so I decided to change it to the best of my ability. bri faig 11/18/12 1:39 PM Deleted: This will ultimately make their appearance a priority day after day as they grow up bri faig 11/18/12 2:29 PM Comment: 4) I added these two parts so the two paragraphs would be able to go from one thought to another completely without any confusion. Also, Im trying to fix my problem with fluidity. bri faig 11/18/12 1:34 PM Deleted: A question that comes to mind in this topic

Faig 5 boost their confidence, make friends, and learn how to be independent. But the attention, loss of innocence, and the psychological side of pageants is what can weigh heavier on the child, which will affect him or her as he or she matures and grows up later in life. Ultimately, the decision is in the hands of the parents to put their child into a pageant or not. But what is out of their control is how long their child will hold onto their innocence as well as the possible psychological and physical scars that their child may endure as an outcome of being placed under the pressure of being a child beauty pageant contestant.
bri faig 11/18/12 1:53 PM Deleted: and bri faig 11/18/12 2:30 PM Comment: 3) I added this to the end of my paper because I wanted it to end with a reminder of what this paper was about. Which is children beauty pageant contestants. bri faig 11/18/12 1:54 PM Deleted: that much pressure.

Faig 6 Works Cited

Adler, Jerry. The Strange World of JonBenet. Newsweek 129.3 (1997): 42. Academic Search Complete. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <https://librarylink.uncc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr ue&db=a9h&AN=9701150137&site=eds-live&scope=site>. Beauty Pageants Sexualize Young Children. Perf. Nancy Irwin. Anderson Cooper, 2011. Online. Goldstein, Richard. "Beauty Pageants and Its Effect on Children." Purduecal.edu. N.p., 24 June 1997. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://student.purduecal.edu/~zmwillia/1800-2200%20words.htm>. TLC. "About Toddlers & Tiaras." TLC.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/toddlers~tiaras/about-toddlers-andtiaras.htm/printable>. Triggs, Charlotte, Kay West, and Elaine Aradillas. "Toddlers and Tiaras Too Much Too Soon?" MasterFILEComplete. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2012. <https://librarylink.uncc.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=tr ue&db=f6h&AN=65549278&site=eds-live&scope=site>.