ARGUMENT

Beautiness has been fascinating people for centuries now, it is a well known
fact. Also, it is known that women are very competitive and this led to beauty
contests and so on.
Unfortunately, the world of beauty contests has taken over childrens
world. The worst part is that they can not decide whether they want to
participate or not, they are forced to do it.
Ive chosen to present this topic because I wanted to emphasise the
negative aspects of beauty pageants.
INTRODUCTION
Contests to determine who is the fairest of them all have been around at
least since ancient Greece. Despite that, the first beauty pageant took place in
America, in the early 1900s.
The first beauty contest that had contestants unde the age of 16 was held
in the 1921s Atlantic City.
1.1.
Pageants were introduced into the lives of Americans in the early 1900s
and became a major event, although they were discontinued for a few years due
to the Great Depression.
As the years progressed, pageants served as political, educational and
entertaining events. Pageants offered scholarships and helped beneficial
programs.
The murder of JonBent Ramsey in late 1996 turned the public spotlight
onto child beauty pageants. Critics began to question the ethics of parents who
would present their child in a way that was perhaps not suitable for their age.

1.2.

While most beauty pageants cater strictly to girls, there are a growing
number that include boys as well.
Depending on which type of pageant system is entered, contestants will
spend about two hours or less in the actual competition.
In Glitz pageants, which means: the bigger, the flashier, the better in the
pageant world, it is expected that girls will have different "routines" described as
"sassy walk" and "pretty feet" and more. Facial expressions can include liberal
amounts of "duckface".
In constrast, natural pageants have fairly strict guidelines regarding
clothing, makeup, hair extensions, etc. There are programs that forbid any
makeup other than non-shiny lipgloss and mascara for girls on stage.
Some pageants are created to generate profit for the business venture
while others are run as non-profit organizations. Typically, non-profits have low
entry fees and sponsor a charity or other humanitarian organization.
2.1.
Sexualization occurs in child beauty pageants because the contestants
compete for prizes and are judged on the way they look, their style, and how
they act on stage, similar to the judgment criteria in adult beauty pageants.
In reports of children being sexually abused research shows that the
sexualization of children is a contributing factor to their abuse. There are a lot of
creepy people who assist child beauty pageants just looking for their next
victim.
2.2.
A former pageant star has warned mothers against pushing their children
into competing in beauty contests. Brooke Breedwell, now 22, had a full-time
modeling coach and a singing teacher when she was just three-years-old and
says she missed out on a normal childhood.
She disliked the heavy make-up, hairspray and fake teeth she wore while
competing, but she particularly hated going for tanning sessions. At five all I
wanted to do was play outside with my friends and dig for worms in the dirt.
3.1.

Toddlers & Tiaras is an American reality television series that aired on

TLC for five years. The show followed the child participants and their parents
as they prepare for the upcoming beauty pageant of the weekend.
The show has generated some negative reactions over the costumes of
some of its participants. Parents of children are sometimes criticized for entering
their children in pageants.
The cost of entering a child beauty pageant is quite expensive. The irony
of the situation is that, parents prefer to spend money on designer dresses than
on the child's education.
3.2.
In a study published in 2005, a small control group of eleven women who
had competed in beauty pageants as children were compared to eleven women
who had not competed. In general, this limited study found that those who
competed in beauty pageants as children were more dissatisfied with their
bodies, and had greater impulse dis-regulation and trust issues than those who
did not participate.
Even years after leaving the pageant world many girls still feel the
pressure to be perfect. One of the major problems with these pageants is that
young girls do not understand how or what they are really being judged on in
these pageants.
Children might be absorbed into developing their physical appearance
instead of developing their personality

3.3.

In France, legislators moved to ban child beauty pageants on the grounds

that they promote the "hyper-sexualization" of minors. Such a ban wouldnt fly
in USA, say some sociologists.
Karen Kataline, a mental health professional, says she understands the
motivation to ban the competitions, but doesn't think that's the answer. The
problem "is not just the pageants, it's the parents" who support and encourage
the sexualization of their children.
She agrees with other people that say that theres nothing wrong with
children singing and dancing on stage, but they should do it in age-appropriate
ways.
CONCLUSION
Beauty pageants are one of the fastest growing industries in the US.
Throughout the time, pageants proved to be both a negative and positive
influence depending on their surroundings.
Organizers should be required to attain a certificate allowing them to work
with children. Make-up and hair should be limited as to not enforce sexuality in
such a young age. All the participants should receive some kind of an award for
participating, reducing the disappointment.
My opinion is that pageants have a long road before achieving a safe
environment for children without introducing them to competition, sexuality and
disappointment too early in life.