Hannah Kaufman

Dr. Jennifer Almjeld

WRTC 201
12 December 2018

Beauty within Beauty Pageants:

How Parents Create the unrealistic Idea of what it

Means to be Beautiful to Child Contestants

Introduction

I am one of many Americans obsessed with reality shows. From MTV to TLC, you can

always find me watching some type of trashy reality show filled with nonsense drama and

characters who change season after season. I first came upon the popular reality show “Toddlers

and Tiaras” when it first premiered on TLC in 2009. This series takes a look at the world of child

beauty pageants ranging from the practices and preparations before the pageants, to the day of

the event. A camera crew follows new girls ranging in ages from as young as twenty-three

months to as old as twelve or thirteen. Every episode portrays how these families interact with

competitions and how their family dynamics are enveloped in the beauty contestant world. I was

12 at the time of the show’s premiere and the idea of these little girls dressing up in sparkly

outfits, parading on stage in front of judges fascinated me.

These competitions appear to be almost sport like as many of these families are willing to

spend tens of thousands of dollars on their children to hope to talk away with trophies and tiaras

to add to their collection. The girls who premiere on the show love showing off their wins with

many of the cast having designated trophy rooms to house all the glitter.

One very popular aspect of the show is how the parents interact with the pageant scene,

with most taking the pageant career more seriously than their actual children. A majority of the

mothers use online spaces to communicate with other mothers and learn details of each pageant
as well as gossip online. It leaves a lot of room for the producers to show all the drama,

arguments, and even fights between these moms. And of course because this is a child focused

event, children are exposed to this violence as many of the fights take place during the actual

competition day.

Research Question

Many of these pageant families training their children for competitions starting as early

as a few months old and continue into their later teen years. But how does this exposure at a such

a young age change or provide influence to these children as they grow up? How do these

pageant categories like formal wear teach contestants? At the end of most competitions there are

usually awards given for “prettiest eyes” and “most beautiful” before the actual announcing of

first, second, and third place winners. How do young girls react to these subcategory awards? Do

they feel less than for not receiving a certificate telling them if they are beautiful?

The purpose of this study is to answer one main question: How does the beauty contest

show "Toddlers and Tiaras" set the non-achievable beauty and gender standards for young girls?

This question focuses on how these young girls are told what beauty is by how they must dress,

walk, talk, and act in a competition setting. The goal of this study is to look closely at how

perceptions of beauty are created by the competition environment.

Terminology

Since this is an investigation/research into the lives of competitive beauty pageants, I found it

important to define a few terms said by these reality stars as a way to address these outrageous

customs of the industry.

 Casual wear – not your typical hanging around the house outfit, but usually shows off the

contestant’s personal style of dress.

  Cupcake Dress – a short, above-the-knee dress that quickly flares out via tulle. This is a

standard dress girls will compete in for a glitz pageant (see definition below).

 Flippers – fake teeth for children to use so that it looks like they have a full set of adult

teeth. Many children lose their baby teeth at a young age and it is a big no-no in the

pageant world to see anything but a perfect, full set of teeth.

 Glitz – refers to the style of the pageant and consists of very glamorous attire full of

rhinestones, big hair, spray tans, and lots of makeup.

 Go-Go Juice – a drink designed to keep contestant awake and active for the duration of

the competition. Consisting of Mountain Dew, 5 Hour Energy, and any variety of energy

drinks like Monster or Redbull, this drink was first introduced to the show by contestant

Alana Thompson who goes by the stage name Honey Boo-Boo.

Literature Review

Although most popular in southern states, pageants have always been around as a source

of entertainment for years. The Miss. America Pageant is nationally broadcasted every year as

well as Miss. World. So, it was only a matter of time for a television network to release a series

that dives deep into the world of younger girls competing in similar competitions. One study

entitled “#Slane Girl, beauty pageants and padded bras: flashpoints in the sexualization of

children debate in Irish media and political discourse” by Debbie Ging et al specifically looks at

the public concern for child sexualization in Ireland from the early 1980s until 2013. The study

concluded a need for public awareness on how to protect a child’s innocence.

There is also the discussion of how the sexualizing of girls leads to abuse from these

reality shows. Many stay glue to the television to watch these children have meltdowns because

they don’t want to wear fake hair. When in front of the judges, many of these children prance
around on stage in little skimpy outfits blowing kisses at the judges. There is a common phrase

that “sex sells” but isn’t that going too far when children are involved? What motivates people to

keep watching and keep parents entering their children into these competitions? In the article,

“Perceptions of child beauty pageants and their impacts: What really lies behind the tiara?” by

Jessica M. Kelly and Lance C. Garmon, the authors focused on the people behind the screens

that tune into these shows. The participants were asked if that had seen or heard of popular

shows like “Toddlers and Tiaras” and “Here Comes Honey Boo-Boo”. The study found that

females are more likely to watch these programs for entertainment purposes. The authors also

concluded that participants had strong perceptions and emotional attachment to characters as

they made their decisions to continually view these programs.

I thought it then was important to turn the research onto the contestants themselves and

look into the aftermaths of the pageant world. One article, “Childhood Beauty Pageant

Contestants: Associations with Adult Disordered Eating and Mental Health” by Anna L.

Wonderlich et al published in 2007 researched adults who participated in childhood beauty

pageants and their mental health as it compared with adults who did not participate as children.

The findings suggested a correlation between pageant participation and body dissatisfaction and

interpersonal distrust in adults. This article is a perfect example of the overall meaning and

design behind this research. Children who are exposed to unrealistic beauty standards can suffer

from depression and poor self-esteem later on in life.

Lastly, it is important to look into the children who have already ‘graduated’ from beauty

contests and how their lives post-pageants have been changed or effected at all. In the article

“From Miss World to World Leader: Beauty Queens, Paths to Power, and Political

Representations” by Magda Hinojosa and Jill Carle, the authors investigate how “beauty
pageants can serve as a path to power for women” (Hinojosa, p. 24). The authors express how

beauty pageants are a gateway into other opportunities for the future, especially in the political

sense. This article is almost in a disagreement with this current study because it explores how

contestants have only grown from being in pageants, but serves as a good demonstration as to

how the idea of beauty has been formed and molded to their own lives and current status.

Research Design

The research design will involve both quantitative and qualitative data or mixed methods.

The quantitative measures will consist of data collecting based on viewing the five most popular

or most viewed episodes and compare parents’ interactions with beauty and their children. To do

this, there will be a need to focus in on when parents are most willing to tell their child they are

beautiful either when they are dressed in non-pageant clothes and when they are in full glitz and

glamour. It is also important to note the need or desire for parents to exaggerate their child’s look

for a pageant. Everything from spray tans to fake teeth tell of an unrealistic ideology of what it

means to be beautiful. Qualitative data will consist of in person interviews for parents during the

pageants asking a various of questions involving beauty, their child, and how they allow their

child to determine their own sense of beauty outside the pageant world. I also believe it is

necessary for me to attend some of the pageants to understand a different view that is not

portrayed in the reality shows. The only costs to this proposal are the monetary costs to attend

some of the pageants and the plentiful hours needed to both investigate and analyze the data.

Stage 1: Data Collection from Episodes

Since I am only looking at the first five episodes, I don’t see a need for any outside or

extra help. During this time, there will be a collection of ‘buzz’ words or themes surrounding

beauty and the context the words encompass. This data collection is necessary for the research
because even though parents are in front of cameras, they tend to not hold themselves back or

revert from saying what they are truly feeling about their child’s performance. This is due to the

drive and desire to win and become ‘grand supreme’, which is the overall winner. Another

reason for this method of collecting data is to see how these children respond to fake or extreme

products used on them to win. Things like flippers, spray tans, and fake hair will all be collected

as the child responds to have to wear or put the product on.

Stage 2: In-Person Interviews

The importance of this step is to collect information from parents on their children and

the beauty pageants. Having the setting be during the pageants is appropriate and important

because it establishes the nature of the research. The purpose of this portion of the investigation

is to give the mothers a chance outside of reality TV to discuss how pageants have influenced the

young children and the families as a whole. Looking into the family life can also give insight into

what qualifies as beautiful within a pageant family dynamic. This could also be the time that

eliminates the over dramatization of reality TV that often portrays individuals in an over

exaggerated light. For the interviews to take place, the research would have to go under the

Institutional Review Board (IRB) committee as interviews would take place with parent and

child. There would also need to be consent and disclosure forms because of who the participants

might be and would willing to share. The following are just some of the questions that would be

asked upon the interviews:

1. How have pageants played a significant role in your child’s life?

2. What does beauty mean to you as a parent? How has this stand changed, if at all, now

that your child participates in beauty contests?

 3. Do you address the difference between pageant beauty and ‘natural’ beauty with your

child? Do you think they understand the difference?

4. How do you think pageants will affect or change your child as they grow up into

adulthood? What will pageants do for the child’s future?

5. Do you believe pageants to be ethical for individuals involved?

Stage 3: Analyzing the Data

This will be one of the longer tasks for the research. After collecting all the data, I will

need to assess what has been presented and look for patterns, data that is similar, and group what

has been deemed earlier as ‘buzz’ words. There may be a need for another set of eyes during this

time because one person looking at all the data will not be conclusive. Input from others will be

necessary as to best analyze all the material. After full analysis from all participants, then can

come the time to write a proper research paper with all the information collected.

Future Research

This study can provide insight into the beauty industry and is necessary for evaluating the

current standards that have been established for pageantry. Parents, producers of these reality

shows, and creators of pageant events can benefit from this study because it can explain or show

how these young children are influenced by these elaborate displays of beauty. Themes that have

been demonstrated from this study could better express what a child may be influenced by as

they grow up. Americans need to be made aware of the effects pageants have on children and

this study will only show how children are taught what beauty is through the eyes of pageantry

and address the ethical dilemmas associated with them.

References

Anna L. Wonderlich, Diann M. Ackard & Judith B. Henderson (2005)Childhood Beauty Pageant

Contestants: Associations with Adult Disordered Eating and Mental Health, Eating

Disorders, 13:3, 291-301, DOI: 10.1080/10640260590932896

Debbie Ging, Elizabeth Kiely, Karl Kitching & Máire Leane (2018) #Slane Girl, beauty pageants

and padded bras: flashpoints in the sexualisation of children debate in Irish media and

political discourse, Feminist Media Studies, DOI: 10.1080/14680777.2018.1467943

Jessica M. Kelly & Lance C. Garmon (2016) Perceptions of child beauty pageants and their

impacts: What really lies behind the tiara?, Atlantic Journal of

Communication, 24:4, 201-215, DOI: 10.1080/15456870.2016.1208528

Magda Hinojosa & Jill Carle (2016) From Miss World to World Leader: Beauty Queens, Paths

to Power, and Political Representations, Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 37:1, 24-

46, DOI: 10.1080/1554477X.2016.1116298

Shappert, Rhonda. “Pageant Lingo, Terms and Slang Defined.” Pageant Coach Rhonda

Shappert | Ohio Pageant Coach | Rhonda Shappert – Winning Through Pageantry, 12

May 2012, www.winningthroughpageantry.com/2012/05/02/pageant-lingo-terms-and-

slang-defined/.