PERAK BRANCH TAPAH CAMPUS

EVALUATIVE COMMENTARY

TITLE:

“Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?”

NAMES:

NURUL FATINI BINTI NOR HISHAM

(2021126981)

NURUL FATHIAH BINTI NOR HISHAM

(2021126967)

GROUP:

A4AS1203C

LECTURER’S NAME:

PN. NURUL NADWA BINTI AHMAD ZAIDI

SUBMISSION DATE:

14 JULY 2022
The article that we have choose is entitled “Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?”
which is written by Cartwright (2011) which was posted in the Psychology Today’s website. This article
emphasizes on a controversial issue regarding children beauty pageant and the negative impact that it
has on the contestants mental and physical’s health. From this article, it can be clearly seen that the author
is against the children beauty pageant and the author’s tone critical towards the whole issue. Upon further
reading of this article, we could not agree more with the author and this article.

First and foremost, from this article, experts have agreed that taking part in activities that mainly depend
on physical image at an early age can take a toll on teenagers or adults’ confidence, body appearance, and
self-acceptance. The showering of unconditional love from parent or guardian can lead to body image
disturbance, low self-confidence, and stress about body image.

Secondly, at the early age, young female that have eating disorders had to train to achieve physical
flawlessness, slimness, athletic skills, and charmness. As stated by one of the childhood dancers, they
criticized themselves depends on appearance, dance capability and, they can never be satisfied with their
diet.

Thirdly, from the research conducted, it can be seen that former small-sized beauty pageant candidates
are more likely to suffer from eating disorders. After the child “retired” from the pageant life, they must
deal with issues regarding self-identity including dieting, flawlessness, eating disorder, and body
appearance that affects their adulthood.

In our opinion, the problem regarding self-confidence, and body appearance happened because when the
children enter any beauty competition, they will solely judge by their physical appearance from the adult
and as a child, they might not be able to take it the same as the adult does which will lead to lack of self-
assurance and feeling that they will never be enough. The judgement from jury and the society can be
toxic as they will condemn the participants harshly to fit the beauty standard without reconsidering the
child’s feelings and self-esteem. According to Adams (2017), the beauty standard for women has become
increasingly unrealistic and ridiculous over time. The media plays a significant role in determining what is
and is not acceptable in society's beauty standards. They featured a model who was extremely unhealthy
and had unrealistic goals that were difficult to achieve. This will cause beauty pageants to follow the media
because they only care about their appearance because self-esteem is important.

Our second opinion is that this beauty pageant forced children to go on a strict diet that does not make
any sense for a normal child to follow. The parent or trainer will limit the food consumption of the child
in order to achieve a slim figure and they also have to go through a harsh regime to shape up their athletic
skills unhealthily. Without knowing, they already have been brainwashed to think that all of that is a
symbol of attractiveness and more important than both their mental and physical health. Besides, they
will also be prone to criticize themselves based on their athleticness, beauty, and diet. According to the
findings of the current study, women who participated in beauty pageant as children scored significantly
higher on measures of body dissatisfaction, interpersonal mistrust, and impulsive dysregulation than
those women who did not compete in children beauty pageant. There is also a trend among children's
beauty pageant contestants to feel a greater feeling of uselessness than non-participants. There were no
significant differences between the two groups on bulimic behavior, depression, body perception or self-
esteem, (Wonderlich, 2005).
Our last point of view is that this competition will cause a long-term negative impact towards the former
pageant's candidate, including struggles in maintaining their diet, accepting their body as the way they
are as they get older. It happens because the past trauma that formed from their childhood will keep on
accumulating to the point it will influence their brain and lifestyle to be worse. They also will face difficulty
to be the “someone” that they want to be when they are older because they already used to be shaped
to always be perfect physically while neglecting their mental health. According to the research, this beauty
pageant had significant consequences such as weight loss disorderliness, psychological matter, and
unhappiness. This issue will cause problems later in life and will affect someone for a long time. As a result
of the beauty pageants, there will be borderline child pornography and pedophilia behavior. According to
the research, this beauty pageant has not only short-term but also long-term consequences because
adults who have a child beauty pageant denied their child's childhood, which they can never get back.
Because of their lack of experience in childhood and their ability to relate to normal children's things, they
will be disliked by other children, (The Child Beauty Pageants, 2018).

All in all, we came to the agreement that children beauty pageants really do have a lot of negative impact
on the children's mental and physical health. A lot of people might see it as a cute and harmless
competition, but the truth is those young children has to suffer in silence and putting their feelings and
emotions at high stakes in order to achieve the toxic “ideal beauty standard” that has been perpetrated
by the media. Therefore, we suggest that we should teach the children and the society to embrace and
normalize the real beauty and to love themselves inside and out rather than spreading the idealism or
stigma of the fabricated beauty that only focus on appearance and body standard to the point that it can
ruin ourselves.

REFERENCES

Adams, W. (2017, October 19). WILLIAM P. ADAMS JR., MD PLASTIC SURGERY. WILLIAM P. ADAMS JR.,
MD PLASTIC SURGERY. Retrieved from https://www.dr-adams.com/blog/how-beauty-pageants-
can-affect-self-esteem/

Anna L. Wonderlich, D. M. (2005). Retrieved from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6920828_Childhood_Beauty_Pageant_Contestants_As
sociations_with_Adult_Disordered_Eating_and_Mental_Health

Cartwright, M. (2011). Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls? Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-
are-we-teaching-our-girls

UKEssays. (November, 2018). The Child Beauty Pageants. Retrieved from

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/young-people/the-child-beauty-pageants-young-people-
essay.php?vref=1