Child Beauty Pageants And Many People Have Different Opinions About Them

Zinzi Williams explains the downsides of pageantry in “Do Pageant Children Behave Differently than Other Kids?” The central claim is that there are many psychological differences between children who compete in the world of pageantry and children who don’t. Williams states the minor claims that children who compete in beauty pageants put beauty ahead of schoolwork and play time. Her other minor claim is that beauty contests affect the way the children who compete view their bodies and there overall appearance. She states that statistic that if there are 20 girls competing in the pageant, that each contestant only has a 5% chance of winning, which is very slim! Williams explains that in her research she found that on WebMD, a medical website,

In “Beauty Pageants Draw Children and Criticism” by Kristen Schultz and Pleshette Murphy, it discusses how girls from infants to 16 years old enter beauty pageants and those who support beauty pageants would say this is a great way for girls to play like cinderella but they don’t realize

Imagining if one day you saw your five year old daughter with a full face of makeup and high heels. Now she looks like a miniature adult. Not only is she a miniature adult, but now she also is very self conscious of herself and has an eating disorder at five years old. Child beauty pageants have some pros and a of lot cons to them. Also, they can affect a child’s development. One should consider that child beauty pageants can lead to a lot of mental health issues for kids at a very young age.

Each year, around three million children, ages 6 to 16, will compete in a beauty pageant. When a child enters to compete in a beauty pageant, it not only damages the child now, but as well as later in life. Also, the standards that these children are held to while competing in a beauty pageant is affecting their development.

In modern day society, people often tune into TLC’s hit show Toddlers in Tiaras. Most see it as a harmless pastime for the children, but child beauty pageants are far from harmless. In recent years, child beauty pageants have become increasingly popular all over the U.S, making it a 5 billion dollar industry. Almost 5,000 pageants are held with 250,000 children participating with the majority of the contestants under the age of twelve (“Child beauty Pageants”). Unfortunately, what most viewers do not realize is that many contestants will suffer from sexual abuse and eating disorders by the time they are teenagers. With that being said, beauty pageants have a negative impact on female adolescents.

Beauty pageants have been around in America for decades; however, they have not gained notoriety until the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" aired on national television. The airing of "Toddlers and Tiaras" has brought child pageants to the attention of many Americans. Not many people were aware of what took place in beauty pageants, but ever since the show debuted in 2009 there has been an intense controversy about children as young as newborns being entered into pageants. Some people say that pageants raise self-esteem and teach responsibility, whereas others say that pageants are necessary and children should take advantage of their youth. Although pageants teach etiquette and communication skills, ultimately they carry a vastly high

The purpose of this paper is to assess the negative effects of children beauty contest on its contestants. Although many people argue that there are some benefits of this contest such as build up the confidence, self-esteem, public speaking skills, tact, and poised it is also true that it can result to negative psychological effects and interferes in child development worldwide. The Toddlers and Tiaras, and Little Miss Perfect are popular reality TV shows that features young girls the real hardship and obstacles from their mother’s pressure or preparation for the pageant. They are ages from 1 to 12 years old, with main goal of winning and get the tiara and money or ribbon or teddy bears. Generally, the parents of these young girls believe and make decision that the beauty pageant is okay. Pageants, particularly those designed for younger children, focus primarily on appearance, attire, and perceived “cuteness.”

This topic could be argued either way. There are people that believe that pageants have positive effects on children and there are people who think they are just terrible. The points in these articles reveal the truth behind beauty pageants and what they are all about.

Beauty Pageants over sexualizes little girls at a young age. As it seen in “Toddlers and Tiaras” a show by TLC show, little girls are being sexualized at a young age, by introducing them to hair extensions, make up, flippers (fake teeth), sexualized dresses. According to Paul Peterson, president and founder of A Minor Consideration, beauty pageants are “feeding the sex industry (Agadoni).” Girls are not physically ready to wear make up or hair extensions, and all of that just hides the natural beauty of a child making them more self conscious about themselves at such a young age. Little girls are going to think of themselves as not beautiful because they hide their real selves behind a ton of make up.

Beauty pageants send the message to contestants that appearance is the most important thing about a person. Children will think that they need to spend thousands of dollars to make themselves look good. They will only desire to try and look beautiful and they won't care about more important things like paying bills and saving money for future things like a new house, cars, and many other things that are more important than just beauty. Pageants also encourage girls to fit narrow invented standards of beauty. Girls try and act like adult celebrities; dressing and walking like them across the stage.

“It doesn’t matter if you can breathe. All that matters is if you look good”. Just Googling the search term “beauty pageants coming up,” will result in 2,710,000 results appearing in 1.18 seconds. Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual children's competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace. April Brilliant, reigning Mrs. Maryland and the director of Maryland-based Mystic Pageants, says pageants give little girls a chance to "play Cinderella." However, playing ‘Cinderella’ can cause children to develop insecurities or self-hatred if they don't

Child beauty pageants have become an increasingly controversial topic throughout the years. By some, it is considered to be a form of child exploitation and abuse. However, opponents argue that beauty pageants allow children to learn how to compete in a healthy environment. Young children, starting at just a few years old, are paraded around a stage dressed in provocative clothing and faces full of makeup. Children need to grow up in an environment where tolerance and acceptance of everyone's differences is the general mindset, not where competition is the driving force in their lives. Although it is true that child beauty pageants can help children gain confidence, they should be banned because of their negative impact on self-esteem, attraction

Child Beauty pageants have been around for about fifty-five years already and are becoming more and more common throughout society. There have been many TV shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras in which young children are judged based on their beauty, personality, and talent. Although some people might think that child beauty pageants are beneficial because they teach discipline, patience, and improve self-confidence, in reality, they give children an unrealistic idea about what a perfect body is and often lead to an insecure future.

Young girls that participate in pageants will not lose self-esteem, but they will gain confidence. Most girls that are still in the adolescent part of life strive to gain the approval of others and the confidence that they need, whether that is from friends or family. A large majority of girls would openly admit that they feel better about themselves when they are wearing nice clothing and have their makeup done. Beauty pageants allow young girls to interact with other girls of the same age range and have an entire day of dressing to the best of their ability and getting on stage to show themselves off. The day is them imitating as closely as they can to the life of a princess. Even though only one girl at the pageant can actually win first place for the day all of the girls still get to display their beauty, talents, and intellect through onstage questions. The dedication it takes for a young girl to go through an entire day of changing and constantly putting on a show for judges proves that most girls participating want to be there and care about the competition. However, Morgan says, “While wanting parent’s approval is natural, coming out of a competition as runner-up – or with no that at all – can damage the child’s self-esteem” (1). A parent’s approval is important for a child, but not winning every competition does not destroy self-esteem. No matter what the competition is there is never more than one winner and this should be a lesson of how to improve for the next competition. One mother interviewed in, Pageant Princesses and Math Whizzes, states that “[n]o matter what profession or role my child chooses she will more than likely, at some point, need to be able to speak and conduct herself confidently in front of others-” (Levey 13). Pageants create a presence on and off the stage that will benefit the confidence of a young girl. One huge part of beauty pageants is how a girl handles

Beauty pageants may be expensive, however most households do not spend thousands of dollars on pageant costs. Typical expenses would be hair, nails, make-up, shoes, evening wear, and possibly a pageant coach. The cost incurred is minimal compared to what benefits can be gained in personal growth, potential awards and the feeling of accomplishment. Many parents enjoy having their kids participate because there are prizes awarded. Prizes can range from participation trophies; everyone wins, to grand champion. “The girl or boy who wins the pageant receives an academic scholarship which usually reimburses some of the school fees from the current or previous school year” (Maliakal). In pageants for middle school and high school, children can receive college scholarships or awards. Often the money they obtain typically can only be used for purchasing books, housing costs or possibly towards tuition. “Some