The Negative Consequences Of Beauty Pageants

INTRODUCTION Shockingly, around 250,000 children aging 2-18 take part in beauty pageants each year. Today, it is not just beautiful stage shows that happen once a year, but it has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Pageants, such as Toddlers and Tiaras and Little Miss Perfect, earn $5 billion a year in revenue. Each show designs their own rules and is exempt from the Federal Child Labor laws (FairLabor standards Act, 1938). Not only little girls, but also boys across the world are participating in beauty pageants. According to ABCNews, ten percent of the beauty contest participants are boys. Children are starting to take Disney’s snow white “mirror mirror on the wall” quote to an extreme. Other Disney movies, such as Frozen, are beginning

However, exploitation is a necessary component to these pageants. This would include wearing mini-skirts, dancing to adult music, and twirling for the judges. If little girls are sexualized by agencies in this manner, then the consequences could lead to child abuse. In the process of competing, kids have to constantly compare themselves to the ideal weight. These unrealistic expectations from childhood lead to long-term body dissatisfaction, which translates into eating disorders. Even though many may think these competitions increase self-worth, such shows give complex to those little kids who do not win. Before, the most dressing up that happened in such shows was wearing a bow and a nice dress. Nowadays, with the increasing amount of sponsors needed to fund for these shows, we can see how more and more kids are starting to behave and look like adults. Some sponsors include plastic surgeons, make-up specialists, and tanning companies. Young children do not have the mental capacity to selectively pick up behaviors; therefore, they are heavily influenced by beauty pageants.
CHILD BEAUTY PAGEANTS SHOULD BE BANNED Although kids are able to gain recognition at such an early phase of their life, many have become over-sexualized. In the show Toddlers and Tiaras, kids are required to dress up in multiple outfits for

Child shows should not be as competitive as adult contests, such as Miss America, which are only suitable for self-assured women who have the capacity to form their own identity. Beauty pageants make kids believe more in their looks, instead of themselves. Placing emphasis on appearance even leads to extreme cases of wanting to lose weight, and excessively using beauty products. Also, sexualizing youngsters will have a negative impact on the future generation, and make kids who watch these shows grow up fast too. We should teach little kids inner values, instead of introducing them to the superficial glamour