Beauty Contest Argumentative Essay

Child psychotherapist, Collett Smart, states, “Body image is the number one problem of young girls. So these children [in pageants] are absolutely being put in harm’s way, and we can’t just watch a train wreck about to happen. And it’s cruel to judge a little girl’s appearance. To say to a young girl, no, you’re not pretty enough. So we’re setting them up for plastic surgery and Botox injections and as a society, we must not sit by and let that happen,”

“It was a national white doll contest. Love hate affair with white dolls, with mythicized white femininity.” (pg 533) The pageant displays the beauty that the dolls are based on. Most of the contestants that take part in Miss America pageants and winners are white female with the exception of a few black females, but they are not emphasized as much.

Child Beauty Pageants: Do Caked Faces Take the Cake? “Click, click, click.” The sound of a six year old prancing on stage in five inch stilettos, pounds of makeup on their once pretty, raw faces, and self tan packed on their skin. This is a scene from a child beauty pageant. These pageants encourage young girls to become someone they are not.

“You develop a great love for yourself”(Jennifer Trujillo). Two point five million girls participate in a hundred thousand beauty pageants each year in the US, but only 6 percent had suffered from depression. Some individuals think that some people in society get depression from being in beauty pageants, but that is false. People do sometimes develop depression from beauty pageants because of stress but that is very limited. "I developed a thick skin and reeled off a quick response when I was asked on a radio show how I could "parade myself around like a piece of meat.

The 1950’s was a very controversial time specially for woman, during that era they symbolized the traditional gender roles; housewife’s, submissive and conservative. Surprisingly, Marilyn Monroe, Barbie and beauty pageants became very popular even though they challenged the image of an ideal woman at the time by portraying more beauty and sexuality. These icons symbolized various messages while still upholding some of the traits that dominated that era. The beauty pageants portrayed various messages regarding woman’s beauty and sexuality a very dominant one was the qualifications to be considered a candidate for Miss America.

Beauty Pageants are events which women and younger girls or boys compete in across the world but the most popular country for these pageants are USA. The age requirements start at 3 years for both girls and boys, I feel this is too young an age to start brainwashing them. Many critics claim that the beauty pageants place more emphasis on the physical aspects of the body and over look the other aspects. This is what causes these pageants to be so unhealthy for the younger children competing.

Looking back at the Miss America beauty pageant, “ the Miss America Organization ison of the world’s largest providers of scholarship assistance for young women”(Kaplan). Miss America helps young women pay for college and they are bettering themselves through the help of pageant life. In Krista Medlock’s pageant, There are multiple ways women can better themselves. Kristen Holland, the writer of this article, said, “ …The swimsuit parade is out. Motivational speaking is in”(Holland).

(Beauty Pageants Are Not Appropriate for Young Children) 4-8 years old little girls wearing skimpy clothes, using makeup and posing sexually which can attract sexual predators. “Sexualization occurs through little girls wearing adult women 's clothing

People have different views on what success really means. Some say success is based on money or fame. If you have a lot of money or fame you're "definitely" successful. Others say success is based on your fulfillment and overall happiness in your life. Alfred Brooks, the protagonist in the novel The Contender by Robert Lypsite, has many friends, family, and supporters. Alfred also has almost no financial gain through boxing, but he's been inspired to work hard. Lastly, Alfred is very happy with his life even after his boxing career fails. On the other hand, Midge Kelly, the main character in the film "Champion," is the polar opposite of Alfred. Midge loses his friends, family, and supporters. Also, Midge is rich, but he dies alone and unhappy. At the end of the novel, Alfred Brooks is more successful than Midge Kelly is at the end of the movie.

Skip Hollandsworth’s “Toddlers in Tiaras” argues the negative effects of participating in beauty pageants for young girls. Hollandsworth supported his argument through the use of the following techniques: narratives, testimonies, logical reasoning, appeals to emotion, facts, and an objective tone that attempts to give him credibility. These techniques are used to help persuade his audience of the exploitation of young girls in beauty pageants and the negative effects that pageants will have on their lives. Hollandsworth begins his article with how a typical beauty pageant runs and describes the multiple steps Eden Wood, a pageant contestant, goes through in order to get ready for a competition (490).

They had dark hair, dark eyes and olive skin while the fifty women on Miss America were usually blond, blue-eyed, beautiful and leggy. The girls tried to fit into the American stereotype of beauty by straightening their hair, lightening their skin complexion with foundation, and shaving their legs. “I knew I would never be one of those girls, ever” one of the sisters claims (pg 95). It’s ironic because into the future, the American women they wanted to become, suddenly started wanting to look ethnic. “We felt then a gratifying sense of inclusion, but it had unfortunately come too late.

McGraw-Hill, 1976. “The American Pageant: World history, United States” CTI Reviews. (2017). [online] http://The American Pageant: World history, United States [Accessed 14 Nov. 2017]. Cott, Nancy F. Root of bitterness: documents of the social history of American women.

Growing up, most female contestants are affected their whole lives. How often would one see a young pageant contestant that is not only focused on how she looks and how she acts. Child beauty pageants should be banned because their teaching young children to focus on beauty and attitude more than their education, their taking away their childhood, and it can lead to abuse. Beauty Pageants teach young children that their beauty is more important than their education. Beauty pageants make young female children feel like they need to focus more on their beauty and attitudes more than their education.

Child Beauty Pageants are beauty contests for children under 18 years of age. It is a competition which divided into different categories such as, talent, interview, swimwear, theme wear and much more. Coming to the 21st century, child beauty pageants has become a growing trend in many countries, especially in the United States. There is numerous television show that is specifically organizing the child beauty pageants like “Toddlers and Tiaras” and “Little Miss Perfect” (Kelling, 2016). About 250,000 children participate in child beauty pageants every year, and the number is only increasing.

I have loved competition ever since a young age. I have several friends that I love to compete with. We compete every day, whether it is sports or if it in school games. We have been competing for as long as I can remember. Although my friends and I believe that competition is a great thing at school, some parents and schools are trying to argue that we should remove competition from school. They believe that kids can get hurt, but a child can get hurt just as likely to get hurt walking up the stairs as they are playing sports. Other people believe that a child’s self esteem is lowered when they lose. If a child doesn’t learn how to take loss then he or she will never be prepared in the real world. We have to allow these kids to compete