“Banning child beauty pageants is certainly a step in the right direction.” (Riggs. 2013) All over the world, child beauty pageants has taken over. Here in America, many people believe that they need to be banned. Parents dress up their children in so many different outrageous outfits and makeup. Parents don’t realize what they are doing to their children. They are taking away the childhood, which id the most important time of a person’s life. Most of these children are not having fun because they are being forced to the pageants. These children are more than likely to grow up with no self-esteem and hating their bodies since they think that they are not beautiful. They will end up seeing everything wrong with themselves. These pageants need …show more content…
You may ask why, what’s the difference? Well in Ireland, children are banned from wearing makeup. They can only use their natural beauty. While here in America, the pageants are based on which child looks better with a full face of makeup, fake boobs, tans, wigs and false teeth. Even the outfits that the children wear here are not okay even for a grown up. In Ireland, the child pageants are about the child having fun, while here in America it’s the parents that are having fun by dressing up their kids like Barbie dolls. It’s not even about the kids here, it’s about the money and prizes that the parents win. As Ms. Hamilton puts it “It makes them feel like princesses.” (Rogan. 2015) This should be what pageants should be about, making them fell like princesses, but teaching them it’s all about their natural beauty. They don’t need makeup, or wigs, or tans to look pretty. They need to be taught it’s not always what’s on the outside that counts, but what is on the inside. It’s all about accepting yourself for who you are, not what you are forced to be. Natural beauty is what we need to teach our kids, they don’t need to hide behind a pound of
The article, Toddlers and Tiaras written by Skip Hollandsworth first came about in the August 2011 issue of Good Housekeeping. The article tells us about the world of child pageantry and attempts to convince the readers that the girls participating are being exploited and hypersexualized on stage. He also suggests that some parents are to blame referring to the American Psychological Association Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls quoting “...parents who put their daughters in pageants can contribute “in very direct and concrete ways” to “the precocious sexualization” of their daughters (Hollandsworth 493). The author uses imagery, professional references, and shadowing the pageant world to put this article together and give the readers
He begins to say, “You give your daughter legos and soccer balls, not barbies” (323). Poniewozik proceeds to argue his point by explaining how Hollywood finally discovered that it is pointless to fight the urge of the astonishing pink princess epidemic, while producing many more princess themed items because it is what girls seem to want. Similarly, Peggy Orenstein opens with a story about a mother who is simply appalled by anything and everything princess based on how her daughter gets treated by other adults. However, Orenstein tried to keep a consistent theme of not accepting the whole idea of being picture perfect throughout the article, but while making an argument, she would then come up with a contrasting argument. The question of, “Does every little girl really have to be a princess?”(Orenstein 326), arises when thinking about all of the times how even strangers assume little girls always want pink.
The overall expense for kids to participate in them is considerably lower, mainly because there is far less to buy. Most natural pageants don 't permit such artifice as spray tans and wigs. Cosmetics are spare, and clothes often come from off the rack. Lori Lee, from Richlands, N.C., knows both glitz and natural pageants well. A former contestant herself, she 's been co-director for the Miss America preliminary circuit and a judge and director for the Miss North Carolina Sweetheart Pageants.
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.
In Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?," the main character, Connie, is very concerned about her looks and making sure she always looks like what she would consider "pretty." As a young, fifteen year old girl, looking good and getting the attention of boys was her main priority. Although she is still technically a child, Connie wanted to look older and more mature, assumably to mimic the women she could see in advertisements and magazines. When kids reach their teenage years, they often long for the freedom of adulthood and want to be treated with the same respect adults get.
The Pageant Underbelly - An Analysis of “Toddlers in Tiaras” Skip Hollandsworth, American author, and journalist wrote the article “Toddlers in Tiaras” in 2011. This analysis of the children’s pageant world covers different facets of the toxic environment that these children inhabit and the harrowing effects it has on them. Hollandsworth cites scientific papers and uses personal stories to convey his messages on child sexualization, neuroticism in children, and the aforementioned detrimental effects of the pageants. Through breakdowns of statistics and scientific evidence regarding costs and developmental issues, Hollandsworth aims to bring the audience to the conclusion that they should not raise their daughters as pageant stars or anywhere
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).
Whether it be in the workplace or walking down the street there is always going to be more pressure and judgment being focused on women than men. Why is this? Gender plays a big role on the reflection of our identities to society. We have been brought to believe that there are certain ways men and women should and should not act, dress and talk. These social norms do not just apply to what is acceptable in regards to public safety but rather, it is used as a way to control and evaluate behavior.
In Gerald Early’s essay “Life with Daughters: Watching the Miss America pageant,” Early talks about his experience of watching Miss America pageants with his family. The issue explored in his essay is the way black culture in society is affected by America’s standard of beauty and the difficulties black women experiences when trying to find one’s identity because of this. Early believes that America’s standard of beauty is white, the look that is most praised in the beauty pageants. He uses rhetorical strategies such as allusion, ethical persuasion, and emotional persuasion to emphasize that America's standard of beauty has an effect on black women.
This activity is considered as one of the growing businesses in America which earned over 5 billion dollars every year (Lindsey, 2013). These beauty pageants will sometimes cause parents to abuse their children without knowing it. The Children may be forced to join the contest and they will be taught some kind of bad life lessons. So, the four main reasons why child beauty pageants are harmful are: Firstly, child beauty pageants may lead to overconfident. Children which participate in child beauty pageants normally told by their parents or people around them that they are beautiful, charming, talented, more special than others to let them be more confident during the contest.
“These children may struggle with ideas of perfection, eating disorders, and body image in their adulthood. Pageants send a message that looks and appearance are more important than brains and education.” (Children Beauty Give Children Unrealistic Expectations) Children will struggle with their body images and most importantly, they will put appearance first that education. “Additionally, dressing children up with adult clothes and makeup appeals to sexual predators, placing them at risk of falling victim to a pedophile.”
As a little girl you are encouraged to be who you want to be. You fill your world with fairy tales or Barbie dolls that inspire you to believe that the sky is the limit. But little do you know, that as you grow older, the dreams you are forging for yourself is no longer achievable. Where you once saw the sky as the limit is now transformed to be seen as a man’s word as the limit. No little girl, you are not liberated nor are you empowered…you are simply propagated by a man’s world to believe that you are.
The idea of extreme sports has changed drastically over the years, going from skateboarding in the streets to jumping out of planes with nothing but a parachute to soften your landing. These extreme sports have many advantages for kids who participate in it such as health benefits, psychological benefits, and opportunities to participate in a sport they can enjoy individually. The dangers do still exist, but one can become hurt while participating in any sport so those dangers are not relevant, therefore pros outweigh cons and kids should be able to participate in extreme sports. Kids who participate in extreme sports have an opportunity to compete in a sport they enjoy rather than engaging in team sports that involve being dependent on others.
Beauty Pageants deprive children of their confidence and childhoods because they lower girls self esteem. In today 's society, many magazines, movies, and runways pressure women to look a certain way, and to act a certain way. Young girls, even girls as young as one years old, can be affected by today’s obsession with fitness and perfection. These girls can take drastic measures to change what they look like, even going as far as starving themselves (Freymark 29). Beauty pageants are notorious for highlighting outward looks,and to many girls who believe that they are not beautiful enough, being judged on one 's appearance can cause a devastating blow to a girl’s confidence.
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.