Curled hair, spray tans, whitened teeth, and… tantrums? The glamour side of society isn’t so glamorous, especially when toddlers are involved. Childhood should consist of being carefree, having fun, and getting dirty, not the constant pressure of attaining perfection. Child beauty pageants can be detrimental to young girls’ self-identity; after all, they are being judged on how cute they appear.
Beauty pageants have a tendency for emphasizing a young girl’s body over her personality. In an article for Psychology Today, Martina M. Cartwright, Ph.D., R.D. found a connection between eating disorders and superficial values implanted in girls at young ages including “physical perfection, thinness, athletic prowess and attractiveness.” Cartwright later explains that “intense participation in activities that spotlight physical appearance instills the idea that physical beauty and superficial charm are the keys to success, thus making self-worth and self-esteem inextricably tied to attractiveness.”
Due to the intense competition, parents will place their participating child on a diet in order to fit her into smaller costumes. Children, who are by no standard overweight, are forced to go on diets. No wonder a majority of these girls struggle with eating disorders and body dissatisfaction later on in life.
One may argue that girls are taught a valuable lesson of dedication and how to handle competition. This may be a valid argument if it were not for the fact that, for most pageant-participating young girls, academics are pushed aside. Sometimes school is missed in order to travel to a pageant, or time is spent practicing a pageant routine rather than working on homework or studying. In these cases, parents are showing their child that her appearance is more important than her performance in school. The priorities in these situations are backwards. Beauty is not something girls should depend upon for a lifelong career. Besides, most girls will not make a profession out of modeling.
The motives and goals for why parents choose to place their child in pageants vary. Some claim that it was what the child desired, but in most cases it is evidently otherwise. In an article from Psychology Corner, Lucia Grosaru, psychologist, M.A., offers that “mothers of these children are usually trying to live their own dreams through their daughters.” Not to mention the mere fact that prize money is awarded to the winning girl. While some girls embrace the pageant lifestyle, others dread every minute of it. Young girls are being used for the personal gain of their parents, whether superficially or financially.
Various clips of Toddlers and Tiaras display the emphasis most parents place on the pageants. One mother admitted to immediately deciding her daughter would be a “pageant girl” after receiving news that she would have a daughter. Many of the pageant girls are even tomboys; sparkles and tomboys aren’t a pretty mix. A majority of the mother-daughter relationships evidently lack something: they aren’t genuine. As the mothers attempt to coax their daughters into practicing their routines, or cooperating in the painful beauty process, they wear a facade to conjure obedience in their girls. But wearing a smile and acting like it’s all fun and games does little to sway the children who seem to have their own agendas.
Typically, parents place tremendous pressure on their child to win, consequently sending a subconscious message to the young girl that their love is fleeting and depends upon her performance. At such a young age, girls should be soaking in the seemingly endless love their parents radiate. It is their job to make her feel beautiful and love herself for who she is inside and out. “The feeling of unconditional love from a parent or nurturing adult can do wonders to curb body dissatisfaction, poor self-esteem and body image distress,” said Cartwright. Children see what their parents value, and learn to value that themselves.
The costumes that the young girls model portray them as petite sex objects. The tight-fitting costumes and bikinis unmistakably call attention toward their bodies, and the manner in which they present themselves is suggestive. The process that girls go through to get ready for the pageant is excessive, as well. It consists of spray tans, whitening teeth (or using fake teeth), leg and eyebrow waxes, heavy makeup and fake eyelashes, manicured nails, and, of course, practicing a “routine”. The beauty process does not enhance the girls’ natural beauty, it decorates them to a point where they are unrecognizable.
Television shows like Toddlers and Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo portray child beauty pageants as something silly that’s meant for pure entertainment. These shows reveal the ugly side of beauty pageants, but in doing so they encourage laughs rather than concern. They desensitize society to the severity of this issue.
Encouraging young children to be superficial is immoral. It sets them up for disappointment earlier on in life. Winning isn’t everything, but these girls are being taught otherwise.
