Lura Hills
Professor Brown
English 1B
17 May 2012
Beauty Pageants and their ugly truth
We all remember the tragic death of JonBenet
Ramsey. She was a 6-year-old little girl who was murdered and found in her
family home in Boulder, Colorado. Jon Benet was trained and groomed to be a
beauty pageant princess, a child star in the role of a dazzling woman. Her
mother was driven to promote JonBenet through pageant competition that
attracted a lot of adult attention to such a little girl. Was her killer made more aware of her more because she was more
in the spotlight, obsessed with her because she shined and stood out in beauty
pageants? Does anyone believe she would have been killed as she was if
she had never been in the pageants? Even if her pageant
"career" had nothing to do with her death, could she have had a
happier and higher quality of life in her short time in this world if she had
not spent so much of her time trying to be perfect instead of just a little
girl.
I want to address the social issue of beauty pageants and its
affect on little girls in their later life. Many things stem from this problem
of beauty pageants. While it may seem harmless, and to some people it may seem beneficial to children,
there is a strong ethical argument that the small child beauty pageant industry
exploits parents and children in a way that causes emotional injury and social
adjustment problems.
Childhood is a time of being nurtured, of
innocence, and being protected from avoidable risk of injury. Childhood free of
hardship and stress is seen as pure and very highly valued. But it can be taken
away in an instant when children are given more exposure and scrutiny than they
can handle and cope with, and the effects could last a lifetime. Beauty
“contests” are slowly but surely stealing the innocence from the youth of this
nation one by one.
Thus, a show on TLC called, “Toddlers in
Tiaras”, is a show that gives viewers an inside look at the lives and the
beauty pageant process by following certain little girls and their parents and
their journey. Most of the little girls are under 8 years old, they are
whining, and don’t seem happy about the task of competing. Some little girls
are airbrushed, have spray tans, false eyelashes, get their eyebrows waxed, and
some even have fake teeth! After that they are then put on stage to dance
around in little skimpy outfits to be judged on their “beauty”.
Their whole self worth is put out there on the
line to be dissected and then told whether or not they are up to the standard
of the judges. One can only imagine what that must do to their innocence and
confidence. Being judged and told at a young age that what you look like and
your talents are what makes you important and matter can do major damage to
your way of thinking and view of yourself. Now, I participated in sports ever
since I was 6 years old, so I appreciate the value of competition and striving
to do your best. There is however a big difference when it come to comparing
sports and beauty pageants. Sports promote health and life lessons such as
teamwork, selflessness, and hard work.
Then Beauty pageants are not really beneficial at all. The only thing
that they promote is the outward appearance and the fact that that must be more
important than their character and how they relate with others.
The affects are not limited to just the
children on TV. Children at home are viewing it. They see the way these girls
are getting praised or rejected and put in the spotlight and they think that’s
what is beautiful. One of the little girls on the show Daisey Mae actually
said, "Facial beauty is the most important thing, in life and in
pageants”. I almost fell out of my chair when she said that! Daisey Mae’s
thought process has to be very similar to the rest of her peers that are
participating in these pageants. This warped way of thinking will drastically
change the way they see themselves and can lead to major problems.
I feel that the message from parents and
adults is that to be valued kids need to satisfy a standard that cannot be sustained.
Inability to be perfect or close to it lowers self-esteem, which makes it
more imperative to “win” on and of the pageant stage. So it makes you
wonder why doesn’t anyone see that many things in the media, like these shows
on TLC, Toddlers in Tiaras, are contributing factors to the harmful effects of
beauty pageants. When theres low self-esteem, some people tend to go the
extreme to want to fix it, because they feel they have to conform to the
standards the world projects into their minds. Eating disorders can be another
harmful effect due to exposure to media of beauty pageants. According to the
National Institute of Mental Health, “Certain psychological factors
predispose people to developing eating disorders. Most people with eating
disorders suffer from low self-esteem, feelings of helplessness, and intense
dissatisfaction with the way they look. Adolescent and young women account for
90 percent of cases of eating disorders.”
A lot of the routines of
these girls are highly sexualized and ultra-inappropriate for their age. Their
midriff is showing, the skirts are way too short, and their gyrating dance
moves just send it over the top on the inappropriate scale. Even if they are
just “performing” they are still absorbing the feeling of “acting” older than
they are. This tells them that they are more of an adult rather than a
child. To elaborate, when I see actors on stage, they practice for months to
“become their characters”. I tend to think that when this happens they may take
on some qualities or characteristics of that persona. So, the sexualization of
theses little girls can be another factor in harming their later lives. When
they see programs on TV like Toddlers in Tiaras and the little girls getting
all that attention these previous arguments are the effects. “A report of the
American Psychological Association (APA) released found evidence that the
display of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising,
merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development.” Childhood is complicated
enough, so simplicity and challenges that young people can handle are better
than holding them to age inappropriate adult standards.
A study conducted by researchers at Rutgers
University from 2002, found that “only 23% of pageant winners had a
"normal" body mass index (BMI), 26% were so thin they met the World
Health Organization's criteria for being undernourished and two would have been
classified by the American Psychiatric Association as anorexic.” That number is
upsetting to hear. Endless issues come with the social problem of beauty
pageants.
So with the issue stated, what can change to stop the harm that is
coming along with exposure and participation in beauty pageants? There are
options to change the outcome of these contests. One step, Parents should be
educated on what they teach their children and what society values in their
children. Campaigns can be started to educate parents, children and pageant members about those things that society values such as
inward self-esteem, self-worth, and healthy living. There’s a lot of issues in
out social society today. All of which can be solved but it ultimately has to
start with the home environment. Although many who are involved in the pageant
world don’t see that they are causing a nationwide problem, they are. The fact
that they don’t see it must mean that they are caught in a vicious cycle that
started with the homes they grew up in. The term “pageant mom” is thrown around
a lot. It seems like those moms are living vicariously through their kids. Lisa J. Rapport, who is a
psychology professor at Wayne State University in Detroit.
She began a study on 74 past young performers on television and in film. She
came to the conclusion and said, “Mothers who served as managers were likely to
have a far less stable and positive relationship with their children than were
mothers who kept business separate.” To mix that aspect into a mother-daughter
relationship will cause unhealthy dynamics. So it all starts with the
parents. Martina Cartwright’s fairly recent article entitled, “What Are We Teaching Our
Girls”, talks about
the things that get embedded into children’s heads about what the work values
in them. Cartwright is a
registered dietitian who has a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science and Biomolecular
Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Adults need to be aware of the potential long-term impact
super-competitive, beauty-driven pursuits can have on a young girl's
psyche. 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.” (Cartwright)
Growing up, what my parents thought of me was very important. Every child wants
to be told that they make their family proud and they are valued. Girls in
pageants need to be told that their outward beauty is valued to a certain
extent but it’s their character and hearts that are truly what makes them
beautiful.
Campaigns that can educate on a smaller scale are a solution too. One
campaign called Pull the Pin, is a organization of women that speak out against
beauty pageants. Catherine
Manning is the Founder and Coordinator of the Pull the Pin campaign. They
are based in Australia and their efforts seem to be making a change and getting
their views out there. Manning and company say that if the pageants are to
continue there needs to be some regulations unless they want to continue to
contribute to the harm that’s being done on the next generation of young girls.
“We’d like to see some sort
of legislation, some sort of age restriction applied to competitions where
physical beauty is judged,” Ms Manning said.“I don’t like the idea of little girls being
pitted against each other in a beauty competition regardless of what they’re
wearing. Even if they’re going to stand together and be judged and rewarded
solely on their appearance, it’s morally wrong.”I agree with Manning on proposing that if
beauty pageants are to continue, something has to change. It cannot only be
based on the outward things. There should also be a age restriction. Age 16, if
any, is when they should be allowed to participate. That was they are old
enough where they can choose to engage if they desire to. Also I think that
they should no longer be names “Beauty Contests”. Another name should be given.
Perhaps, “Talent show”, or something else that doesn’t sound so obvious and
intimidating. I also propose that all shows on television that glorify and
encourage these shows should be removed. All efforts can be made but ultimately, it
needs to start in the way that these little girls are brought up. We can’t stop
parents from putting their children in beauty pageants forever but we can
encourage them not to. Put your kids on a sports team, a dance class, or a
singing club. That way they still experience healthy competition that encourages them to try their best. Parents need to bring their kids up
with the mentality that these pageants are not a qualified judge of your
beauty, character, and soul.
WORKS CITED
1) Published on August 12, 2011
by Martina M.
Cartwright, Ph.D., R.D. in Food For Thought, Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching
Our Girls?, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-are-we-teaching-our-girls
2) Pull the Pin Campaign, http://www.pullthepin.com.au/
3) Beauty Pageants Expose Ugly Truths, Kristina
Ioannou, Seotember 2011
4) American
Psychological Association
5) National Institute
of Mental Health
6) Dear Dominique Ramirez (Former
Miss. San Antonio), Dear Dominique Ramirez (Former Miss. San Antonio Who Was Fired)Published on March 20, 2011 by Susan Albers,
Psy.D. in Comfort
Cravings
