DRAFT 1 Proposal and Ethical Argument

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