Beauty Pageants

Consider A Reason

Beauty Pageants:

Beauty is a huge problem.

In the year 2027, will our once female adolescent have self-esteem problems and have bulimia problems due to the stress as a young girl in beauty pageants? Will they feel good enough or pretty?

Will they force their children the same way as their parents force them to be in beauty pageants? Our society today has painted a picture of beauty in our female adolescents minds, and the picture is not too pretty. Big hair, sparkly dresses with skin showing, layers of makeup and loads of perfume to impress the audience and their parents."They are implying that the new version of the girl, which looks nothing like a girl but more like a doll or a drag queen is the more appropriate version" (Beauty). Beauty pageants have a negative impact on female adolescents.

The competition is based on appearance instead of talents and skills. The young girls are supposed to dress "sexy" with layers of makeup, sparkly Shirley Temple dresses, spray tans, faux teeth, and elaborate hair styles. For the costume portion of the competition, the girls are profiled as a Julia Roberts prostitute character in Pretty Woman, a showgirl and the infamous Dolly Parton (Beauty). When will our parents of society today learn that the children are hurting from the stress they put on them to grow up. Then, "For example, during the talent portion of competition, girls could sing or tell a joke. Yet, those routines are far likely to win than those that focus on pro-am modeling, a pageant staple that mixes dancing, gymnastics, and modeling." (Beauty). This quote shows how the judges only care how the girls are dressed and dancing or singing like a showgirl or a prostitute. Also, "Teaching little girls to preen and to strut, to look "sexy" for the judges, to emphasise sexualized behaviours is totally inappropriate for children." (Freymark). This quote shows and dances to show that parents/guardians are real reasons that girls have problems.

Other countries are trying to get rid of the image of "beauty" because the impact it has on females. In Argentina, "One Argentine City, citing eating disorders and unattainable ideals of perfection, has decided it has had enough of the country's uncompromising expectations..." (Romero). They are stopping beauty pageants because of the 'expectations' of beauty. Argentina takes beauty pageants off the pedestal because of the eating disorders, they see in their contestants and the nation's unwavering expectations for females beauty were out of control (Romero). Next country that is having trouble with beauty pageants is France. In France last year they outlawed child beauty pageants for under 16 and pageant organizers will face possible jail time and fines (Freymark). Also, "Argentina's obsession with certain standards of female beauty has contributed to some of the world's highest rates of eating disorders among women" (Romero).

Sexual predators, child abuse, and murder are three of the many reasons that beauty pageants are heading downhill. First, "...Fox News Network showed photos and videotapes of JonBenet competing in beauty pageants. Here she was dancing, singing, smiling, flirting. Shirley Temple redux. But where Shirley at least was pertinent, to be a girl, JonBenet was made up, coiffed and dressed to look far older than her age, which was six at the time" (Reed). Not only she was flirting at six with the audience and dancing to impress them she was acting as if she was an adult. The danger from sexual predators are only part of the problem. Defenders of child beauty pageants say that it shows how to express self-confidence and poise. But, many studies show that for every child who may derive some benefit from the competition, hundreds of girls suffer from low self-esteem and anorexia or bulimia (Reed). Then, "Due to the ever-increasing proliferation of cable TV and the internet, child abuse is even bigger problem today that it was then it was almost a decade ago, JonBenet was found murdered in the basement of her home in Colorado Springs" (Reed).

Many people disagree with the banning of beauty pageants for female adolescents and adult females. These girls deserve to spend their money and feel like they're beautiful. They deserve to have choices in their decisions about their life and their body appearance (Lingbo). The reason is because "Parents dressing four-year-olds girls in adult-style clothes and makeup with big hair and tanning spray are plotting a barbie kind of future for their girls" (Freymark). While others argue that beauty pageants teach young females manners, posture, and life lessons (Lingbo). This really doesn't have an effect on young girls because many can learn manners, posture, and life lessons from their parents and grandparents.

In conclusion, beauty pageants have a negative impact because "Children need to learn to play and be a kid and not fast to be an adult at 6 or 4 years old" (Wiehe). Meaning that children need to have a life outside with friends and going to the movies or playing with dolls. Being forced to have low self-esteem, being a doll instead of playing with one, the only friends these little girls have is makeup and perfume bottles. Is this what parents and pageant organizers want for these children? Help these young females and please think of them as yourself.

Work Cited

"Beauty Pageants sends damaging messages to young girls, Research finds." State News Service 25 Sept. 2014: Biography in Context. N.D.

Freymark, Susanna."Let the girls shine rather that Preen." Daily Telegraph (Surry Hills) 24 Jul. 2014:

SIRS Issues Researcher. N.D.

Li, Lingbo. "Beauty Pageants make women feel beautiful." Beauty Pageants 2014: Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. N.D.

Reed, Billy. "Child Beauty Pageants should be Eliminated." Beauty Pageants 2010: Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. N.D.

Romero, Simon. "City Council in Argentina takes bea/uty off pedestal." International New York Times

24 Dec. 2014: SIRS Issues Researcher. N.D.

Wiehe, Vernon R. "Beauty Pageants are not appropriate for young children." Beauty Pageants 2014:

Opposing Viewpoints in Context. N.D.