Abolishing child beauty contests

Abolishing Child Beauty Contests
Beauty has always been an object of desirability and admiration in humans. Women, especially, have always been prone towards self beautifying endeavors. Very often, and not surprisingly so, women are highly allured by items, accessories and ornaments that can enhance their aesthetic appeal The desire to not only look good but also better than others is present in most women, however the degree in each may vary. This basic human instinct is at the heart of most beauty contests. A beauty contest is a competition which uses the physical beauty of the participants as the major criteria to determine a winner although other criterias such as intellect and talent may also play a role. A typical beauty contest will have contestants above the age of eighteen competing against each other in an effort to impress the judges and finally win the award. Beauty pageants became a part of the American society in the 1920's. However, the roots of modern beauty pageants can be found in Greek mythology.
“The judgment of Paris was a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympos : Aphrodite, Hera and Athena, for the prize of a golden apple addressed to ‘the fairest’. The story begins at the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis to which all of the gods were invited, all except Eris, the goddess of discord. When she appeared at the festivities, she was turned away, and in her anger cast a golden apple amongst the assembled goddesses addressed "To the Fairest." Three goddesses laid claim to the apple, Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to mediate. He commanded Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide the issue. The three goddesses appearing before the shepherd prince, each offering him gifts for favor. He chose Aphrodite, swayed by her promise to bestow upon him Helen, the most beautiful woman, for wife. The subsequent abduction of Helene led directly to the Trojan War and the fall of the city” (THEOI Greek Mythology).

The entire tale of the Judgment of Paris depicts what would probably have been the earliest beauty contest in history, and that too a peculiar one in the sense that Paris was left to pick the ‘fairest’ “out of three beautiful female nudes”( Van Windekens, in Glotta )

Today, Beauty contests are a flourishing million dollar industry. However, they have largely been targeted for instilling materialistic and hedonistic values in the participants as well as the society in general by elevating physical beauty to a high stature as a key factor in attaining worldly success. Although the nature of beauty contests has generated considerable amount of controversy, their effects have nonetheless been confined to mature individuals who may still be able to cope with the success, distress and negative repercussions of these pageants. The major problem initiates where such beauty contests are simulated onto children as child beauty contests”. According to Kareen Nussbaum, “Child beauty pageants began in the 1960's. Child beauty pageants consist of modeling sportswear, evening attire, dance and talent.”The contestants range from 3 to 18 years of age. According to abc news.”Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual children's competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace”.
There is ample evidence to suggest that such child beauty contests encompass elements that conflict with the inherent norms, characteristics and innocence of childhood. Although many people believe that child beauty contests should be encouraged because they develop confidence and social skills in the contestants, however they should be banned because they lead to early sexualization of children, create narcissm, nurture materialistic desires, lead to a loss of childhood and expose children to both physical and psychological problems.

The first and foremost, problem with child beauty contests is that they lead to early sexualization of children. Sexualization in this context refers to the process through which the beliefs and perceptions of these participants may be altered in such a way that they may begin prospecting different ways to make themselves sexually attractive at such a young age. Due to this, “The French Senate voted Sep 18th 2013 to ban beauty pageants for children under 16 and to impose up to two years in prison and steep fines of up to $30,000 euros for adults who try to enter children into illegal pageants or run illegal/underground pageants themselves”.(Huff Post Parents)

“The recent issue of French Vogue has sparked outrage for its photos of a ten-year old model lying in a sea animal print wearing a chest revealing gold dress, stilettos and heavy makeup. Cries of "how young is too young" to model, be "sexy" etc”(psychology today)

According to the American Psychological Association, a child exposed to sexualization might feel "a person's value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior, to the exclusion of other characteristics,"
Also,” While the nature of child pageants is not inherently sexual, certain types of pageants create an atmosphere in which wearing heavy makeup to emphasize full lips, long eyelashes, and flushed cheeks, high heels to emulate adult women, provocative dance steps, flirtatious poses or facial expressions, and revealing evening gowns is not only preferred but expected if a child is to take home the ultimate prize”.( American Psychological Association,2011). All the makeup, hairdos and accessories ultimately have an overriding purpose, one that is also voiced either implicitly or explicitly; to look attractive. Beauty therefore, is often linked to one’s ability to seduce or attract the opposite gender. It is highly insecure for children to be introduced to such ideas at a tender age. Syd Brown, a child and adolescent psychologist practicing in Maryland told ABC News,"When you have them looking older, for a lot of people that means looking sexier. I don't think it's a great idea for girls at that age to be focused so much on their sexuality," (abc News)

Furthermore, child beauty contests also lead to the development of vanity and narcissm in children. According to experts, children who take part in these contests begin to equate their esteem and self importance to their physical beauty. They may start to believe that beauty is only the outer and focus less on improving their inner personality and character. What Syd Brown, a child and adolescent psychologist had to say about this was, "What they are learning basically is that they have one characteristic which is of total primary importance, and that is their body and their attractiveness.”
“Adults can understand the difference between what happens onstage and what happens offstage. However, little kids may interpret it as meaning that beauty is the only thing that matters. A girl named Daisey Mae was on Toddlers and Tiaras. She was 8 years old and she said “Facial beauty is the most important thing in life.”(Broadway Glitter)
To feel that winning the beauty contest is the sole determination of beauty and self worth is not uncommon in these young contestants. This thought may lead to grave consequences in the event that a child does win or even if she doesn’t. The winner may acquire a superiority complex and look down upon “less good looking” children. They may start to judge others and form relationships solely based on physical beauty. This is further emphasized by an extract from abc news,” Another concern is that the contests may breed narcissism. While a certain degree of self-love and value is critical for children, Brown feels that pageants tip the scale of what is healthy and natural child development. He is concerned that children will put too much emphasis on physical attractiveness as they form relationships with others.”(abc news)

Another reason why child beauty contests are criticized is because they tend to instill materialistic desires in young children. The nature of beauty contests is such that children learn to indulge in wearing cosmetics, heavy jewelry, attending evening parties and also earning money as a result. This instills materialistic values in them since the child is at a very impressionable age and usually anything learnt at this stage becomes permanently impressed.
“Winning awards based on beauty could also cause a child to develop a warped view of her status in the world. Parents and the media contribute to the ideal of beauty being a way to receive the things a person wants in life: money, partner, career, education. In essence, winning a beauty contest puts a person on a higher pedestal than others”.(simon Fuller)
According to Veethi Talang, “Highly influenced by what they see when they notice their favorite stars performing on television, they try to imitate their habits, stunts, brands, and workout techniques. They demand their parents to get a makeover, and spend recklessly on the very health drinks, cosmetics, and technology that they see their idols using, little knowing that they could affect their delicate skin, health, and gentle minds” This sheds light on how these contestants also aim to emulate contemporary pop stars and in that pursuit they acquire things, as well as habits, which only further increases their sense of materialism.

Moreover, participating in child beauty pageants can lead to a loss of their childhood in the children negatively influencing their innocence and simplicity. The first factor to be considered is the loss that the child faces during the period that the contest stretches over. It is not surprising that most of these young contestants are completely disengaged from either studying at school or taking part in activities such as reading or playing a sport. This may be either a result of a lack of time to participate in other affairs or simply a dearth of interest. Either ways, this can prove to be detrimental to a healthy mental and physical growth of the child.
The second factor to be reviewed is the permanent loss of childhood that remains, even after the contest has long ended.” Beauty pageants are often attended because the child has an interest in them, but sometimes, especially with younger girls, the enthusiasm for the competition begins to lie more with the parents than the entrant herself. Some girls lose their passion for the pageants and want out but are pressured to continue by their parents, who become overbearing in their desire for their daughter to succeed. Such pressure can antagonize relationships between parents and their daughters”. (Simon Fuller). Such pressure can be devastating to young children specially because their tender and naïve mind is not ready to handle suh a pressure. The constrained relationship between the parents and the child proves to be afurther cause of distress for the child.
The changing nature of beauty pageants has also contributed to an increase in its adversities on children. According to abc news, “Pageants have changed over the years, with children going further and further to look more attractive, one veteran organizer said. ‘Competitions 25 years ago really only required a party dress and a satin hair bow’, says Eleanor Vonduyke, a former Denver-based pageant director who was in the business for 20 years. But these days, it is not unusual to see children with highlighted or bleached hair. Some young contestants wear false eyelashes or flippers, which are false teeth used to cap missing front teeth.Vonduyke, who directed pageants in which JonBenét Ramsey competed, left the industry after the 6-year-old Colorado girl was found murdered. The investigation cast a dark shadow on the contests, she said, as images of JonBenét competing in pageants were shown repeatedly in media reports on the ongoing investigation. Vonduyke is currently working on a book about the industry.” The murder of the 6 year old raised hues and cries about the pageant world being an un safe place for children. This further reinstated an instance of how childhood, rather life itself was lost.
The nature of the activities that are performed on some of the child beauty pageants are also highly inappropriate for children and lead to them growing up a bit too early. “The TLC’s hit television series, Toddlers and Tiaras, a child beauty contest, has sparked heavy controversy in the last few years, due to actions including allowing a child to smoke a fake cigarette during the talent portion of the competition, forcing a child to wear fake breasts, a parent who allowed her child to dress like a prostitute in the outfit of choice category,] feeding a child pageant crack; a mixture of sugar and high calorie sweeteners to provide the necessary energy needed to perform well on the runway, and waxing/threading a child’s facial and body hair to give them a glowing appearance on stage.”(ny daily news). Needless to say all these acts are highly degrading and detrimental to the notion of childhood. It more or less leads to the termination of childhood turning the children into no less than mini adults.

In addition, research has also proven that these beauty pageants incur a number of psychological harms on children. The main concern among others has been that of the development of serious eating disorders such as anorexia. There is often immense pressure on participants to conform to society’s created standards for measuring beauty. Amongst other standards is the notion of achieving unrealistically thin and toned bodies. Children idealize them immensely and in an effort to mimic, often make themselves highly susceptible to these eating disorders.
According to Jasmine Reese an ehow contributor, “Children might also begin to suffer from stress and eating disorders related to maintaining beauty. Disorders like anorexia, bulimia and obsessive compulsive disorder are common among children and teens. The sexualization, status and stress could cause serious depression and immobility in more susceptible teens.”
A research conducted in this regard is also an eye opener.” In a study published in 2005, eleven women who had competed in beauty pageants as children were compared to a control group of eleven women who had not competed. They were compared in different areas, such as BMI, age and overall body satisfaction. In general, this limited study found that those who competed in beauty pageants as children were more dissatisfied with their bodies, and had greater impulse dysregulation and trust issues than those who did not participate, but showed no significant differences in measures of bulimia, body perception, depression, or self-esteem.”(Eating disorders,13)
Another psychological issue that some of these participants face is known as the “princess syndrome” (psychology today). According to Cartwright, Author in psychology today,” For the girls who do develop image obsessions, it appears that the hypercritical environment of their youth produces a drive towards the unattainable goal of physical perfection. The Princess Syndrome as I like to call it is a fairy tale. Unrealistic expectations to be thin, physically beautiful, and perfect are at the heart of some disordered eating behaviors and body dissatisfaction.” A grave consequence of this has been that,” Over the past 10 years, there has been a 270% increase in the number of girls being hospitalized for eating disorders. Some of these girls are as young as 7 years old. Many of the girls with eating disorders have them because of body image.”(Broadway Glitter)

However, there have been a few arguments in support of child beauty pageants as well.

The major argument proposed in favor of child beauty pageants is that they lead to confidence building in young participants, a trait which is valuable, even in later life. Contestants in Beauty pageants are presented with an environment in which social interaction, competitive linguistic skills and exhibition of talent and performance is key. Thus participants are exposed to an environment in which they not only have to interact with strangers but also have to be recorded in their speech and performance. This is sufficient incentive for them to boost their confidence. This in turn help fosters their young personalities into booming confident individuals.

Another argument proposed by individuals is that beauty pageants help develop the social and interactive skills of participants. Beauty pageants provide a once in a lifetime chance for children to meet a range of different people from varying regional, economic and social backgrounds. It is a platform through which they can make new friends and learn more about other cultures and people. The experience that they gain out of this interaction is a lifelong asset for them.
In addition, it is also proposed that the environment of” healthy” competition that these pageants foster is beneficial for the growing child.” A common reason why people take part in team sports, chess games and other kinds of contests is that any sort of competition is fun. It galvanizes people to work hard, to establish goals and to enjoy themselves at the same time. Competition also teaches younger people lessons, such as the importance of good sportsmanship.”(Simon Fuller)
Although such arguments do have a certain degree of validity to them, it is also true that the children benefitting from all these benefits are much fewer than children who are suffering from all the adversities of participating in child beauty contests.
Conclusively, childhood is a precious asset for any individual. The principles of childhood demand simplicity and innocence to be preserved in order to allow a child to live his childhood to the fullest. Through the course of this essay, it has already been explained how child beauty pageants reject these principles of childhood and instead sought to make these children no less clone version of adult models. Thus it is establishes that child beauty contests should be banned because they do more harm than good.

Work Cited page:

1-The Disadvantages of Children's Pageants, Jasmine Reese, eHow Contributor http://www.ehow.com/info_10020514_disadvantages-childrens-pageants.html 2- Simon Fuller, eHow Contributor http://www.ehow.com/info_10058227_advantages-disadvantages-beauty-pageants.html 3- Veethi Talang, June 2011, http://www.buzzle.com/articles/are-beauty-contests-harmful-to-young-children.html

4- Child Beauty Pageants”, By Broadway Glitter, http://www.teenink.com/opinion/pop_culture_trends/article/534594/Child-Beauty-Pageants/

5- Martina M. Cartwright , http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-are-we-teaching-our-girls

6- Deborah Cruz, Huff Post parents, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-cruz/the-french-government-ban_b_3958301.html

7- Abc news, http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=126315&page=1#.UOFDVG_Aero
8- "Sexualization of Girls". American Psychological Association. Retrieved 11 July 2012.