are beauty pageants exploitive

Are Beauty Pageants exploitive?
Recently beauty pageants have been increasing in popularity on television and other social medias. Many may argue that they are exploitive and they are simply useless shows that objectify both women and young girls. They are not realistic and they do not have any benefits for the young participants that start them at a young age. Many say that shows such as "Toddlers and Tiaras" do nothing but prove how spoiled many of these children that participate in pageants, get after a few years of exposure. It is even said that they're an unhealthy method of competition as they only teach the contestants that beauty is what is most important, and if you are not first place worthy you may not participate. And lastly there has been much speculation on the amount of makeup and wardrobe exposure that is needed for these competitions is unnecessary. Although one may argue that pageants do in fact teach children healthy competition with the benefits of learning how to be more self-confident. It is also a fun recreational activity as it can be seen as a larger scale game of dress-up. The television show "Toddlers a d Tiaras" follows the story of young beauty pageant contestants on their way to competition. It shows their preparation process as well as the final pageant results. Although the children on the show seem more spoiled than gracious, there have been many examples of children who show great confidence on stage and a good aptitude for learning new things which may come to aid them in school work later on. Also the parents on the show are simply displaying their love for their children as they only wish to give them opportunities that where never there for them at that age. Some parents may go a little above and beyond for their children getting unnecessary things such as their own little motor car, but they are only trying to do what they think I best for them as they want to show how much they support and love them. As well many of the parents save the prize money for a good education later on to help get their child the best opportunities for a career in any field they wish to study in.
Competition is a good way to teach life lessons to children as they must be ready to appreciate both the wins and losses that may arise later on in life. What many people think of beauty pageants is that they are simply beauty contests that teach young girls that the prettiest face always wins. Today many pageants have changed and they simply look for the personality in the contestant in order to be in the running for a first place prize. This allows the contestants to exercise their wit and confidence non stage as well as their social skills which are beneficial for job opportunities in the future. Without the ease of being in front of a crowd comfortably a child may never learn how to be social with others and succeed in building a good self-confidence. What beauty pageants do is give a stepping stone for those who have trouble introducing themselves to others. In a beauty patent the contestants have a prize to look forward to if they are able to achieve an ease of self in front of the judges, this further promotes them to try hard and impress as best as they are able to.
A large topic of debate in the pageant industry is the amount of makeup that the young girls are subjected to, especially those in the younger categories. Some have seen clips of young girls in outfits that far outweigh they age limit as they appear to be much too revealing of too mature. What one must keep in mind is that the child who is performing sees what they are wearing simply as a costume. For the younger contestants it is as if they are playing dress up on a larger scale. The mothers of these contestants will never make their children appear in public in some of these costumes as that would not be acceptable for everyday wear. They simply want their child to have fun and enjoy the many outfits that they can try on from time to time. As for the makeup, these young girls can be better off exposed to it now in order to prevent them from discovering it on their own and never learn about the use of it in moderation. Since they have to wear makeup often for their competitions, they might just get tired of it later and it can easily lose its appeal to them as they have already developed a safer exposure to it at a younger age rather than in their teenager years.
In conclusion though many can speculate on the exploitation that beauty pageants hold on women and young girls they cannot forget how benefiting they can be as well. Without any healthy competition in a child's life they may never get the confidence they may need when they are older. Also many parents simply want to give their child all that they can in order to be ready for the future ahead of them, this may seem as spoiling them too much but some parents may understand what it feels like to not be able to have as many opportunities for a brighter future and so with beauty pageants they feel they can provide one. Lastly children don't pay attention to what they wear for pageants they simply enjoy dressing up in different clothing and getting out of their normal style, so the use of costumes may not be as harmful as others may think. And so it is with highlighting these key points that one may prove how Beauty Pageants are simply beneficial and not exploitive.