Children Beauty Pageants Exploit Essay Example
Maria Cisneros Cisneros 1
Professor Oudonesom
English 1301/TT/9:30-11
April 19, 2013
Beauty Pageants Ruin Childhood! Think back to your childhood, what was most important to you? A toy? A Barbie doll? Your bike? Nowadays many girls hardly ever have time to play or even take a nap, because they are too focused on their pageant life and fixing their appearance to perfection. Beauty pageants first began in the 1960′s, and the purpose was to use them as marketing tools and raise money for business. Now, pageants seem to serve as tools for exploiting young girls. The question is, are beauty contests needed for a child’s progression and growth, or do they get in the way of a healthy childhood? My answer is no; beauty pageants are not needed and should be banned. Little girls should not be exposed to a life in which they are expected to dress, act, and look like Barbie dolls. They grow up thinking that appearance is the only important thing in life and the parents are to blame. Despite the fact that beauty pageants harm their self-esteem, health, education, and also sexualizes the children. There has to be a stop to this! Parents seem to be okay with exploiting these little girls. The fingers are pointed to the parents because every kid lives up to their parent’s expectations; they don’t know any better than to do what mom or dad says to do. My concern is that parents should know their child’s limitations and not press them beyond that because later on that messes with their self-esteem. The author Billy Reed says, “Some parents are so warped, so starved for attention or some kind of self-validation, that they will shamelessly exploit their children’s physical beauty without regard of possible consequences”(Reed Prg 2). Children need space and should be allowed to be free of frustration, panic, and nervousness. Forcing them to do
Professor Oudonesom
English 1301/TT/9:30-11
April 19, 2013
Beauty Pageants Ruin Childhood! Think back to your childhood, what was most important to you? A toy? A Barbie doll? Your bike? Nowadays many girls hardly ever have time to play or even take a nap, because they are too focused on their pageant life and fixing their appearance to perfection. Beauty pageants first began in the 1960′s, and the purpose was to use them as marketing tools and raise money for business. Now, pageants seem to serve as tools for exploiting young girls. The question is, are beauty contests needed for a child’s progression and growth, or do they get in the way of a healthy childhood? My answer is no; beauty pageants are not needed and should be banned. Little girls should not be exposed to a life in which they are expected to dress, act, and look like Barbie dolls. They grow up thinking that appearance is the only important thing in life and the parents are to blame. Despite the fact that beauty pageants harm their self-esteem, health, education, and also sexualizes the children. There has to be a stop to this! Parents seem to be okay with exploiting these little girls. The fingers are pointed to the parents because every kid lives up to their parent’s expectations; they don’t know any better than to do what mom or dad says to do. My concern is that parents should know their child’s limitations and not press them beyond that because later on that messes with their self-esteem. The author Billy Reed says, “Some parents are so warped, so starved for attention or some kind of self-validation, that they will shamelessly exploit their children’s physical beauty without regard of possible consequences”(Reed Prg 2). Children need space and should be allowed to be free of frustration, panic, and nervousness. Forcing them to do