Child Beauty Pageants
Throughout history, the media has supplied a standard for beauty that most people feel pressured into following. Today there are a litany of sources that project this expectation onto our society, such as child beauty pageants. Martina M. Cartwright states within her article entitled Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls? “Many experts agree that participation in activities that focus on physical appearance at an early age can influence teen and/or adult self-esteem, body image, and self-worth.” Pushing this standard onto children at such a young age can greatly affect the likelihood of developing depression and low self esteem, especially if they are raised in that environment.
Beauty pageants were first developed in the 1800s by an entrepreneur named Phineas Taylor Barnum. The first official pageant was staged in 1854, however, after a protest broke out it was shut down. In the 1880s a more modern presentation of a beauty pageant awarded the first title of “Beauty Queen” to an eighteen year old Creole woman. Since then, beauty pageants have grown immensely popular. The first beauty pageant had a little over twenty contestants, whereas today “about 5,000 beauty pageants are held every year and 250,000 child contestants are participating” (Occupy Theory Child Beauty Pageant Statistics). As the pageants became more popular, they also became more complex with the multiple performance categories and required supplies. Child beauty pageants include children anywhere from the ages of two to eighteen, where they perform in categories including evening wear, casual wear, talent, sportswear, etc. If the contestant or their parents are determined to win, they will go to extra measures in order to prepare, often by hiring a pageant coach “in 100,000 beauty pageants held in the U.S each year, about 72% hire pageant coaches” (Occupy Theory Child Beauty Pageant Statistics). Preparing for one of these pageants can be extremely time consuming and costly due to the plethora of entrance fees, glamorous outfits, makeup and hair products, and coaches. Ultimately, the stakes and standards for beauty pageants have largely increased since the 1800s.
Since beauty pageants have become a “dominant part of our culture” (Occupy Theory Child Beauty Pageant Statistics) they play a key role in our society’s expectations of beauty. When the pageants became more common, many people began to glorify and idolize them. For instance, the reality show “Toddlers and Tiaras” exposes the rehearsal and performance process of child beauty pageants while focusing on a select number of families per episode. Despite the sometimes harsh treatment towards the children and materialistic views, people still continued to watch it, making it into a large source of entertainment. Our society holds these pageants at such a high standard and glorifies these title-winners so often that they end up being applauded for the wrong reasons. Although there are sections of these pageants where the contestants get to talk about their views on important topics, the materialistic side tends to outweigh that aspect. The materialistic side is what gets projected through the media, which creates this facade that the only way to be a good contender in a pageant is if you have all of these possessions and fit their guidelines of “beauty”.
The children that are entered in these competitions run the risk of developing depression, low self esteem, and other insecurities due to their exposure to being over sexualized at such a young age, “A recent reality dance program showed 9 year olds prancing around in revealing two-piece costumes complemented by thigh high stockings, spackled make up and teased hair” (Cartwright Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?). Child beauty pageants are the primary source of the sexualization of young kids with the provocative clothing most of them wear, and the overuse of makeup. The television show “Toddlers and Tiaras” illustrates this sexualization, “In this week’s episode, 6-year-old beauty pageant star, Eden Wood, can be seen on stage gyrating her pelvis like a professional stripper during the “talent” portion of the pageant” (Perry Sexualization of Young Children Linked to Eating Disorder Development). This sexualization provides a pressure for these children to have the perfect look, which often leads to the desire for the “perfect” body in order to wear and fit into the best pageant clothing.
Colleen Perry states within her article entitled Sexualization of Young Children Linked to Eating Disorder Development “Eating disorders are now presenting in children as young as 6 years old, with dieting becoming more common among those under the age of 10”. The high standard that these girls are held to in order to win teaches them that the only way to be the best at something is to portray the “perfect” woman, which is simply unrealistic no matter who you are. Physicality is the one thing that these children can shape however they please, regardless of social class, and if they don’t have the money to purchase fancy dresses and beauty products they can resort to dieting and working out to achieve the ideal body type. There is nothing wrong with being heathy and working out/dieting, however, developing that habit at a young age could turn out to be unhealthy, “Results from a recent survey suggests that children rank body image among the highest of their concerns, above both self-confidence and social life” (Perry Sexualization of Young Children Linked to Eating Disorder Development), with the possible development of eating disorders.
Although not all pageant children develop eating disorders, at least “6% of beauty pageant participants have suffered from depression” (Occupy Theory Child Beauty Pageant Statistics). It’s not healthy for these young girls to grow up in an environment where a certain type of body image is rewarded. This indirectly teaches young girls that their physical appearance is more important than their opinions or intelligence. The devoted pageant mothers often play a significant role in the emphasis of physical beauty as well. They typically initiate the beauty procedures enacted onto their children, such as spray tans, fake teeth, false eyelashes, etc. If the standards of the pageant weren’t bad enough, these kids also have pressure from their own parents to fulfill this beauty standard. Living one’s entire life feeling compelled to be “pretty” can significantly impact their self esteem and confidence. Colleen Perry illustrates, “Recent research also suggests that nearly 50 percent of females between ages 11 and 16 would consider cosmetic surgery to improve their appearance” proving that these expectations can cause girls to doubt themselves and be unsatisfied with who they are. The way they are gradually conditioned to behave in these contests could possibly lead them to become troubles adults. When these children grow accustomed to situations where “Tears, tantrums, and fits frequently ensue with some adults mocking children crying” (Cartwright Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?), it can lead them to believe the only way to make them proud and receive love is to be perfect at everything. Growing up with that weight on their shoulders can initiate them to place that same pressure on their own children. They are likely to either develop challenging personality traits such as self-centeredness or face issues like depression.
On the other hand, some child contestants genuinely enjoy their pageant days and grow up to be pageant moms or continue to compete. Laura Goode’s article, I Was a Child Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back, expresses, “I am to report that my pageant experience was generally positive. (Of course, this may be informed by the fact that I placed)”. Her article, as the title states, includes brief descriptions of six women’s experiences with pageants and where/what they are doing now. One of the women, Robbie Meshell, has a competed in a plethora of pageants and claims, “I love it. I love everything about pageantry” (Goode I Was a Child Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back). She explains how she participated in most of her pageants with the guidance and support of her mother, “After my mother committed suicide, I was very antisocial. Getting into the pageant world brought me out of that shell” (Goode I Was a Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back). In Meshell’s case, participating in pageants greatly improved her emotional and mental state by helping her out of the dark place she was in after her mother’s death. Beauty pageants were a place where she was able to share her story and raise awareness for suicide, a place where she could express her feelings and grow to be at peace with her hardships.
Three of the other women go on to explain their positive pageant past in which two of them are now pageant moms. However, the remaining two women have a more negative outlook. Marly Ramstad states that she found her pageant days fun at the time, but admits that, “Looking back, doing the pageant was a self-esteem thing — I wanted so badly to be pretty and perfect that if I won, then that would confirm my perfect figure, perfect weight” (Goode I Was a Child Pageant Star: Six Women Look Back). Despite her fascination with the pageant world she realizes that the environment is toxic to how women view themselves. Heidi Gerkin shares, “I’m extremely critical of myself, probably more so than the average person is. I have really high, sometimes unrealistic expectations, and I think a lot of that comes from pageants” (Goode I Was a Child Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back) and reflects on other young contestants who would make fun of her. Despite her success within the pageant community, she still experienced situations that would haunt her decisions and view of herself. Regardless if one wins or loses, these contests continue to expose young girls to criticisms that may alter their confidence forever.
Child beauty pageants don’t only affect young women, they can also affect young men. Although pageants that judge only women are increasingly difficult, Jen Simon illuminates the opposing side. Her article, I Entered My Son In A Beauty Pageant, Turns Out They’re Just As Bad For Boys As They Are For Girls states, “Girls pay an exorbitant amount of money just to be over sexualized, objectified, and judged. And boys? They win just by showing up.” Even though both pageants deal with the same concept, the women are held to a higher standard and criticized more harshly than the men. In fact, Simon’s son was the only male entered in the entire competition, which is why he easily won the crowned title, “He won every category I entered him in, regardless of his looks, personality, or actions. He literally won just for showing up” (Simon I Entered My Son In A Beauty Pageant, Turns Out They’re Just As Bad For Boys As They Are For Girls). There are little to no child pageant statistics available for males, therefore it projects this idea that beauty standards can be overlooked by men and are solely intended for women. Overall, it suggests that women are the only ones who should be explicitly judged and criticized for their beauty, or lack there of.
Ultimately, every child’s experience and upbringing in the beauty pageant world varies, but the majority of these events can lead to young girls becoming more insecure, depressed, and self conscious than the average person. Women should be encouraged to embrace who they are, be confident, and not let strangers define their self worth.
Works Cited
Cartwright, Martina M. “Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?” Psychology Today. N.p., 12 Aug. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Perry, Colleen. “Sexualization of Young Children Linked to Eating Disorder Development.” The Huffington Post. N.p., 2 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Occupy Theory. “Child Beauty Pageant Statistics.” OccupyTheory. N.p., 08 May 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Goode, Laura. “I Was a Child Pageant Star: Six Adult Women Look Back.” The Cut. N.p., 14 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.
Simon Jen Simon. ”I Entered My Son In A Beauty Pageant. Turns Out They’re Just As Bad For Boys As They Are For Girls.” Ravishly. N.p., 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Dec. 2016.