I was flipping through the channels the other day while watching t.v. and I saw a clip of a show that has aired on VH1 not too long ago and it reminded me of how annoyed I was when I first saw the show.
It's all about beauty pageants for young girls which I think is a horrible idea. These girls aren't even teens yet and they wear an insane amount of make up, they spray tan, use fake teeth, extensions and fake eyelashes. What is this doing for their self confidence and self acceptance...? During these pageants, the little girls end up looking show much older than they really are and their natural beauty is completely lost. Not only is the amount of make up and issue with me, the fact that they have a swim suit round is ridiculous I think. There is no way that when I have a 6 year old daughter she will be prancing around on stage in a tiny bikini and how any mother is ok with their daughter doing that is crazy to me.
These pageants cost thousands of dollars. The fake teeth alone, which they call "flippers", cost $250. One of the disapproving fathers said one dress can cost up to $2,000...I didn't even spend that much on my senior prom with all costs combined...! In addition to the cost of dresses, make up, teeth, bathing suits, extensions and spray tan there is also the cost of traveling, hotels and food. How about using all that money for something important like your child's future education...instead of spending it on the pageants try putting it in a savings account for future high school or college expenses.
One of the mother's teaches her daughter to "flirt with your eyes" to get the crown. No 6 year old should have flirting on her mind for anything...! That is just setting her up for failure in the future when it comes to other things. Teachings girls to use their beauty and sexuality to get what they want is completely wrong. Some of these girls started pageants at as young as 6 months old...! What happened to letting kids be kids...? "Now look baby girl, you got booty,use it" is what the coach tells one of the little girls...which I couldn't really believe when I heard it. A 6 year old's "booty" should not even be an issue or thought on anyone mind especially telling her to use it to get something she wants.
These pageants, in my opinion, do nothing positive for these girls. They condition them to believe that superficiality is normal and acceptable and that their natural beauty isn't good enough. This will lead to confidence problems along with a few other problems in their lives down the road. The pageants focus strictly on beauty which tells the girls that there is nothing else about them that is worth while or important. Yes, they have the "talent" part of the show but even then, they are still wearing the pounds of makeup, fake teeth and so on and the costumes they wear still show a fair amount of skin. The girls are also encouraged to keep a huge smile on their face the whole time during the talent segment or else their bit won't be as good as it could have been.
These mothers are using their daughters like little dolls, dressing them up and presenting them. And I know alot of them are living through their daughters which is kind of unfortunate. I feel like some of the mothers see their daughter winning as really a win for themselves.
These pageants just set the world up for more girls like Paris Hilton focusing nothing on intelligence and all on beauty and sexuality. We don't need any more Paris Hiltons...!
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4 comments:
I love watching these shows about the child beauty pagents just to see how crazy the parents act and its interesting to see how the little girl really feel about the pageants. I was actually going to post about the show because I feel that the mothers are living through their kids. maybe they should be teaching their young girls that their is more to life than dressing up and being judged.
I completely agree with this blog. In a day and age where the standards of beauty are so skewed, little girls should hold onto their youthful, natural beauty as long as possible. In a way it seems as though these mothers are living through their daughters, which is pathetic and detremental to the development of the little girls. The only reason why I could even think to explain the need for these pageants is that they do offer large amounts of scholarship money sometimes, but the amount of money spent of the pageant could go towards that instead.
I agree, when you are a kid this age you need to be a kid and learn how to have fun not by growing up 10x faster with beauty products
I have seen these little pagents on air before and have remmbered how ridiculous they are. The part that gets me the most is that these mothers allow their 5 yr old daughters to look like this. These little girls are going to grow up one day thinking that they always have to dress up and wear makeup.
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