Beauty Pageants Research Paper

The Ugly Truth of Underage Beauty Pageants

From a very young age, girls dream of being treated like a princess. The idea and the fascination of dressing up and finding our prince charming is implemented into us at a very young age through movies such as The Princess and the Frog and Beauty and the Beast. Although the influence goes away and typically a child does not have any problems associated with it, children beauty pageants have turned the issue completely on its head. What started as a tourist attraction in the 1960 's has led to questioning the ethics of some parents. Shows such as Toddlers and Tiaras illustrate the day to day life of child beauty pageant stars and what they go through. Throughout the show it is seen how beauty pageants

According to Christine Tamer, author of Toddlers, Tiaras, and Pedophilia? The Borderline Child Pornography Embraced by the American Public,

“Several child therapists believe that beauty pageants are harmful to child development and make children especially prone to psychological disorders.^" William Pinsof, a clinical psychologist and president of the Family Institute at Northwestern University, warns that transforming a child into "a little Barbie doll . . . can unleash a whole complex of destructive self-experiences that can lead to eating disorders and all kinds of body distortions in terms of body

The New York Times’ Frank Rich once commented, “pageantry isn’t a subculture—it’s our culture . . . but as long as we call it a subculture, it can remain a problem for somebody else”. The main issue is that underage beauty pageantry can have a negative impact in a child 's life. Although the life of a child beauty pageant star may seem all glitz and glamour, these actions could possibly endanger the child. The Children’s Bureau has defined child abuse as two ways “any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation” and “an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm”. Previous studies show the psychological issues children develop who were in beauty pageants. Throughout the show of Toddlers and Tiaras, the viewer can see the "bratty" behavior the children have during the competition. Previous cases show children being endangered by the mere action of partaking in underage beauty pageants. A prime example is the sexual offender who tried to go to an underage beauty pageant to take photographs of the pageant stars, luckily, he was apprehended by police. However, child pageantry stars could now be seen throughout the globe through television and the internet. Pedophiles now have easy access to watch and stalk the stars. Allowing behaviors, such of the exploitation of children, can also have an impact worldwide. It was reported in 1994 that