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Psychological effects of child beauty pageants
Psychological effects of child beauty pageants
Harm of beauty pageants
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McGraw-Hill, 1976. “The American Pageant: World history, United States” CTI Reviews. (2017). [online] http://The American Pageant: World history, United States [Accessed 14 Nov. 2017]. Cott, Nancy F. Root of bitterness: documents of the social history of American women.
I. England and the New World A. Unifying the English Nation 1. England experienced religious conflict between Catholics, Protestants, and Anglicans. a. Henry VIII started the Church of England and he and his successors killed hundreds of Catholics.
As Friedan points out, “...industry glorifies the American woman” (Document 2). During this period, women fought an image of the “perfect woman.” One such instance is the rally organized by the New York Radical Women to take place on September 7th, 1968 outside of a Miss America Pageant. (Document 4). The goal of the protest was to put an end to pageants and boycott cosmetic and feminine products.
Such glamour doesn 't come cheap. According to Dorothy Poteat, director of Southern Elite Pageants based in Chapel Hill, N.C., the very low end of the spectrum is between $400 to $500, minimum, per glitz pageant. The midrange is $1,500, but she 's seen parents drop $3,500 or more in preparations for one big day. The reason the price tag can become so heavy is the gear. "With glitz, anything goes," says Poteat. "
A defining moment is the point at which a situation is clearly seen to start to change. There were defining moments in both the stories “Roots” and “I Want to be Miss America.” These defining moments also come along with problems the characters must face. In Roots, the main issue discussed is defiance against America’s whack color game, while in I Want to be Miss America, the main issue discussed is the image of America. Understanding the difficult and confusing situations the characters face, will help in understanding their defining moments and how they relate.
In Gerald Early’s essay “Life with Daughters: Watching the Miss America pageant,” Early talks about his experience of watching Miss America pageants with his family. The issue explored in his essay is the way black culture in society is affected by America’s standard of beauty and the difficulties black women experiences when trying to find one’s identity because of this. Early believes that America’s standard of beauty is white, the look that is most praised in the beauty pageants. He uses rhetorical strategies such as allusion, ethical persuasion, and emotional persuasion to emphasize that America's standard of beauty has an effect on black women.
Miss America definitely goes deeper than just a pageant. It is contest that defies the way women in the US are treated as a whole and allow for men to judge us not based on our
People of all ages throughout the years are very familiar with the concept of Disney movies. Some notable classics of Disney are “Beauty and the Beast” which was released in 1991 and “The Little Mermaid” which was released in 1989. Among the children, the Disney princesses left a good impression on them like Cinderella from “Cinderella”, Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”, and Mulan from “Mulan”. However, many believe that Disney movies serve as a good influence to young audiences but people should know that Disney also has its flaws. Disney have showed negative portrayals of Disney princesses in their films especially when it comes to their usual unattainable beauty ideal and portraying their princesses as inferior to men.
The 1950’s was a very controversial time specially for woman, during that era they symbolized the traditional gender roles; housewife’s, submissive and conservative. Surprisingly, Marilyn Monroe, Barbie and beauty pageants became very popular even though they challenged the image of an ideal woman at the time by portraying more beauty and sexuality. These icons symbolized various messages while still upholding some of the traits that dominated that era. The beauty pageants portrayed various messages regarding woman’s beauty and sexuality a very dominant one was the qualifications to be considered a candidate for Miss America.
“These children may struggle with ideas of perfection, eating disorders, and body image in their adulthood. Pageants send a message that looks and appearance are more important than brains and education.” (Children Beauty Give Children Unrealistic Expectations) Children will struggle with their body images and most importantly, they will put appearance first that education. “Additionally, dressing children up with adult clothes and makeup appeals to sexual predators, placing them at risk of falling victim to a pedophile.”
One of the categories in being the ideal woman is being conventionally beautiful because, according to the media, a significant portion of a woman’s self-worth rests in appearance. This can be seen through women’s magazines in particular, which promote altering one’s appearance leads to the significant improvement of one’s “love life and relationships, and ultimately, life in general” (Bazzini 199). Therefore, the media presents a direct relationship with beauty and success: the more attractive a woman is, the better her life will be. Thus, a woman must the take initiative to look beautiful in order to be successful. Through the repetitive exposure of the same type of image in the media, what society considers beautiful often resembles a definitive checklist.
Beauty Pageants are events which women and younger girls or boys compete in across the world but the most popular country for these pageants are USA. The age requirements start at 3 years for both girls and boys, I feel this is too young an age to start brainwashing them. Many critics claim that the beauty pageants place more emphasis on the physical aspects of the body and over look the other aspects. This is what causes these pageants to be so unhealthy for the younger children competing.
Your decisions to comply with society’s view of “beauty” are no longer subconscious, but rather are more conscious-driven decisions. Barbie’s slender figure remains idolized; however, it has evolved from a plastic doll to a self-starving model that is photo-shopped on the pages of glossy magazines. You spend hours in front of a mirror adjusting and perfecting your robotic look while demanding your parents to spend an endless amount of money on cosmetics and harmful skin products to acquire a temporary version of beauty. Consider companies such as Maybelline, which have throughout the ages created problematic and infantilizing campaigns and products for women. More specifically consider the “Baby Lips” product as well as the company slogan, “maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline,” that reiterates the male notions of beauty to which women are subjected.
Beauty Pageants are an important part of the American culture in the 21st century. Many women, including small children, strut down the runway, dressing up in fancy clothes and makeup and charm, with the only and clear intention of catching the judges eye. Many claim that beauty pageants are a harmless activity that contestants can get a boost of confidence from. However, the sad reality of beauty pageants sends the message that women, even girls as young as 1 year olds, should be valued for judges for their appearance, and gives unrealistic beauty standards. With shows like Toddlers and Tiaras, young girls are facing harsh realities of adults choosing which child is the prettiest, the most charming.
My humble home, tucked within our modest suburb, is brimming with East African culture. The scents of freshly fried chapos permeate through my bedroom walls, plastered with cloth paintings from Kenya and South Sudan. The sound of Kiswahili, the fresh chai burning my tongue, these sensations are my comfort. I am an East African, by blood and by heritage. Dark, ebony skin and lean legs that extend for miles mark me as a typical South Sudanese girl.
