Girls, glitter, and glamour are all part of a world called the pageant industry. A pageant, also known as a beauty contest is “a competition in which the entrants, usually women, are judged as to physical beauty and sometimes personality and talent, with the winners awarded prizes or titles” (“Beauty Contest”). Because beauty pageants pressure children to look “perfect,” beauty pageants should not be a culturally accepted activity for children.
It is no secret that a sense of self-worth is valuable to a child’s wellbeing. According to Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, Inc. (EDAP), “a person with ‘positive body image’…understands that one’s physical appearance says little about one’s character and value as a person,” while someone with a negative body image, “is convinced that only other people are attractive and that his/her body size or shape is a sign of personal failure. Likewise, the person feels ashamed, self-conscious and anxious about his/her body” (Small). Mass media influences children’s and adolescents’, particularly females’, body image in a negative manner, pressuring children to look like the women they see on television or elsewhere:
” Messages from the media tell girls and women that to be successful one must be attractive and thin. Beautiful, thin female bodies, that are used as commodities to sell products from alcohol to shoes, send the message that appearance is more important than character, personality, or social contribution.” (Small)
Improving a child or adolescent’s body image includes promoting diversity: the idea that people come in all shapes, sizes, and colors and no matter what type of body one possesses, she can be valuable and worthy of love (Small). Eliminating unnecessary competition in a child’s life also encourages a positive self-esteem. Competition has its place in a functioning society, but in academics or matters of physical appearance, competition can be nothing more than a hindrance to one’s confidence:
” In a competitive culture, a child is told that it isn’t enough to be good — he must triumph over others. Success comes to be defined as victory, even though these are really two very different things. Even when the child manages to win, the whole affair, psychologically speaking, becomes a vicious circle: The more he competes, the more he needs to compete to feel good about himself.” (Kohn)
According to ABC News, ” Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market…attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace” (Schultz & Murphy).
Beauty pageants utilize the medium of competition to encourage a contestant to look “perfect,” in whichever way the term is defined at a certain point in time by a culture. Pageants send the message to children that physical appearances are the most important factor of success: “… beauty contests have long existed to legitimize the Cinderella mythology for women, to make it seem that beauty is all a woman needs for success and, as a corollary, that beauty ought to be a major pursuit of all women” (Watson & Martin).
Competitions based on a child’s physical appearance are proven to have a negative effect on her life habits and mental health:
” …And these days, body dissatisfaction begins in grammar school. According to a 2004 study by the Dove Real Beauty campaign, 42 percent of first- to third-grade girls want to be thinner, while 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of getting fat. ‘When you have tweens putting on firming cream’- as was revealed by 1 percent of girls in an NPD study-‘it’s clear they’re looking for imaginary flaws,’ says Harvard psychologist Nancy Etcoff.” (Bennett)
According to a study by the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, there is “a significant association between childhood beauty pageant participation and increased body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increased feelings of ineffectiveness” (Wonderlich, Ackard, & Henderson).
Some even argue that beauty pageants turn girls into objects of male desire: ” …if beauty pageants were substantially more than girl-watching exercises, why, there would be pageants for men too” (Watson & Martin). Some male pageants exist, but none are as popular as female pageants.
The Christian audience argues that beauty pageants take away from the message of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “…Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Christians believe it is wrong to bring unnecessary and potentially sinful attention to one’s body. Also, if one is glorifying herself, the glory is taken away from God who deserves all honor.
For many children, the decision to participate in a beauty pageant is solely that of their parents. Parents typically claim that beauty pageants will enhance their child’s social skills, talents, etiquette, and values (Wonderlich, Ackard, & Henderson). They argue that children learn skills and often have opportunities to travel which may not be feasible otherwise.
However, children parading around in a competition that arbitrarily decides which contestant is the most attractive is not beneficial to the children’s wellbeing. Parents should not encourage beauty contests as their child’s hobby under any circumstance. Society should not display sexually charged media that brainwashes girls into seeking what they think is perfection.
Works Cited
“Beauty Contest.” Dictionary.com . 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011. .
Bennett, Jessica. “Are We Turning Tweens Into ‘Generation Diva’? – Newsweek.” Newsweek – National News, World News, Business, Health, Technology, Entertainment, and More – Newsweek . 30 Mar. 2009. Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .
Kohn, Alfie. “The Case Against Competition.” Alfie Kohn Homepage . 1987. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. .
Schultz, Kristen, and Ann Pleshette Murphy. “Beauty Pageants Draw Children and Criticism – ABC News.” ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews – ABC News . 26 Feb. 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. .
Small, Kelly. “Body Image.” University of Calgary Webdisk Server . 2001. Web. 08 Apr. 2011. .
Watson, Elwood, and Darcy Martin. The Miss America Pageant: Pluralism, Femininity, and Cinderella All in One.” Journal of Popular Culture 34.1 (2000): 105-126. Academic Search Premier . EBSCO. Web. 12 Apr. 2011.
Wonderlich, Anna, Diann Ackard, and Judith Henderson. Childhood Beauty Pageant Contestants: Associations with Adult Disordered Eating and Mental Health.” Eating Disorders 13.3 (2005): 291-301. Academic Search Premier . EBSCO. Web. 8 Apr. 2011.
