The ugliness of child beauty pageants

The destructive effects of child pageants on contestants prove how unethical these competitions really are COMMENTARY

BY CAMILA PEREZ-CLAVARINO, STAFF WRITER

N 8-YEARold girl stands on a stage alongside many others, all holding their breath in anticipation. She looks out to the judges, their faces blurring behind her unjustifably long false eyelashes, for what feels like hours before they fnally announce the winner — it is not her. She walks off the stage carrying the weight of her hefty gown and newfound insecurities. The world of child beauty pageants is a gilded one; behind the glittery makeup and sparkly dresses lies psychological damage that can follow the miniature contestants for decades after they hang up their sashes and tiaras.

As the name suggests, child beauty pageants often foster a misguided belief in the participants that their worth is dependent on their physical features. Because of the participants’ young age, they are much more vulnerable to the impacts of feeling inferior in the meaningless category of physical appearance they are taught to value. Therapist Madeline Lucas explains that children are more likely to internalize beauty standards, damaging the way they perceive themselves. This damage can last well past the time frame of a contestant’s pageant career. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, adults who had been childhood pageant contestants showed more body dissatisfaction than those who had not competed, placing them at a higher risk for

Amental health issues such as eating disorders or depression. At a developmental stage in their lives, the impressionable participants are taught to have a superfcial view of beauty, a lesson that is debilitating to young girls.

“Beauty pageants hurt participants by making them focus on their physical aspects instead of other qualities,” freshman Alexander Zabowski said. “What they learn stays with them for the rest of their lives.”

The tragedy behind these pageants further stems from the pressure put on the participants by their own parents. Whether they are motivated by a desire to live vicariously through their child or are trying to reap the fnancial benefts of a victory, parents have gone to extraordinary lengths to optimize their daughters’ chances of success, often at the poor girls’ expense. The Learning Channel’s reality television series “Toddlers and Tiaras” has brought the reality of child pageantry to light. With each episode focusing on a select number of contestants, viewers look into what the girls suffer through at the hands of their own mothers. h

For example, one mother was shown bleaching her 5- and 8-year-old children’s teeth despite their protests and attempts to evade her, admitting that she subjects her children to this process every week. Another mother would give her 6-year-old daughter Alana, known to fans as Honey Boo Boo, what she branded “Go-Go Juice.” This mystery drink was an exceedingly caffeinated combination of Mountain Dew and Redbull that Alana would drink before appearing on the pageant stage in order to keep her “energized and awake,” as her mother told Good Morning America.

“Parents are essentially sacrifcing the mental and physical health of their children to win a mere trophy,” sophomore Angelina Morff said.

While on the surface child pageants appear to be inconsequential opportunities for children to dress up and win prizes, when further examined, the reality of these seemingly glamorous events is much darker. Due to the ideas behind beauty pageants and often the parents’ wishes to fulfll their own ambitions through their children, child pageants create lifelong struggles for contestants, a sacrifce that can never be justifed.