Beauty Pageants For Kids

[Kylan]

Obviously photoshopped pictures of the kinda thing I'm on about

How do you feel about beauty pageants for children?

Call me closed minded but I find them a lose-lose situation for the kids...

If they win, they think their only value is in their looks and if they lose, it must be a horrendous blow to their self-esteem.

Surely no amount of money could possibly compensate them for what they are giving up?

 

[jonathan83]

I think it's horrible... Seems like it would kill their childhood. Just my opinion though. *shrug

 

[Kylan]

Thanks for taking the time to reply jonathan83.

It also seem's to cost a hell of a lot of cash.

I once watched a documentary here in the the U.K and the child's Mother was spending something in the region of $100,000 per year for all the travel, makeup, outfits, coaches, photographs, etc...


I confess I don't know how much 'prize' money these pageants pay out, but surely it couldn't cover this kind of expenditure?

 

[jonathan83]

Thanks for taking the time to reply jonathan83.

It also seem's to cost a hell of a lot of cash.

I once watched a documentary here in the the U.K and the child's Mother was spending something in the region of $100,000 per year for all the travel, makeup, outfits, coaches, photographs, etc...


I confess I don't know how much 'prize' money these pageants pay out, but surely it couldn't cover this kind of expenditure?

Wow that's ludicrous... Well regardless of how much the prize money is, only a few will actually win it I guess, which means everyone else is screwed! Well probably most of the people that enter already have wealthy families so maybe it wouldn't matter.

 

[Kylan]

I would find it easier to understand if that kind of money was spent on teaching a child how to play a musical instrument, how to act or coaching for their preferred sport, but I'm not convinced these kids are learning any skills that could be carried over into a career as an adult.

 

[george55]

Our local Jaycee(used to be a Jaycette function) chapter used to put on a Junior Miss pageant for our community. We tried to make sure there were none of the type of parents you spoke of. Most of the prizes came from donations of local merchants. To see the young ones smiling on the stage was priceless. I think most of the little girls would have been happy for a lollypop as a prize. Some of these parents would never get another oportunity to see their ''little misses' on stage.

 

[Kylan]

Yes, kids like to play dressup... the keyword, as I see it, being ‘Play’ .

But this genre (admittedly, as well as others) seems to introduce children to the bizarre world of parents trying to grab glory.

 

[jason_jenn]

IMHO, The Mom's didn't have enough dolls to play with, or they did not have the attention they craved as children.

I'm sure there are those parents who honestly want to teach their kids about life and winning and losing, but I can think of a more productive way to go about it... Like maybe sports, music, or even just teaching by example (if done right).

Sports and music are very good skill building techniques for adult life. They learn about committment, teamwork, following rules, and having fun.

Everything in moderation while giving the child some power to voice their likes, dislikes, and concerns about what they are doing.

 

[elizaloo]

As the mother of daughters, I could NOT imagine putting them up on stage and parading them around for the 'world' to see....girls have such a poor self-image anyway - to place further emphasis on their 'looks' seems ridiculous. Women in general are innundated by images of the 'perfect' woman every where we turn. It irritates me that girls are described as 'pretty' rather than smart or funny or a good runner/swimmer/catcher/pitcher, etc.

Such limited parameters stop us from appreciating ALL of someone.
What is beautiful to one might not be to another, but why do we have to comment/focus on it? It's about accepting our differences.....and not judging us by them.

 

[JackNothing]

I've seen the pictures on that website before and it's just freaking creepy if you ask me. Child beauty pageants are just wrong. Kids can be sweet, cute, whatever, but I think the word 'beauty' and the connotations that come with it are too adult and wrong to place upon someone of a young age.

 

[Kylan]

<snip>Everything in moderation while giving the child some power to voice their likes, dislikes, and concerns about what they are doing.

Well said, jason_jenn.

I'm not sure how much say (if any) these kids have in what they're doing.

<snip> Women in general are innundated by images of the 'perfect' woman every where we turn. It irritates me that girls are described as 'pretty' rather than smart or funny or a good runner/swimmer/catcher/pitcher, etc. <snip>

I agree, elizaloo and I wish there was a way to convince children that the image that the mass media portrays as an aesthetically pleasing one is not only a rarity, but a transitory ideal that changes from year to year.

<snip>Kids can be sweet, cute, whatever, but I think the word 'beauty' and the connotations that come with it are too adult and wrong to place upon someone of a young age.

Hi JackNothing and welcome to 'Lit'.

The word 'beauty' places told and untold stresses on so many of the adult population that I shudder to think what must go through some of these kids minds before and after the competition.


I admit I'm only speaking from what I've seen in a T.V documentry (which george55 pointed out may have been completly biased toward one extreme viewpoint) but the images of children who had traveled over night, spent the day in make-up and went on stage in the evening wearing false teeth, just didn't sit right with me...

 

[sleepingtodream]

http://www.vvm.com/~kimberly/photocontest/Contestants/4.htm

Dear lord! Those girls look like china dolls.

 

[phoenixxxx]

i think they are disgusting.....children should be allowed to be children for as long as they can, these kids dont have a childhood as such and can you imagine how terrible, hurt and upset they must feel if they dont win.
and at the end of the day no matter what, every child is the most beautiful child in the world to his/her parents and family.

 

[Hocky9377]

Beauty pagents for kids are horrible and the person who thought of them should be strung up by their toes and beaten like a pinata!

 

[SesameStreet]

They should be outlawed. Simple as that.

 

[paganmysterious]

You guys have expressed my general opinion about pageants in general - kid or adult. I don't understand why women feel a need to parade around with fake smiles and barbie waves to get a stupid crown on their head. But, it is even more ridiculous for kids. My ex-wife started putting my daughter in pageants a few years ago against my wishes. She won one year and then didn't win the next. She didn't understand and thought she wasn't pretty enough. I looked at my ex and said, "Any more questions?" She hasn't been in a pageant since.

 

[Tull]

My cousin did lots of modeling and beauty pagents when he was younger. Can't stand him now. He is an arrogant prick. Then again so is his aunt so *shrug*

 

[mark197205]

Obviously photoshopped pictures of the kinda thing I'm on about

How do you feel about beauty pageants for children?

Call me closed minded but I find them a lose-lose situation for the kids...

If they win, they think their only value is in their looks and if they lose, it must be a horrendous blow to their self-esteem.

Surely no amount of money could possibly compensate them for what they are giving up?

Ugh! is me or do they actually look kinda scary? all freaky and plastic?

 

[slyfox_vixen]

they look fake, and with all the pressure on girls and woman of all ages that they already have to look just so, and act just so, who needs the added tension of trying to compete against other girls, there can be just one winner and all the others are forced into a life of competition to LOOK better, its sad and i feel for the lil children put thru such trauma, and at such a young age.

 

[Zaithian]

Humans becoming Fake

I dont understand why people are so prone to looking fake on any level, kids or adults. Not only the child beauty pagents, but what about the body builder competitions? Its freaky seeing a man walk like a robot and his arms can go down because of muscles.

I just think the things people do to themself to "impress" others is just completely wrong. From beauty pagents to the body building pagent is stupid. Know all those Greek sculptures of men being built and such? Tell me how do you think men were able to be like that back in those times, naturally, but nowadays they got muscles that are growing that were never really meant to be built?