Beauty Pageants are meant to show the world how poised and well-articulated a young girl is. However, it can also show the world what society thinks a girl should be, beautiful and well-behaved. Girls need to understand that the world is not simply what judges expect in a pageant show. As much as pageant shows want to highlight the talents of young girls, in reality, beauty pageants value beauty and aesthetic above all else. A successful beauty pageant contestant has to wear the right clothes, look a certain way, and act a certain way. There is limited to few ways to be different, to express one's self. That is why beauty pageants may be deemed harmful to a girl.
Pageants teach conformity. They teach appreciation of shallow things. Most importantly, it teaches girls that if one does not have the best dress or the best makeup, they will not make it to the top. It also feeds an unhealthy obsession with winning. Winning makes the beauty pageant and all the money spent worthwhile, and if one does not win, then the loss becomes devastating not just to the child, but more importantly, to the parent. Parents invest so much time and money into these beauty pageants they really feel the loss.
Pageants can cost thousands of dollars to train for each time. The top contestants often have coaches that the parents hire to teach them how to sing, dance, or speak. Along with the coaches are the expensive, one of a kind dresses the girls need to put on for the wow factor. These dresses can go upwards of $4,000. The entry fees are expensive too. They can run up to $400. "Juana Myers, from Montgomery, Louisiana, says that she will never recoup the cost of $400 competition entry fees and $50 professional coaching sessions ... she has spent up to $4,000 on a single 'glitz' dress, with each...
Most of the prizes are low amounts as well so people really must want to win in order to participate.
Since many pageant moms are stage moms, there is also a lot of pressure for children to do their best. Some children feel the stress of performing well and at times fall into depression. They may also experience problems with eating with cases reported of anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating. "Psychologists and psychiatrists largely agree that pageants, such as "Toddlers and Tiaras," reinforce negative female body image issues that result in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia." (Scwartz) This is because they feel they must always adhere to this impossible image of perfection. "For the girls who do develop image obsessions, it appears that the hypercritical environment of their youth produces a drive towards the unattainable goal of physical perfection. "The Princess Syndrome" as I like to call it, is a fairy tale." (Cartwright)
It is clear the pressure to be perfect is everywhere even in beauty pageants where the contestants are 2-3 years old. Parents put makeup on them and put them in these sparkly outfits because they do not believe the child's natural beauty is enough. This may make the child feel as it matures, that she or he is not enough. That the child must have the nicest outfit and the best makeup and hair in order to be enough. It sets unrealistic demands and expectations.
Honey Boo Boo is a child reality star that did pageants. When she removed all the makeup, fake teeth, and hair, she looked completely different from what she did when she had her full face on. If it were not for her…
