Child Abuse

Forcing your daughter to participate in child glitz pageants can be a form of child abuse. Many mothers may force their children to be in these beauty contests because they couldn't do pageants when they were younger. This isn't fair to the children because they are a lot younger and they don't know how to stand up for themselves. Some of these processes that the girls go through so they could be ready for the pageant could be quite painful. Some may not be physically painful, but they require the child to sit still for a long period of time. For example, an 8 year old, Britney Campbell's mother Kerry Campbell, was injecting botox into her own daughter's forehead. Kerry says "Lots of pageant moms do it.” Britney's story was aired on the popular TV show on TLC: Toddlers and Tiaras on May 12th. Thankfully, Britney was taken away from Kerry Campbell from child protective services. Some mothers might force their children because they may have some insecurities of their own. Brooke Breedwell, a former child pageant star states, "Since I was three I was pressured by my mum to be perfect. But living up to her expectations was impossible," (Breedwell). Her mother would make her practice and take her away from her friends. She made her attend pageants everyday. She feels that she missed out on her childhood because she was forced to do pageants and never had time for her friends. Her mother would also get mad at her if she didn't do something small like make eye-contact with the judges. This is a good example of why forcing your daughter can be a form of child abuse. Another disturbing example of a child pageant star was JonBenet Ramsey. She was a 6 year old beauty queen who was born in Atlanta, Georgia. She won the titles of Colorado State All-star kids pageant, Tiny-Miss beauty, Colorado's little miss Christmas, Sunburst National Pageant in Atlanta, Georgia. Her schedules consisted of her summers doing a pageant and photoshoot, photoshoots around September and October, and pageants during November and December. She would also dye her hair a lot for her pageants. Patsy Ramsey, her mother, also hired a professional dance instructor. JonBenet was murdered on December 26, 1996. Her father was interveiwed and he says, "The pageants were Patsy's gig, JonBenet was her alter ego. Patsy had the money, she had the costumes, and she had the kid. She could relive her own pageant thing. You got the picture right there. Patsy didn't have a sense of proportion about how this should fit into her child's life. What I saw on the pageant video - you don't do that to a six-year-old. " Her father didn't agree with JonBenet participating in pageants. He regrets letting JonBenet in pageants. He watches the pageant moms in the TV show Toddlers and Tiaras and has a very interesting veiw point. He says, “'It’s very bizarre,' he says outright. 'And, it certainly– Patsy and JonBenet didn’t approach it that way.  We– they just did it for fun'” (Ramsey). JonBenet would be 21 years old today. 

There should be a change of rules for beauty pageants. They should let beauty contests for children be more natural. Allowing girls to be wearing such glamorous outfits and expecting little girls to tan, have bling, expensive outfits can affect how a child can grow up. Parents don't realize that giving their daughter access to these things could actually make their egos rise to unhealthy levels. It causes mothers to force their child into spray tanning, wearing wigs, putting on make up, and singing and dancing. They could also force their child into wearing outfits that make them uncomfortable. If there was a change of rules to make pageants be more natural for little girls, they wouldn't be forced into doing so much for these beauty contests. Usually the purpose for these beauty pageants is to win money or to win a title. This could affect the children into growing up as very materialistic. 

Forcing little girls that can't stand up against their mothers into doing beauty pageants is very wrong. Children deserve to have a childhood, and act like kids. They shouldn't be forced to do beauty pageants if they don't want to. Being in a beauty pageants takes up a lot of time for both the mother and the child. The child can only do it if she has a passion and really wants to. If they don't it just makes the child miserable. They should be allowed to do what they love. Some people may say that abuse is too strong of a word to say for talking about just pageants. The definition of child abuse is "mistreatment or sexual molestation of a child." Mistreatment fits into children being forced to be in pageants because they are mistreating their children by not listening to their wants and forcing them to do unnecessary things just to please parents.    Forcing your daughter into participating for beauty pageants is a form of child abuse.



"Child Beauty Pageants: A Form of Child Abuse?" Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.

"An Inside Look At the Creepiest $5 Billion Industry in America." Mic. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.

Bindley, Katherine. "Brooke Breedwell, Former Child Pageant Star, Warns Parents Against Pageant Life." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Sept. 2012. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.

Sexualization

Child Glitz pageants are, very sexualized. If you have seen the show Toddlers and Tiaras you probably noticed how the little girls outfits are overly sexualized. What you usually see are called Glitz pageants. Glitz pageants are where the mothers make their little girls wear big hair, skimpy outfits, fake teeth, maybe even padded underwear or bras to make them look bigger. They even make them wear a lot of make up so usually, they actually look older than they are. As the young girls go on stage to show off their outfits for the judges, they usually strike suggestive poses. Most of the judges are, unfortunately, middle aged men. 

The over sexualization of child pageants has lead to children wanting to be skimpy looking. A founder of business, who has a clothing line for kids states, "My whole issue with sexualization is that it robs girls of girlhood, they should be out being creative and imaginative, and when they focus on being sexy women it takes away learning opportunities. It takes away the beauty of childhood"(Morgan). I agree with this quote, because it's true, young adolescent girls should stay looking and acting like little girls. Researchers also surveyed girls from ages 6-9. They showed the girls 2 differently dressed dolls. One doll was wearing tight revealing clothing and one was wearing a modest but popular looking outfit. The survey showed, "Sixty-eight percent of the girls said the sexy doll looked most like how they would like to look, and 72 percent reported that the sexy doll was more popular than the non-sexy doll"(Morgan). Child glitz pageants may give the children the idea that this is healthy. Little girls should not think that it's normal to be sexy. It can interrupt the natural flow of age.

Some may argue that child pageants don't sexualize children at all. Usually beauty pageants aim for beauty not sexy. They do expect talent, not just a skimpy outfits.

In conclusion, child glitz pageants should be modified. Children shouldn't want to aim for sexy when competing in these beauty contests. Mothers make their little girls wear padded bras and underwear in order to look better in the outfit. The make their child wear big wigs, and cake on make up. These children look older than they are and its not right. Children are an easy target. Glitz pageants are too sexualized.



Healy, Michelle. "Could Child Beauty Pageants Be Banned in the USA?" USA Today. Gannett, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2014.

Self Image and body Issues.

Glitz pageants for children can affect a child's confidence and self image negatively. Glitz pageants are a lot more different than natural pageants. In glitz pageants, the girls are required to have big hair, make up, fake teeth (flippers), acrylic nails, spray tans, colored contacts and maybe teeth whitening. Compared to natural pageants its very different. In natural pageants, girls are not allowed to wear make up unless they're 13 and it has to be a very little amount. Wigs and hairpieces are not allowed, its called a natural pageant for a reason.

 The little girls being involved in glitz pageants may grow up thinking that external features are the most important and never consider how being a good person is also important. They may also give the message that self-worth is in physical beauty only never about what talent you have. Beauty pageants also foster destructive perfectionism, and self-criticism. Derenne states, "The current media culture is complicated and very confusing. Women are told that they can and should 'have it all.' They expect family, career, and home to be perfect."(Derrene). Society already has a lot of expectations for women on how they should look and live their life. What beauty pageant's message should convey is that winning isn't the most important thing but you should just have fun while doing it. Child pageants may bring down a child's confidence and enlarge their ego to unhealthy levels. Derenne also states, "Women are consistently given the message that they are not pretty enough or thin enough."(Derrene). Most of women's magazines usually talk about how to lose weight or get a man. This usually affects younger women because they are trying to get a man, get married, have a perfect life and stay looking youthful.They are taught that a perfect women will always look youthful no matter her age. Some women may get botox and implants when they get older as a result of these pageants.

 Child pageants aren't all bad. They can also help a child's self-esteem and teach them to be their very best. It could also help them not be shy when they're on stage and people are watching them. It gives them the confidence that they can be themselves. They also teach children how to deal with competition, follow rules, and play fair. They also help kids strive to move up. If they don't win now, they can win later .Child pageants can make or break a person, they can help strive to make them a more confident person as they grow up or a bratty person who is self obsessed and has a really big ego.

 Glitz pageants are usually the most expensive and the most harmful to a child's self esteem and promotes poor body image. There should be a change to pageants not to completely get rid of it. They should be modified to make little girls the best they can be. Adolescent girls should be taught the opposite. They should be taught that they don't have to be the prettiest girls in order to be happy. On top of that, pageants are also very expensive. Today news interviewed a mother whose daughter has been aired on the hit TV show Toddlers and Tiaras, "TODAY: Pageants aren't exactly cheap. How much do you think you spend on a pageant? Juana: Oh gosh. I’ve never added that up. I honestly can’t even tell you. Entry fees for a big pageant can be about $400. Her glitz dress was $4,000. Costumes, they’re around $300 to $500. Coaching lessons are $50 a session, which is like an hour. If you get into headshots, that’s super expensive. So it gets pretty expensive, not including your (hotel) stay and your gas and everything. " (TODAY). As a result of being exposed to glamorous expensive things all for a beauty pageant, the girl might grow up materialistic. She might even believe that she's not good enough if she doesn't win. Glitz pageants raise the issues of their kids having self image and poor body image.

 Derenne, Jennifer L., and Eugene V. Beresin. "Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders." Academic Psychiatry 30.3 (2006): 257-61. ProQuest. 23 Oct. 2014 .

Me, Myself, and I

 My name is Amama and I currently live in Howard County, Maryland. I am 17 years old but Im turning 18 on November 8. I was born in 1996 and California Los Angeles. I really like this selfie.I hope to go to UF after HCC so i can continue studying pre-med.

This is a picture of me wearing something from my culture. We usually wear these outfits on weddings or other parties our families have. My culture is a big part of who I am because we have a lot of traditional things we do. I feel like my culture makes me different. We have different food, outfits, and rituals.

This is a picture of me and my mom. I look up to her a lot because she's worked so hard and she was independent when she first came to America. She found a job on her own when her family stayed in Pakistan so her family could have a bright future. I feel that she is very strong and she is one of the strongest influences for me being a doctor. She became successful even when she lost her mom when she was very young. I aspire to be like her because she sacrificed a lot for her kids.

I really like chicken wings. This is not an actual picture I took myself. I feel like this is an American tradition my family does. On the Forth of July, my family likes to get together and have a bbq. My dad orders chicken wings as the only American food in our Forth of July parties usually we have a lot of Pakistani/Indian food but I feel like this tradition started a long time ago and I will continue this with my family.

This is a photo of me and my friend at Prom. I feel like prom is a very special experience in high school because its the last time you can be with your friends before you graduate and leave for college. Mine was very special and a little sad because I was going to miss all my friends. I loved prom so much it was fun just getting ready and taking beautiful pictures.