Child Pageant Research Paper

Beauty pageants originated a long time ago, and over the years they have evolved tremendously. Today, the use of spray tans, false eyelashes, fake teeth, layers of makeup, and over-sexed outfits are the norm of child pageants. Just over the course of a few decades, the pageant world has changed from simple church dresses to expensive glitzy outfits. Most little girls would relish at the thought of being treated like a princess, even if just for a few days out of the year; however, some parents take the competition too seriously and instead live out a fantasy of their own at the expense of the child. Instead of raising confident independent young women, parents and coaches are teaching young girls that physical appearance is all that matters …show more content…
The young beauty contestants are often imitating older women through sex appeal and revealing, glamourous costumes. To increase the competition in the talent section of the pageant, parents or coaches have choregraphed inappropriate dance routines intended to amaze the judges and stand out from the other competitors. The poses that these young girls are taught accentuate their hips and bottoms in a sexual manner. They are constantly being poked and prodded by their parents in the interest of enhancing their beauty and attempting to create a flawless body image, thus causing superficiality. From this, long-term psychological effects and unhealthy behaviors are formed. Parents should not place their children in beauty pageants because of all the negative consequences associated with them.
Beauty pageant parents drive their children to win at any cost and persuade them to think they are better than the other …show more content…
For the children to make a memorable appearance, parents will dress them to imitate seductive characters for the talent portion of the pageant, which entails inappropriate dance routines or gestures. People think the children are too innocent to know they are being sexualized or that they will forget about it as they get older. However, when they are dressed in suggestive costumes and coaxed to be sexy for attention, they are being taught how to be sexualized at a very young age which can lead to premature sexual activity. For the beauty category, girls walk across the stage, swinging their hips and crossing one leg in front of the other. They are taught to wink and blow kisses at the judges and incorporate sexy facial expressions to appear feminine and flirty (Hodel 116). One article stated that parents dress their children in over-sexed outfits and teach them to shake their bottoms on stage and then claim that they are not over sexualizing the child, that they are merely having fun (Lyons). The young girls in these pageants are often wearing short shorts or skirts and tops that only cover half of their upper bodies. Being dressed in this type of manner would attract attention from the opposite sex if they were grown women. The dance routines choregraphed by a parent or coach often involve sex appeal and inappropriate gestures. A combination of these set the perfect scene for a child molester or