The Ugly behind Beauty Pageants
Iconic actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn once said, “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.” (“Audrey Hepburn Quotes”). These words remind girls that their self worth should not come from the artificial things, but from the strength and morals inside of each child. Child beauty pageants heavily contradict this idea, by leading girls to believe that physical perfection is just as, or more valuable than their personality, which is kept bottled up on a pageant stage. They are also forced to grow up and become adults far too soon, by wearing elaborate dresses and makeup and hair to stroll across a stage. Beauty pageants are sexualizing, abusive, focus children on the wrong things, and have even been banned in the country of France …show more content…
Some may even agree the parents go so far as to abusing their children into doing the pageants. Parents can put a lot of pressure on girls to win money, a crown, or a title, and this can be harmful in many different ways. A professor from the University of Kentucky, named Vernon R. Wiehe, says “Parents who force their children to participate in beauty pageants can be emotionally or physically abusive.” (Wiehe.) Because the pageants require so much time and money from the whole family that is involved, parents can be quick to pressure their child into victory so all the sacrifice can be paid back. While this could seem like motivation, it can sometimes go too far and the parents can become damaging to their child and their self-image. With that statistics say, “6% of beauty pageant participants have suffered from depression” (“Child Beauty Pageant Statistics”). This could be because of stress put on them; most likely this pressure is coming from a parent or pageant coach that is leading them to
Iconic actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn once said, “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the beauty of a woman is reflected in her soul.” (“Audrey Hepburn Quotes”). These words remind girls that their self worth should not come from the artificial things, but from the strength and morals inside of each child. Child beauty pageants heavily contradict this idea, by leading girls to believe that physical perfection is just as, or more valuable than their personality, which is kept bottled up on a pageant stage. They are also forced to grow up and become adults far too soon, by wearing elaborate dresses and makeup and hair to stroll across a stage. Beauty pageants are sexualizing, abusive, focus children on the wrong things, and have even been banned in the country of France …show more content…
Some may even agree the parents go so far as to abusing their children into doing the pageants. Parents can put a lot of pressure on girls to win money, a crown, or a title, and this can be harmful in many different ways. A professor from the University of Kentucky, named Vernon R. Wiehe, says “Parents who force their children to participate in beauty pageants can be emotionally or physically abusive.” (Wiehe.) Because the pageants require so much time and money from the whole family that is involved, parents can be quick to pressure their child into victory so all the sacrifice can be paid back. While this could seem like motivation, it can sometimes go too far and the parents can become damaging to their child and their self-image. With that statistics say, “6% of beauty pageant participants have suffered from depression” (“Child Beauty Pageant Statistics”). This could be because of stress put on them; most likely this pressure is coming from a parent or pageant coach that is leading them to