American child GLITZ beauty padeantry. For vs against... GO!

[xnmd1]

I am against pagents.

No offensive, Lightworker, but I find we often have different viewpoints in threads. However .. I agree with you 100% on this one, and I thought your threads were written very clearly and were easy to understand. So not sure why they are being misinterpreted. But I get it and I say

 

[RaspberryK]

I have to say I'm against and I think Lightworker has echoed my views. Having said that, I'm a diplomat and it seems this thread is very one sided. I think so far its only Blah who is being pro. It would be good to hear from others in the pro camp too. Also it would be interesting to hear the positives too. So far we've heard...

CONS
- sexualised of children
- unnecessary emphasis on appearance
- unnecessary competition
- the time and cost of taking part

PROS
- some of the outfits aren't too bad
- there is a talent aspect which doesn't judge appearance alone
- any others???

I doubt you'll get many more positives because 99% of people think these pageants are vile. I only had to see the advert for toddlers and tiaras before I made up my mind, don't think I could have watched the whole 1 hour programme

x

 

[minties]

Any competition where mothers are telling little girls to flirt with adult men (if you've watched any of the shows, this always comes up) is wrong wrong WRONG.

Being 5/6/7/8 years old and told to shake your booty, wink and look sexy for creepy male judges is revolting.

The whole idea is totally foreign and unwholesome to me.

 

[RedRose]

I have a daughter and I would not have her competing in beauty pageants.

It's my job as her mum to bring her up and help her grow into a well adjusted and happy woman. I want her to have confidence and high self esteem, I want her to value her intellect and feel empowered and inspired by her potential. I want her to understand the notion of beauty on the inside, and to treat others equally regardless of their appearance.

I don't know how I could achieve those things if I were to encourage her, as a child, to persue a hobby where she is painted and plucked and peraded around dressed like a tacky adult at best, a vulgar transexual male at worst.

I would hate to stand on a stage in a bikini and have my appearance judged, and I would not put my daughter in that situation.

It's hard enough as it is sometimes to be a woman with no self esteem issues. Why start that vicious cycle off any earlier and introduce your daughter to a world where her natural beauty is not enough?

Good looks will always fade, and if you place your self worth and importance on that then you're an idiot and your unhappiness is inevitable. A good attitude and a good heart will enrich your life.

 

[Blah11]

I have to say I'm against and I think Lightworker has echoed my views. Having said that, I'm a diplomat and it seems this thread is very one sided. I think so far its only Blah who is being pro. It would be good to hear from others in the pro camp too. Also it would be interesting to hear the positives too. So far we've heard...

CONS
- sexualised of children
- unnecessary emphasis on appearance
- unnecessary competition
- the time and cost of taking part

PROS
- some of the outfits aren't too bad
- there is a talent aspect which doesn't judge appearance alone
- any others???

i'm not 'pro' but i dont think theyre as awful as people make them out to be. thats all.

 

[CeeDee]

I just don’t see the point in dressing your baby girl like a 25 year old prostitute or a 22 year old stripper. Why?

 

[Pramaholic86]

I haven't read the replies but I think it's a paedophile's wet dream, disgusting.

 

[Strawberries]

I don't like it at all dressing little girls up in heels, make-up and fake tan is wrong IMO. Let them have a childhood.

 

[mrs_park]

I think they are wrong. Our society puts wY too much emphasis on physical appearance as it is which leads to all sorts of problems for young girls and IMHO, beauty pagents aren't helping one bit.

If ever I am blessed with a little girl, I hope to teach her that her beauty comes from within and that her love, acceptance and approval isn't based the way she looks or how she performs but because of who she is.

 

[Blah11]

Which brings us to another question I have..

Do you really think there is more pressure to look good in 'todays' soceity as opposed to that of say the 1950s? Cause I don't. Yes, the sort of look has changed and with plastic surgery and advances in makeup and stuff we are now able to alter ourselves in ways we couldn't before but I don't think the effort we put in is any more. I actually think it might be a bit less.

 

[indy and lara]

I think that the difference is that that pressure was on adults whereas now, children are drawn into the whole thing too. As an adult it is a lot easier to resist pressure to conform to a certain ideal but for children, the peer pressure is tremendous. Children in the 50s and 60s were just that but today they are assuming adult image/ ideas at a very young age.

 

[Blah11]

True but I do think people tend to blame everything on modern soceity when really, soceity in the past has been no better. Nothing like rose tinted glasses!

 

[indy and lara]

I think that the early sexualisation of children has accelerated over the last decade. This is a pretty recent phenomenon and is what concerns me most.

 

[maybabydoll]

i'm not 'pro' but i dont think theyre as awful as people make them out to be. thats all.

Sorry, no offence meant. I just think it would be good to hear some other points of view too x x

 

[Mummy2B21]

Oh my maybe lightworker was wording her posts too interlectual for you blah :/ I am glad that there are more people on here that agree it is wrong/disgusting than right because it is truely sick to parade little girls like that some are as young as 2 years old!! I dont understand how someone in the right mind would allow there small child to wear all that makeup,hair extentions, spray tan, high heels ect... mothers are supposed to protect there children and IMO this just opens up windows for sick men to lure at there is no real reason why girls as young as 2,3,4 ect should wear thick caked on makeup fake tan high heels ect at that age it teaches the nothing but to judge by looks.... very sad feel sorry for the poor girls that have no choice in it...

 

[moomin_troll]

Oh my maybe lightworker was wording her posts too interlectual for you blah :/ I am glad that there are more people on here that agree it is wrong/disgusting than right because it is truely sick to parade little girls like that some are as young as 2 years old!! I dont understand how someone in the right mind would allow there small child to wear all that makeup,hair extentions, spray tan, high heels ect... mothers are supposed to protect there children and IMO this just opens up windows for sick men to lure at there is no real reason why girls as young as 2,3,4 ect should wear thick caked on makeup fake tan high heels ect at that age it teaches the nothing but to judge by looks.... very sad feel sorry for the poor girls that have no choice in it...

i do not agree with padeantry and i too hate how much make up they wear ect but the part in bold was just rude!

Blah was making a point that not all padeants have girls wearing that much make up and not all the outfits are so skimpy and vile

 

[aragornlover8]

I was in a school pageant one year because I wanted to. The proceeds were for a good cause and it was honestly kind of fun to dress up pretty for a day and try on different outfits. I didn't win, but I had a lot of fun doing it. I think it was mainly because I didn't take it very seriously, and I got flowers from my parents anyway. Most little girls like to play dress up, and I don't think it's wrong to allow them a little bit of fun if entering a pageant is what they want to do.

I think it's important to point out that shows like Toddlers and Tiaras show an extreme of child beauty pageants. They show all of the crazy ladies who want to live through their children and win; they often don't show the moms who are putting their children into pageants because it's what the children want to do.

There's also nothing wrong with celebrating femininity. I understand that there is more to life than outward beauty but there's nothing wrong with being pretty or liking pretty things. I love the Fancy Nancy children books because they highlight this fact. It's okay to be a girl and want to dress up, just like it's okay to be a girl and play sports.

In order for child beauty pageants to be fun and awarding in their own way, though, parents do need to properly explain to their children what it means to be in a competition and that losing doesn't mean that they aren't wonderful, special people. On the flip side, winning also doesn't mean that their outward appearance is all that matters.

As long as the motive to join pageants is child-driven, I really don't see the problem with them.

 

[Blah11]

Oh my maybe lightworker was wording her posts too interlectual for you blah :/ I am glad that there are more people on here that agree it is wrong/disgusting than right because it is truely sick to parade little girls like that some are as young as 2 years old!! I dont understand how someone in the right mind would allow there small child to wear all that makeup,hair extentions, spray tan, high heels ect... mothers are supposed to protect there children and IMO this just opens up windows for sick men to lure at there is no real reason why girls as young as 2,3,4 ect should wear thick caked on makeup fake tan high heels ect at that age it teaches the nothing but to judge by looks.... very sad feel sorry for the poor girls that have no choice in it...

wtf how rude. especially coming from someone who can't even spell intellectual Stop being so close minded.

 

[Laura2919]

Oh my maybe lightworker was wording her posts too interlectual for you blah :/ I am glad that there are more people on here that agree it is wrong/disgusting than right because it is truely sick to parade little girls like that some are as young as 2 years old!! I dont understand how someone in the right mind would allow there small child to wear all that makeup,hair extentions, spray tan, high heels ect... mothers are supposed to protect there children and IMO this just opens up windows for sick men to lure at there is no real reason why girls as young as 2,3,4 ect should wear thick caked on makeup fake tan high heels ect at that age it teaches the nothing but to judge by looks.... very sad feel sorry for the poor girls that have no choice in it...

wtf how rude. especially coming from someone who can't even spell intellectual Stop being so close minded.

I agree..

 

[Lightworker]

Incidentally, (i know I am abit extreme in my views re child welfare) but apparently, Japanese children who are involved in high-achieving, high demand schools have been dubbed by some as being involved in child labour as they work all the time without real childhood enjoyment. Surely the same can be said of children in pageants - thats child labour, as they are denied childhood freedoms, and win prizes at the end. Just a thought.