to not agree with child pagents

[imoanruby]

i know it's in the Daily Mail i know..

But this was sent to me today and got me thinking about pagents and girls in them and i wondered what other peoples opinions of them are...it doesn't sit comfortably with me...

child pagents

The mums should just stick to playing with Barbies. The girls look beautifully normal in the casual family photo.

It isn't 'celebrating the beauty of little girls'. Its telling little girls that if they want to be good enough then they need to change everything. New nails, new hair, airbrushed photos, a ton of make-up, change skin colour, fake eyelashes, fake teeth, expensive clothes, unnatural poses. It must make them feel a bit crappy about how they look without all the extras, then they turn into women who can't leave the house without make-up and spend their rent money on manicures and spray tans.

I watch T&T sometimes and all I can think of is how ill DD would be if I put all those chemicals on her skin. I mean they blast it with exfolitate, tan foundation, make-up, hairspray, nails, teeth.

It's hideous and must be bad for their health...

They don't look like little girls.

They look like they rent out cheap motel rooms by the hour.

Is that really what their mother aspires to?!

Cadelaide - there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating the beauty of little girls but (IMO) not by dressing them up as mini women. These things should be banned. Mind you, I will admit to watching Toddlers and Tiaras once and I could not get my breath. Also, it should not be all about appearance, little girls should be celebrated for their achievements too. My husband thinks they look like little girls who have had their heads chopped off and had the Girls World head transplanted on to them. I think he may be right!!!

yanbu urgh, they look like hookers.

They are horrible. Not just the hideous outfits/hair/makeup/fake tan and basic sexualisation of children, but just the whole message it sends out to very young children that their looks are all-important and can and will be judged. Yuck.

The mum featured in the article you linked to is beyond belief. YANBU.

Oh alright then.

Just kidding.

YANBU. And they just would be called Kylie and Karley wouldn't they!

Mind you, I don't think those girls look at all bad compared to some of the monstrosities you see around. They look inappropriate but they still look like children dressed up whereas I've seen some pageant documentaries where the girls look like they're made of plastic and/or aged about 35. Very disturbing.

The mum sounds very cruel though - feel really sorry for the older girl that always loses to the little sister. You can get over losing out over something you can work on/improve but knowing that you're constantly coming second based purely on looks must be really tough.

I don't know that pageants have the monopoly on exploiting little girls though. All my girls are in dance. It's a massive commitment, quite intense and competitive and I don't always entirely improve of the outfits they wear (though it's not on a level with US stuff like Dance Moms!) I hope I'm not as pushy as some of the parents and that my children aren't as bratty as some but I fear I might be a bit of a stage parent!

I don't agree with them for all sorts of reasons. I saw one show, filmed in America where they give the children some liquid (nobody knew exactly what it was) , they called it go-go juice which makes them hyper and perform better. Who would want to do that to their children?