Glitz Beauty Pageants Held For Children aged 13 and Under

I can see where you're coming from here but there is a fine line between femininity and what some of these girls are put through during these pageants. A. These pageants start as early as one year old girls. Is it okay to load makeup onto your babies face all to win best in show? For example, 4-year old Molly was in a casual glitz contest. Her costume and routine was based off of Dolly Parton. This would have been fine except for the fact her mother put her in C-cup chest enhancers and butt pads. Paisley, age 4, was Julia Roberts from Pretty Women. Again, this would have been fine, except Julia Robert's character was a prostitute. Another girl, 3 years old was Sandy from Grease, complete with a cigarette and her mother in the crowd reminding her " Don't forget to smoke!" Even in China, we have little girls in bikinis striking a pose for news reporters. Is this really the image we are putting into the generations' brains at such a young age? I'd hope not. http://lifestyle.fr.msn.com... http://ellengry.com... B. Aside from how they dress, the process in which they get to that "perfect point" is worse. The "traditional" type of femininity is not to be fake. Natural pageants capture the feminine aspects, not glitz. The Pageant Planet states, "...to compete in a Glitz pageant the first thing you will need to do is get glamor head-shots taken. These head-shots make little girls that look like plastic dolls, but they are too cute!" The two words that should have stood out to you are 'plastic dolls'. At this age, these girls need to be playing with Barbie, not trying to be her. In order to even walk onto the stage, it is recommended to have fake hair, deep spray tans, fake teeth, and then their specialized routine. Some even go as far waxing their eyebrows, against their will, and using colored contacts. ABC News reported that a California mother was injecting her 8-year old daughter's face with Botox to help with her glitz pageant. She claimed "Wrinkles aren't pretty on a little girls face." Not only was this not safe for her child, but her daughter even said "It hurt, but I'm used to the pain." And according to Pageant Planet, these routines are not complete without exaggerated eye lash batting, tilting of the head from side to side, and blowing lots of kisses to the judges. http://www.thepageantplanet.com... http://abcnews.go.com... C. None of these things may be affecting the child dangerously now, but think of their future. After the years of dolling up and competing against others, what will happen when they grow up? They will be exposed to hundreds of other girls their age and they will look at themselves and start to compare. Their self esteem with plummet which can lead to severe depression. One mother refused her little girl dinner to make sure that she fit into her dress the next morning. What is her mother going to do when she grows up and starts skipping meals to make sure she fits into her clothes. That little girl will grow into an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia. In the long run, these pageants do more harm than they will ever do good. I strongly believe that natural pageant are so much better for society. Instead perfecting the outside of these girls, why not embrace their inner beauty as well. Fake isn't beautiful or cute. Beautiful is the real you.