CHILD BEAUTY PAGEANTS

(Source: rrtr, via katier0se)

Spray Tan Symphony- Toddlers & Tiaras

“Tanning is not a big deal and I actually prefer her tan.” -pageant mom

“Baby, you have to. You can’t go out there white when everyone else is dark.” -pageant mom

Meet Morgan- Toddlers & Tiaras

Toddlers & Tiaras- a TLC reality TV show exposing the truth behind child beauty pageants

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I found this on the website for the Universal Royalty Beauty Pageant website. After conducting all my research, this may just be the most obvious example of how shallow and materialistic beauty pageants are. If they are offering to “fix” young girls’ appearance digitally now, what will it be a few years from now? Scary…

http://www.americanroyalmiss.bravehost.com/

http://www.universalroyalty.com/

http://www.crownjewelspageants.com/

http://www.californiatropic.com/

http://www.carolinapiedmontpageant.com/

AMERICAN ROYAL MISS BEAUTY PAGEANTS:

• Major component to scoring process: “ability to get along with other children and willingness to cooperate on and off stage”, as well as an on stage introduction component, grading communication skill and personality.
  
• Has a “Baby Miss” division for ages 0-2 years old

“American Royal Miss is a quality competition that embraces the excitement of the glitter and showmanship of pageantry, while helping to develop each and every contestant into a confident young lady who is REAL! We emphasize the value of natural beauty, poise, personality, and talent…with the hope that our contestants mature into dedicated, successful, goal oriented individuals” -American Royal Miss website

Crown Jewels Pageant 2010

CROWN JEWELS PAGEANTS:

• scoring process: 50% facial beauty, 25 % overall appearance, 25% personality and stage presence.

“Sure, there are some pageant kids who do not want to be there. I am sure that is true. Just as some football dad may have his son playing football when perhaps his son would prefer theatre or journalism. Or the mom who loved ballet tries to get her daughter involved, who prefers inline skates to a tutu.” —Cara Ryckman, Crown Jewels Pageants

“They love all the excitement, they love playing dress up, they really love doing makeup, they love all of the attention and family interaction, they love the party on Saturday night and all of the pageant gifts, and they love getting crowns to put on their shelf. My older daughter absolutely loved being on stage. That was her favorite part of the pageant. She had worked really hard on practicing her routines, and she loved getting up there and competing.” -Cara Ryckman, Crown Jewels Pageants 

“Bring on the bling! Think glamorous and elegant. Makeup and enhancements allowed - contestants may have fake hair, fake eyelashes, flippers, fake tan, artificial nails…we are looking for full glitz! Over the top? Bring it on.” -Crown Jewels Pageant website

“Overall Appearance takes in the total package.  Is the color of the dress flattering to the contestant?  Does it fit?  Is the contestant’s hair style beautiful, elegant, and does it flatter the contestant’s face?  Is the contestant’s makeup beautiful and enhancing the contestant’s face, or is it poorly done and distracting?  Is the contestant a beautiful picture from head to toe?  The contestant should give an immediate overall impression of glamorous elegant beauty.” -Judge Instructions, Crown Jewels Pageant Website

As a society, we define ethics as “a system of moral principles governing the appropriate conduct for a person or group.” Today, people have come to form a variety of ethics by which they carry out their lives. As a result, the ethicality of different lifestyles and issues are heavily debated over. One such issue is the child beauty pageant industry. Supporters argue that in this day and age, people have every right to pursue fortune and social status by whatever means they choose. On the other hand, those against the pageants feel that parents should never force and promote their child for their own personal benefit under any circumstances. Thus, we are left with the question- are child beauty pageants ethical?

Those supportive of child beauty pageants see the industry as ethical in that it is an opportunity to prosper. In the American Royal Miss beautypageant, winning contestants are awarded the opportunity to ride in parades, entertain at public events, appear at local and state pageants, and attend various up-scale social events. Nowadays, one’s reputation is essential in gaining prosperity. In that sense, the industry is viewed as a path to achieving such status. For those who believe it is in everyone’s best interest and rights to pursue affluence and success however they choose, child beauty pageants are therefore entirely ethical.

Some pageants offer thousands of dollars in cash as a prize, which supporters also view as an acceptable incentive within their ethics. Pageants such as the Carolina Piedmont Pageant and the Crown Jewels Pageant offer hundreds of dollars in cash rewards. The Universal Royalty Pageant even offers 100,000 dollars. With such an intense focus on wealth in society, some believe it is ethical to find financial success through winning such pageants. From supporters’ perspective, people can make the money they need by whatever means, and therefore find the concept of child beauty pageants ethical.

In contrast, certain aspects of these same beauty pageants point towards unethical incentives. For instance, in the American Royal Miss beauty pageant, contestants are allowed to be less than one year old. With virtually no age limit, those opposed argue that contestants of young ages are not consciously making the choice to be in the pageant. There is no knowing whether the contestant has any interest in the pageant for that matter. In this case, parents are thought to be overly pushing their children and trying to live through them. On the Crown Jewels Pageants online blog, pageant director Cara Ryckman rebuttals this accusation in saying, “Sure, there are some pageant kids who do not want to be there. I am sure that is true. Just as some football dad may have his son playing football when perhaps his son would prefer theatre or journalism. Or the mom who loved ballet tries to get her daughter involved, who prefers inline skates to a tutu.” While Ryckman is correct in that there are other activities parents push upon their children, what she is not acknowledging is the major difference between child beauty pageants and the other activities children are often forced into. Football and cheerleading are forms of exercise for the children; they keep the kids active and teach them to be a team player. Most importantly, they do not focus on outer appearance nearly as much as the pageants do. For a parent to push a pageant upon their child is different than any other activity. The child beauty pageant industry is seen as unethical in that it is an opportunity for parents to use their children as their own personal dolls.

Some also believe that child labor is being practiced to a certain degree within the pageants. Being that the parents are the legal guardians and authorities of the contestants, they are fully capable of spending all the rewards on themselves. Children only months old obviously do not have a say in where their earnings are spent. Therefore, it is believed that the children are practically working to earn money for their parents. From that perspective, those opposed find the industry is unethical for the sake of the helpless children.

Being that there are different ethics by which we conduct our lives, it is hard for any one person to identify the child beauty pageant as ethical or unethical. Perhaps the true solution to this never ending question is to analyze our ethics themselves. Should people gain money and success by whatever means? Do parents have the right to involve their children in whatever activities they choose? Do parents have the right to the money their children earn? Once we as a society come to agree more on what ethics we should abide by, the question of child beauty pageants, and much more important conflicts we face today, may just come to an end.