Introduction
Beauty Pageants are usually held to allow young women to show their bodies and talents, which are unique in a specific region of one country or the whole world. The participants usually follow criteria like character, skill, or body construction to be admitted to the competition. To ensure that every person can take part in beauty pageants, judges conduct individual interviews before announcing the competition (Kumara and Jayawardhana 124). Different types of titles can be given to the participants like Miss, Mrs., Ms., or Teen. Children can also take part in similar competitions, but the requirements usually differ from the real pageants. Even though people who participate in competitions receive positive emotions during the whole process, the consequences of the preparation and representation might be severe. This paper will show how stereotypes are built based on beauty pageants, their negative effect on children’s development, and how females become objects of sexualization. The general outcomes of the competitions are not positive as participants and viewers can receive psychological damage and low self-esteem caused by the set standards.
Beauty Pageants
The first beauty pageants were conducted several years ago, and this type of competition is relatively new for modern societies. According to Srivastava, during the first several beauty pageants, judges did not pay attention to the female’s body conditions but to the participants’ mental abilities (2). Nevertheless, more physically attractive women started attending the contests, and the general idea changed. Young and beautiful ladies started representing their cultures, and depending on their appearance, many people were building specific stereotypes regarding different nations. This aspect has become a massive problem as beauty pageants have produced female ideals of bodies and faces. Many women around the world, regarding their physical construction, aim to have ideal supermodel parameters and make a different injections to change their facial issues (Srivastava 4). Marwick stated in 1989 that beautiful people look more reliable than ugly people (Srivastava 4). This aspect has changed the general attitude toward beauty, and more people have an unhealthy relationship with their body conditions when they want to change many aspects to look like models in beauty pageants.
The shows where young girls take part in beauty contests are becoming more popular in the USA, but viewers do not see how children are affected by these participations. Lieberman has identified the most common negative influencers on young people, and one of the massive is psychological damage (752). Parents want their girls to become the best in beauty pageants, and they decrease the length of their childhood by dressing them up as adults. Fashionable clothes and bright make-up make children grow quicker and become less sociable due to the fact that they act older than their peers (Lieberman 753). Constant competitions make children aggressive and irritable, and their ability to show sympathy is insignificant when they grow up. Moreover, the level of stress increases, causing further health problems.
Along with the mental issues, physical problems like anorexia and bulimia may appear. Parents try to control their children’s weight to ensure that they do not look more massive compared to other participants. Consequently, young people do not receive enough components crucial for their body development, and unhealthy food habits are starting to develop (Lieberman 755). Some obsessive adults also encourage their girls to have plastic surgeries to become unique from others. Some viewers of beauty pageants state that children choose to participate in contests themselves and are not affected by their surroundings (Lieberman 760). However, this could not be true as parents are role models for their children, and adult desires to prepare their child for beauty contests. This happens because young people cannot make their individual decisions at an early age.
Both young models and adults may become subject to sexual abuse. The beauty and physical conditions attract many people, and some individuals prefer crossing the border by allowing harassment. Even though some people state that participants of similar contests draw attention to themselves with their appearance, low authorities should regulate it (Ging et al. 415). The world should get rid of beauty stereotypes, and children from an early age should be taught that every person is different, and they do not have to change their bodies to become like a popular supermodel. This knowledge might help decrease sexualization as people will be different and have unique aspects that cannot be judged.
Conclusion
In conclusion, beauty pageants look exciting and interesting when shown on TV, but the reality is different, and many negative aspects exist in the preparation process and the influence on the viewers. While the model is ruining their health to change their appearance, other people build stereotypes that alter their representation of female and male ideals. These transformations also negatively influence the mental condition of both participants and those who constantly attend competitions. The same issue influence children as they are affected by their parents, and their social contribution decreases significantly, causing such problem as sexual abuse. It is crucial to teach children from early childhood that every person is unique and there is no need to become like someone shown on TV. When parents understand how to make their children more self-confident, the level of the external problem might decrease.
Works Cited
Ging, Debbie, Kiely, Elizabeth and Kitching, Karl. “#Slane girl, beauty pageants and padded bras: Flashpoint in the sexualisation if children debate in Irish media and political discourse.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 19, no. 3, 2018, pp. 412-427.
Kumara, H. I. G. C. and Jayawardhana, R. A. W. D. “International beauty pageants and the construction of hegemonic images of female beauty.” Sri Lanka Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 41, no. 2, 2018, pp. 123-136.
Lieberman, L. “Protecting pageant princesses: A call for statutory regulation of child beauty pageants.” Journal of Law and Policy, pp. 793-774.
Srivastava, Simpi. “Global production of a feminine ideal: Behind the scenes of beauty pageants.” Journal of Culture, Politics and Innovation, 2020, pp. 1-15.