Beauty Queens and Princesses
This might be long winded,but I need to get it off my chest. Hope you have a fresh cuppa coffee!
Last night I attended my first beauty pageant. One of my clients, a sweet, beautiful and very smart girl was one of the finalists and we decided to support her and make the hour long trip to Hot Springs, pay $20 to get in, and whoop and holler for our gal.
The pageant was as anyone would expect, lots of glitter and glitz, bad talent, stupid acts between catagories and the glaring awareness of tremendous amounts of money having been spent. Two things really bothered me and I spent the ride home thinking about this.
Of the top ten finalists, three were close, if not already, anorexic. The swimsuit event was shocking. Oh, by the way, it's no longer called the swimsuit competion, but "livesytle and fittness" HA!!! There was nothing fit about these girls, they were just sad. Worse of all, they were being rewarded for thier "lifestyle" choices by the promise of a title and a crown. Smart girls too, all college students, one of them in her second year of law school.
Each of the 44 State winners had a "princess" that followed her around the pageant week. Ranging in ages from 3-11, they were "beauty queens in training", that's how they were introduced, and they did a little dance number and strutted down the runway. Some were adorable, but what got my attention was during the end of the pageant when the 5 finalists did their evening gown competition. All of them was escorted by their little girl (who all had thier very own crowns on)some shyly walking with thier big sister, some more comfortable than others. But there was one who, at age 11 was so programmed into the whole runway model thing she actually made people uncomfortable. There she was, strutting and posing, doing the princes wave and actually looked more like a pageant contestant than the finalist she was escorting.
It disturbed me to know that this little girl, at her age, already has this mind set, programmed no doubt by parents pushing her to do this and not knowing any better. You can say all you want that these are now "scholarship competitions", but it sure isn't the impression I got last night. It's one thing for a 23 year old girl to make the decision to do this, but it's entirely different when you're brainwashed into it.
Is it any wonder our culture puts so much pressure on our young girls and they end up having body image and eating disorders?
Ok, I feel better now.
By the way, Ashleigh finished 4th overall and my DIL's cousin won Miss Arkansas. It will be interesting to follow this young lady through the next year.
Last night I attended my first beauty pageant. One of my clients, a sweet, beautiful and very smart girl was one of the finalists and we decided to support her and make the hour long trip to Hot Springs, pay $20 to get in, and whoop and holler for our gal.
The pageant was as anyone would expect, lots of glitter and glitz, bad talent, stupid acts between catagories and the glaring awareness of tremendous amounts of money having been spent. Two things really bothered me and I spent the ride home thinking about this.
Of the top ten finalists, three were close, if not already, anorexic. The swimsuit event was shocking. Oh, by the way, it's no longer called the swimsuit competion, but "livesytle and fittness" HA!!! There was nothing fit about these girls, they were just sad. Worse of all, they were being rewarded for thier "lifestyle" choices by the promise of a title and a crown. Smart girls too, all college students, one of them in her second year of law school.
Each of the 44 State winners had a "princess" that followed her around the pageant week. Ranging in ages from 3-11, they were "beauty queens in training", that's how they were introduced, and they did a little dance number and strutted down the runway. Some were adorable, but what got my attention was during the end of the pageant when the 5 finalists did their evening gown competition. All of them was escorted by their little girl (who all had thier very own crowns on)some shyly walking with thier big sister, some more comfortable than others. But there was one who, at age 11 was so programmed into the whole runway model thing she actually made people uncomfortable. There she was, strutting and posing, doing the princes wave and actually looked more like a pageant contestant than the finalist she was escorting.
It disturbed me to know that this little girl, at her age, already has this mind set, programmed no doubt by parents pushing her to do this and not knowing any better. You can say all you want that these are now "scholarship competitions", but it sure isn't the impression I got last night. It's one thing for a 23 year old girl to make the decision to do this, but it's entirely different when you're brainwashed into it.
Is it any wonder our culture puts so much pressure on our young girls and they end up having body image and eating disorders?
Ok, I feel better now.
By the way, Ashleigh finished 4th overall and my DIL's cousin won Miss Arkansas. It will be interesting to follow this young lady through the next year.
Susan
Susan
I totally know what you mean. There is a different between entering your baby's picture in a pretty baby contest and teaching your little girl to prance down a stage with a smile plastered to her face and her hand cupped and swaying side to side.
The bad mothers (and I say mothers because it's never the fathers entering them) aren't the ones that enter their little 11 year old in a competition to boost her self-esteem or to teach her to be more graceful or just because the little girl wants to. The bad mothers are the ones that start their girls off as babies coming up in pageants and keep them entered in them all the time. That is NOT done for their daughter's benefit. It is done for the MOTHER'S benefit. That little baby doesn't give a crap about pageants. She'd rather be playing in the park with mom or throwing stones into a pond with mom.
You can read what I consider to be horror stories about pageant moms. For instance, it is common in pageants for the little girls to get their stomachs shrunk by wrapping duck-tape around and around their waists (to give them more of a "figure" than most little girls have). In fact, some mothers have had their daughter's lowest ribs removed to allow them to "cave in" more nearer to their waist.
Some mothers have spent over $100,000 on pageant gowns for their daughters. (I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for that. Even if you are a millionaire, you don't know WHAT tomorrow will bring. Unless you have enough money put back for your daughter's college education first, you should not be throwing away that much money on pageant gowns.)
Maybe I just see and hear about more of that crap because I do live near HS and that's where a lot of these pageants are now. But I think it's pathetic.
If my 11 year old daughter wanted to enter one, I'd certainly let her. But I would NEVER in a million years have endoctronated her into the pageant lifestyle.
The bad mothers (and I say mothers because it's never the fathers entering them) aren't the ones that enter their little 11 year old in a competition to boost her self-esteem or to teach her to be more graceful or just because the little girl wants to. The bad mothers are the ones that start their girls off as babies coming up in pageants and keep them entered in them all the time. That is NOT done for their daughter's benefit. It is done for the MOTHER'S benefit. That little baby doesn't give a crap about pageants. She'd rather be playing in the park with mom or throwing stones into a pond with mom.
You can read what I consider to be horror stories about pageant moms. For instance, it is common in pageants for the little girls to get their stomachs shrunk by wrapping duck-tape around and around their waists (to give them more of a "figure" than most little girls have). In fact, some mothers have had their daughter's lowest ribs removed to allow them to "cave in" more nearer to their waist.
Some mothers have spent over $100,000 on pageant gowns for their daughters. (I'm sorry, but there is NO excuse for that. Even if you are a millionaire, you don't know WHAT tomorrow will bring. Unless you have enough money put back for your daughter's college education first, you should not be throwing away that much money on pageant gowns.)
Maybe I just see and hear about more of that crap because I do live near HS and that's where a lot of these pageants are now. But I think it's pathetic.
If my 11 year old daughter wanted to enter one, I'd certainly let her. But I would NEVER in a million years have endoctronated her into the pageant lifestyle.
You're so right, on so many counts.
First of all, I agree that it's the moms, not the dads that get their kids involved in this. Perhaps it's a need to fullfill some dream of their own that causes them to put thier girls into this situation. Who knows their motivation, but it was so sad to see these little ones paraded around like that. The last one, the one that bothered me the most, strutted, stuck out her hip, had the fake smile..... I just can't describe how this child acted! I'm still dumbfounded!!
I crossed posted this onto the Over 50 forum and got a lively response to it. One lady doesn't see anything wrong with it and claims that it provides "family time" together. But most of them agree with us, and even some say it's the men who have started all this to begin with. Maybe so, but we as women have allowed it to go on.
Hannah is getting to the age where if she thought it was something she wanted to do, I'm sure you'd discuss it in a good way, and let her make a decision. That's the thing, these 3 yr olds in their frilly dresses, make up and mini crowns have no say about what they are doing, and by the time they're 11 it's their way of life. Then comes the body image thing, and God help those who get into the eating disorder thing. And so it goes....on and on.
First of all, I agree that it's the moms, not the dads that get their kids involved in this. Perhaps it's a need to fullfill some dream of their own that causes them to put thier girls into this situation. Who knows their motivation, but it was so sad to see these little ones paraded around like that. The last one, the one that bothered me the most, strutted, stuck out her hip, had the fake smile..... I just can't describe how this child acted! I'm still dumbfounded!!
I crossed posted this onto the Over 50 forum and got a lively response to it. One lady doesn't see anything wrong with it and claims that it provides "family time" together. But most of them agree with us, and even some say it's the men who have started all this to begin with. Maybe so, but we as women have allowed it to go on.
Hannah is getting to the age where if she thought it was something she wanted to do, I'm sure you'd discuss it in a good way, and let her make a decision. That's the thing, these 3 yr olds in their frilly dresses, make up and mini crowns have no say about what they are doing, and by the time they're 11 it's their way of life. Then comes the body image thing, and God help those who get into the eating disorder thing. And so it goes....on and on.
Susan
That makes me think of the new Dove commercials showing the little girl on the couch seeing all these images of models...etc... and how the Dove people are trying a drive to teach girls that they are beautiful..and smart..and valuable just the way they are. Unfortunately people tend to treat prettier people in a more positive manner. My daughter is 28, 6' tall and 300 pounds. She's lost 70 pounds from following the doctors pre-op plan. She is wanting RNY but in the meantime she's graduated with dual Masters degrees from Hopkins and the University of Maryland in Social Work, she is beautiful inside and out. she has a successful loving marriage and people are drawn to her. If you can't tell..I'm super proud of the person she has become! I know she will be able to help girls along the way realize how wonderful they are..just as they are.
Kelley
Kelley
Ok, first of all, I've seen you in person.....there's no way you have a child that's 28!!!!
Yes, those Dove commercials are so responsible. They had the women from the commercials and the PR folks from Dove on the Today Show about a year ago talking about how they really DO use real women and their mission is to help women with positive body images.
Congratulations for raising such a well adjusted, intelligent woman. You both should be proud!
Yes, those Dove commercials are so responsible. They had the women from the commercials and the PR folks from Dove on the Today Show about a year ago talking about how they really DO use real women and their mission is to help women with positive body images.
Congratulations for raising such a well adjusted, intelligent woman. You both should be proud!
Susan
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