A child beauty pageant is a controversial
beauty contest
A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...
featuring contestants under 18 years of age. Competition categories may include
talent,
interview
An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" re ...
,
sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons.
Typical spor ...
,
casual wear
Casual wear (or casual attire or clothing) is a Western dress code that is relaxed, occasional, spontaneous and suited for everyday use. Casual wear became popular in the Western world following the counterculture of the 1960s. When emphasisi ...
, swimwear,
western wear
Western wear is a category of men's and women's clothing which derives its unique style from the clothes worn in the 19th century Wild West. It ranges from accurate historical reproductions of American frontier clothing, to the stylized garments ...
, theme wear, outfit of choice, decade wear, and
evening wear. Depending on the type of pageant system (glitz or natural), contestants may be found wearing anything from
makeup
Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or created sy ...
to fake teeth, known as flippers, as well as elaborate hairstyles and custom-designed fitted outfits to present their routines on stage.
History
Beauty pageants started in 1921 when the owner of an
Atlantic City
Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...
hotel struck upon the idea to help boost
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
. However, that idea had already circulated through "''Most Beautiful Child''" contests held in major cities across the country. The Little Miss America pageant began in the 1960s at
Palisades Amusement Park
Palisades Amusement Park was a 38-acre amusement park located in Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. It was located atop the New Jersey Palisades, lying partly in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Cliffside Park and ...
in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. Originally, it was for young people from 13 to 17 years old, but by 1964 there were over 35,000 participants, which prompted an age division.
[Gargiulo, Vince. ]Palisades Amusement Park
Palisades Amusement Park was a 38-acre amusement park located in Bergen County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City. It was located atop the New Jersey Palisades, lying partly in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, Cliffside Park and ...
: A Century of Fond Memories. Lulu.com, 2006. The modern child beauty pageant emerged in the early 1960s, held in
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Since then, the industry has grown to include about 250,000 pageants.
It has grown from the senior beauty pageants, previously originating from South America, in particular in Venezuela, to become an event held throughout the world for young boys and girls, with an emphasis on competitions being popularized by mainstream media in the United States, to much criticism.
The
murder of JonBenét Ramsey
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, ...
in late 1996 turned the public spotlight onto child beauty pageants. Critics began to question the ethics of parents who would present their child in a way that was perhaps not suitable for their age. In 2001, American Network
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
aired its
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
-winning ''
Living Dolls: The Making of a Child Beauty Queen'', which garnered much attention. Additionally,
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
, also an American network, has created shows such as ''
Toddlers & Tiaras
''Toddlers & Tiaras'' (known as ''Another Toddlers & Tiaras'' in season 7) is an American reality television series that aired on TLC from January 27, 2009, to October 16, 2013. After a three-year hiatus due to much controversy, a sequel series p ...
'' and ''
King of the Crown'', the former dedicated to the world of high glitz child pageantry and the latter to the world of pageant coaching.
Types
While most beauty pageants cater strictly to girls, there is a growing number that includes boys as well. Often, age divisions for boys run through age 6 with very few going beyond that due to lack of participation and public perception. Age divisions will often have names such as "Baby Miss", "Petite Miss", "Little Miss" and more. Age divisions are generally broken as follows: 0–11 months, 12–23 months, 1–3 years, 4–6 years, 7–9 years, 10–12 years, 13–15 years, and 16–18 years. For boys, sometimes two age divisions would be merged such as 0–3 years, 4–6 years, etc.
Depending on which type of pageant system is entered, contestants will spend about two hours or less in the actual competition. Typically, pageants have a guideline of "no more than one and a half minutes on stage" per child for beauty or formalwear and other modeling-based events. Talent usually is limited to two minutes or less with the rare exception of allowing two and a half to three minutes.
In contrast, natural pageants have fairly strict guidelines regarding clothing, makeup, hair extensions, etc. Programs such as National American Miss forbid any makeup other than non-shiny lipgloss and mascara for girls on stage. This modeling style is often referred to as "Miss America-style". Some pageants have a prescribed set of movements while others allow a little more latitude in how girls will use the stage or runway.
All pageants have slightly different guidelines, rules, and criteria for what they judge on, and events. Events may include sportswear, swimwear, evening wear, talent, interview, writing skills, and modeling.
Children are critiqued on "individuality, capability, poise, and confidence."
They compete to win a variety of prizes, such as electronics, toys, scholarships and grants, cash, tiaras, sashes, robes, and trophies.
Trophies can be taller than the contestants themselves; in the "Our Little Miss" pageant, the World level trophies can be tall.
There is a queen for every age division, and there are Ultimate Grand Supreme awards, and Mini Supreme queens for certain blocks of age divisions (0–5, 6–11, 12–16, 17 and up). There are also side awards and overall side awards.
A rising trend in pageantry is the online, specialty or mail-in pageant. Social media sites like
Facebook
Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...
have many photo contest and pageant pages where contestant's photos are judged by how many "likes" they receive. There is a website devoted to this type of pageant program. Unlike the live or on-stage counterparts, contestants in an online pageant submit an application and photographs or videos for judging. Judging criteria can include past pageant achievements, numeric scale ratings and essays. Winners may be awarded virtual prizes such downloadable certificates and being featured on a pageant's website or physical prizes and gifts such as tiaras, sashes, medallions, toys and more. Entry fees typically range from $5 to $80 depending on the type, level and scope (local/state/national/international). Many are seasonal or theme-based. Others may be a counterpart to a live or on-stage event.
Cost
In a glitz pageant, makeup and hair are typically done by a professional makeup artist.
[Prodis, Julia]
CHILD PAGEANTS' WORLD A BLUR OF CROWNS, GOWNS : EXPERIENCE CAN BE HEALTHY, PARENTS SAY.
AP: Daily News 1997. Retrieved 2-12-2008. Natural pageants do not generally require a professional makeup artist or hair dresser although some girls choose to use them in the older age divisions.
Criticism
Parents are sometimes criticized for entering their children in pageants. By holding very young girls to a "beauty" standard involving things such as makeup and spray tans, pageants are seen as reinforcing a very superficial, modern type of femininity. One sociologist, Shelby Colene Pannell, questions why parents would willingly subject their children to gender socialization in such an extreme form.
[Pannell, S. C. (2007). Mothers and Daughters: The Creation and Contestation of Beauty and
Femininity. Vanderbilt University .ProQuest Dissertations and Theses. 325. Retrieved from /record=b1261238~S0.]
Families on TLC's television series ''
Toddlers & Tiaras
''Toddlers & Tiaras'' (known as ''Another Toddlers & Tiaras'' in season 7) is an American reality television series that aired on TLC from January 27, 2009, to October 16, 2013. After a three-year hiatus due to much controversy, a sequel series p ...
'' are subject to intense criticism for negatively influencing their children that their physical appearance will score them attention and prizes. The show first aired in 2009 and follows the child participants and their parents as they prepare for the upcoming beauty pageant of the weekend. The show is non-narrated to avoid showing opinion and has sparked heavy controversy due to actions including allowing a child to smoke a fake cigarette during the talent portion of the competition, forcing a child to wear fake breasts, a parent who allowed her child to dress like a prostitute in the "outfit of choice" category, and waxing/threading a child's facial and body hair to give them a glowing appearance on stage.
Commodification of children
Some critics of child beauty pageants say the pageants promote children as products used for the benefit of commercial gain. Parents spend money on clothing, hair, makeup, and accessories in return for a cash prize.
Sexualization
In preparation for these beauty pageants, children have their appearances altered by costumes, makeup, and other products which can
objectify them at a very young age.
Certain pageants encourage contestants to emulate grown women, applying heavy makeup to create full lips, long eyelashes, and flushed cheeks, wearing high heels and revealing "evening gowns", and doing provocative dance steps, poses or facial expressions. These things are not only preferred but expected if a child is to win the contest.
The children participating in beauty contests may learn that they gain attention and status when being sexualized. The child perceives that sexuality is not only encouraged but can be a means to an end.
"When you have them looking older, for a lot of people that means looking sexier. I don't think it's a great idea for girls at that age to be focused so much on their sexuality," Syd Brown, a youth psychologist practicing in Maryland told ABC News. "If you're telling a 6-year-old to act like a 16-year-old, you're telling her to be seductive and to be sexy."
Defense
Regardless of the criticism, parents still defend their reasons for letting their young children participate in these pageants. Hillary Levy, an undergraduate researcher at Harvard University, found that many parents felt that their children, even males, were able to gain poise and confidence in front of a group. Parents of children with birth defects felt as though it was not a negative experience but instead, a way for their children to interact with others and not feel as if they were different.
Many parents believe that beauty pageants teach their children to always perform their very best and boost their self-esteem.
One mother of a two-year-old participant in ''Toddlers & Tiaras'' claimed: “'It’s just building that confidence early so she doesn’t have to hide away and she can achieve things she wants to achieve without being shy." She believes that gaining this self-confidence at a young age will benefit her child in the long run by helping her open up to people more easily and rid her of her shyness. "I was always involved in the baseball, the football, the basketball, the dance and now my kids are grown," said parent Joy Clark. "To me this is the same thing, it's a sport we travel to. We teach her, she practices, and you win prizes. It's just the same. It's just a sport."
These parents believe that a pageant should not be viewed as anything other than another extra-curricular activity because it teaches children basic life values such as self-confidence, sportsmanship, determination, and leadership that any other sport or activity outside of school would do, and what matters is if a child is raised in a healthy environment surrounded by good people and good morals.
Law
Lindsay Lieberman, the author of "Protecting Pageant Princesses: A Call for Statutory Regulation of Child Beauty Pageants", argues that there should be regulations on how child beauty pageants are run because the effects on children can be damaging. In her article, Lieberman touches upon points that concern the lifestyles that children who compete in pageants have going on while competing such as stress and anxiety as well as problems they will have later on in the future such as depression, lowered self-esteem, and battling eating disorders.
In 2013, France banned pageants for children under the age of 13 years, because they promote the "hyper-sexualisation" of minors. France also voted to regulate pageants for children aged 13–15 (The
age of consent
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...
in France is 15). France is the first Western country to ban child pageants.
See also
* TLC's reality series ''
Toddlers & Tiaras
''Toddlers & Tiaras'' (known as ''Another Toddlers & Tiaras'' in season 7) is an American reality television series that aired on TLC from January 27, 2009, to October 16, 2013. After a three-year hiatus due to much controversy, a sequel series p ...
''
* ''
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
''Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'' is an American reality television series that aired on TLC featuring the family of child beauty pageant contestant Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson. The show premiered on August 8, 2012, and ended on August 14, 2014. T ...
'', reality television series (TLC, 2012–2014)
*
Child model
A child model is a child who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art, such as photography, painting and sculpture.
Practice
Artists have used children as models for countless ...
References
External links
Child beauty pageant statistics{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806085427/http://occupytheory.org/child-beauty-pageant-statistics , date=6 August 2019
I'M the Baby!��Learn about the baby & kid contests.
Childhood
fr:Concours de beauté#Concours de beauté pour enfants