The pressures to be beautiful are constant in one’s lifetime, but for some young girls, these pressures start at an early age. Beauty contests are almost always tailored for young girls, and rarely for males; however, the effects upon society are damaging to both sexes. Men are given mixed signals that women want to be treated as equals and not objectified; however, the purpose of a beauty contest is to objectify the contestants. Women’s rights are set back by the prevalence of beauty contests because of the mixed signals that they impart. Therefore, this essay argues that beauty contests are harmful to society because they effectively demolish the progress towards equality and women’s rights.
There are reality shows, such as Toddlers and Tiaras, which feature young girls and their mothers (Villines). One of the problems with these reality shows is that it normalizes the participation in beauty contests for young girls—where their mothers go so far as to paint abs on them, wear high heels, provocative clothing and teased up hair (Cartwright). The issue is one that has effects upon the psychological development of these young girls. The normalization of “Honey Boo Boo” (Cartwright) is damaging to society because of the expectations that go along with the normalization: Women are expected to become sexual objects, sometimes as early as age five.
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Some people defend beauty contests, stating that one is expected to uphold a higher moral standard and represent an entire community (Usher). However, this may be true for the winner of the pageant, but there are always more losers than winners. Therefore, the effects of beauty contests are detrimental to society because there are always more contestants who go away from a pageant discouraged and demoralized than who go away with a crown.
- Cartwright, Martina. “Child Beauty Pageants: What Are We Teaching Our Girls?” Psychology Today, 2011, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/food-thought/201108/child-beauty-pageants-what-are-we-teaching-our-girls. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
- Usher, Elizabeth. “The Positives of Beauty Pageants.” The Odyssey, 2016, www.theodysseyonline.com/positives-beauty-pageants?altdesign=socialux&utm_expid=.cZCE7oX8QCubI-ziFLsOXg.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
- Villines, Zawn. “Beauty Pageants and Children: It’s Not Always Pretty.” Good Therapy, 2012, www.goodtherapy.org/blog/beauty-pageants-and-children-not-always-pretty-1115127. Accessed 11 Dec. 2017.
