“I’m looking forward to participate in these contests after I reach the appropriate age,” says Sumi, the winner of Miss Little Lady 2012 beauty pageant organized by Kathmandu Jaycees.[break]
Sumi participated in the pageant after her teachers at the school encouraged her. It was through her that her mother, Mina Gamal, came to know about the existence of such a pageant and agreed on her daughter’s participation.
“When she said that she wanted to participate, I decided to support her as I thought such events could boost up her confidence,” she says. And she’s quite happy with the outcome, adds the proud mother, with Sumi not only having been declared the winner but also coming out more self-assured and outspoken after the contest.
Miss Little Lady pageant has been organized in Nepal since 1988 which calls for participation of young girls aged eight to 11. But in recent days, apart from Miss Little Lady organized by Kathmandu Jaycees, there are many other similar contests held: Little Miss World, Little Lady Capital, and Little Star, to name just a few.
The rise in the number of beauty pageants targeted for kids signify that the popularity of such events is increasing in the capital. Schools and parents are seen to have taken a liking for these kinds of events and some schools even boast the participation of their students in such beauty pageants in their websites and brochures.
“We were able to continue this pageant because parents and schools showed their interest in the event,” says Suman Maharjan, Vice President of Kathmandu Jaycees. “These contests help the kids realize their potential as these are extracurricular activities. In Miss Little Lady pageant, the selected participants are not only trained to present themselves on the stage but are also groomed on personality development and leadership skills by the past presidents of Kathmandu Jaycees,” he adds.
Psychologist Rena Shrestha, however, begs to differ. “In their growing and development period, kids have very little idea of what they are doing, and the social pressures and parental expectations to excel in everything can be stressful for a child,” she says, adding, “While some kids can take competition well, others may not.”
She further states that such exposure to the importance of success and limelight may create personality crises in some kids. “They are expected to act in a certain way in public when they can have totally opposing personality. When they are conscious about people judging the way they behave, it can lead to pent-up anger and frustration as they grow up,” she says.
Though beauty contests for kids are a growing worldwide phenomenon, these events are also drawing global criticisms. Beauty contests are criticized on the grounds that these events emphasize young girls to follow certain appearance standards and give them the message that looking pretty is of utmost importance. Critics further add that these kinds of beauty contests can have negative impacts on children as they are taught to appear “sexy” from a very young age.
Gamal, however, disagrees that Miss Little Lady was focused on only beauty and appearance. “The Little Lady pageant was less focused on appearance and more on personality building and talents,” she says.
Nisma Tamrakar, mother of 11-year-old Najejda Tamrakar, 1st runner-up at the same pageant, agrees with Gamal. But unlike in Gamal’s case where her daughter wanted to participate on her own, it was Tamrakar herself who took the initiative to get her daughter to participate in the competition.
“I believe that these kinds of competition are necessary for a child’s overall development. So, when I found out that the pageant was taking place, I got my daughter to participate in order to expose her talents,” Nishma says.
But even though such pageants help in a child’s development, it’s carried out in a very competitive environment. The participating children, in addition, have to go through a 20-day or month-long training before the finale, which requires them to spend their time after school, rehearsing for the contest.
This almost always takes a toll on children due to the hectic schedule, as they are required to attend extra hours of grooming apart from their school hours and homework later in the evening.
The organizers, on the other hand, refuse to be held accountable for such claims and criticisms. “Hard work is a must if you want to win. It’s the same with this event as well. The kids need to put in extra efforts if they want to stand out,” says Maharjan of Kathmandu Jaycees.
Raju Khadgi, program director of yet another similar beauty pageant, Little Lady Capital, claims that they organize the event taking care of such situations. “We basically organize the event during the time when schools generally have winter vacation. The event is usually organized to utilize such children’s free time so that they can learn something different while they take break from their studies,” he says.
But it isn’t as easy for the kids. The organizers provide no facility for transportation to and from the training venue which requires schools or parents to manage transportation for their kids. Tamrakar says that during the training course, she had to take leave from her work many times to pick up her daughter. She also agrees that her child had some stressful moments during the training period as she had to juggle between her study and competition.
“But it was all worthwhile. She learnt many things about confidence, determination and success,” says Tamrakar. Apart from beauty contests, she also lets her child compete in other events, such as handwriting and art competitions.
“She’s a very intelligent child and I want her to realize her potential as soon as she can. There’s heavy competition these days and I want her to be ready to face anything,” she says.
Tamrakar’s statement voices the opinions of many parents like her. From playgroup, parents rush to expose their kids to the world outside their home. With interaction and integration of children in playgroups and kindergartens, a community of their own, urban kids of every age today has raised the aptitude bar, and in addition, they are put in an environment where they are expected to outdo the other. And to top it off, beauty pageants set them up with adult accessories and guide them to act like one.
“Children of those age groups are definitely not in the stage to decide for their own good. So, it’s basically the parents’ call, whether or not they want their kids to participate in beauty pageants,” says woman activist Sapana Pradhan Malla. She also adds that it’s better to let children participate in other creative activities than beauty contests. (See interview)
Many, like Sumi, have succeeded, as children want to participate in beauty contests as they grow up. The success that they have acquired persuades them to be loyal consumers of the hyped definition of beauty fed by the growing celebrity culture. At 12, Sumi believes that she’s good with makeup, excited about current fashion and enjoys dressing up.
“(But) I think that there should a certain age bar set to be able to participate in beauty contests when the participants themselves can decide on whether they should participate or not,” Malla says. She also adds that kids are prone to manipulation and brainwashing, and exposing them to beauty contests can make them vulnerable to commercial and consumerist culture.
Though these contests may help girl children realize important life skills such as determination and presence of mind, these can also strip the kids off their childhood experience and force them to act as adults. As they learn to pose and pout and are subjected to scrutiny for the same, there are high chances that they measure their self-worth by how pretty they are. While confidence boost and self-assurance are positive points, extreme self-love and narcissism can be equally harmful for the kids.
The downsides of beauty pageants
Beauty pageants have been gaining a lot of popularity in Nepal with different contests being organized and held every year. Apart from pageants focused on the youth, girl children’s beauty pageants are also becoming a rage of sorts.
The Week talked to lawyer and women’s rights activist Sapana Pradhan Malla regarding the downside of beauty pageants that are organized exclusively for girl children.
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Do you think beauty pageants for girl children are necessary?
I don’t find it necessary for girl children to focus on their beauty and looks at a tender age. Rather than just focusing on how to do catwalks and apply makeup, girl children should be involved in intellectual activities. Girl children participating at such pageants at times don’t even know what they’re getting involved in. So it’s important to have their better interests at heart. Competition as such is alright but it’s not right to encourage the girl child to think that such pageants should be taken up as career. Beauty pageants will make girl children more conscious about style from an early age when we should in fact focus on their physical and mental development. I believe that such pageants may spread the message that looking pretty is a goal that must be obtained by any means.
What kind of impact do you think such pageants have on young minds?
Introducing children to the world of glitz and glamour also means that we’re inviting feelings that give looks the first priority. I think that such pageants focus on the commoditization of children and may develop feelings of adulthood from early on as they become more conscious of their appearance. Many kids become precocious as a result and behave older than they are. This kind of attitude from an early age may hinder their natural physical and mental growth.
What can be the alternatives to such pageants?
I support the idea that rather than beauty pageants, children should be allowed to focus on exploring various creative opportunities that are offered at their schools. After reaching a certain age, they can definitely choose to participate in any beauty competitions. But from a very young age, they should be guided to focus on activities that enhance their wellbeing and overall growth. There are many activities, like debates, sports, cultural and talent competitions in schools where children get to express their creativity. So it should rather be that way than just focusing on enhancing their beauty.
Why is it necessary to encourage girl children to focus on creative activities rather than attract them to the glamour world?
If girl children are made to participate in such glamour competitions, they will be focused to only a limited world. At an age when they should be paying attention to their studies and school activities, their concentration may be diverted to something else. By being exposed to the world of beauty and glamour, they may grow up thinking that beauty is the most important thing, and in the process may become someone else and lose their uniqueness. So I think that we should focus on developing the personality of the girl child so that she grows to become a confident person and can also choose her interests wisely in the future.
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