Beauty pageants started in Canada in 1921, when a hotel owner came up with the idea to boost tourism. However, by then, the “Most Beautiful Child” contests were already being held in major cities across the country. The Little Miss America pageant began in the 1960s and after that the trend of child beauty pageants slowly but steady took over the world. Today, it stands as a most lucrative business.[break]
Nepal has been organizing child beauty pageants since 1988 with the initiation of “Miss Little Lady” and ever since then such pageants have risen exponentially with many similar contests being organized every year. But there’s something about the sight of a ten-year-old girl made up to look like an overly enthusiastic beauty queen double her age that makes most people cringe.
Moreover, the child beauty pageants focus on aesthetics and external attributes enforcing the message that physical appearance is of paramount importance from an early age. Not only are such pageants exploitative, they pressurize children to adopt sexualized adult mannerisms they don’t really understand.
Pageants, in general, are often criticized for ranking women like prize horses and creating a potentially unattainable ideal beauty; and child beauty pageants, in particular, have always been generating heated debates.
In a paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Martina M. Cartwright, Ph.D., a registered dietician and Adjunct Professor in the University of Arizona’s Department of Nutritional Sciences, writes that participation in such pageants can be harmful to the children’s health and self esteem.
While some believe that children should not be allowed to parade in clothes and makeup that are not age-appropriate, others claim that it boosts confidence and self esteem. Critics have often claimed that parents are living vicariously through their kids by enrolling them in pageants while many parents believe that giving their children the platform helps them overcome shyness and build better personalities.
According to them, the pride of standing and modeling in front of an audience instills self-confidence and a sense of accomplishment. The child contestants have to walk the ramp to showcase their looks, poise and confidence in different types of costumes. The training program and subsequent practice sessions of a pageant are grueling. At a very young age, the child learns discipline, patience and confidence.
Despite claims from parents, who have entered their children in beauty pageants, that their children have benefited from such competitions, the industry continues to face barrage of criticism. According to a study in 2005, those who competed in beauty pageants as children were more dissatisfied with their bodies and have trust issues than those who did not participate.
What is interesting to note is that beauty pageants can also contribute to the sexualization of girls in very concrete ways at a time when they are just starting to understand their bodies. Eight to 11 years olds (the age criteria for child beauty contests in Nepal) entering the beauty contests engage in practices that are socially associated with sexiness, from putting on bright lipstick to emphasized full lips, long eyelashes and flushed cheeks to donning high heels and revealing gowns.
There is also a lot of pressure on children to perform on the stage. If the child happens to lose, frustrations might creep in. The frustration leads to depression and other psychological complications. There is also the stress of competition and the danger of undermining a child’s self-confidence, especially when she loses, if the message she receives is that how she looks is the most important aspect of who she is.
Beauty pageants stress looks, glamour and often even provocative attire. And children can easily fall into the trap of measuring their self worth by their look and become obsessed about external and superficial aspects of beauty instead of developing internal values and a love of learning.
However, organizers of child beauty pageants state that pageants should be treated like extracurricular activities, and should not interfere with academics. The conventions and connotations of child beauty pageants are derived from glamorized versions of beauty contests, and only when and if the pageants stop stressing on outward beauty and focus more on overall development will the society be able to protect its most vulnerable and precious asset – its children.
cillakhatry@gmail.com
Related story
Worth of stories
