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Oh.Dear.God.
Jul. 22nd, 2009 02:14 pmThis is horrific.
Child beauty pageants in the US are bad enough - and now they're cropping up in the UK too, and that documentary is startlingly horrible. A little girl who had plastic surgery on her ears at seven? Whose mother's main concern when she was born was that she wasn't cute enough? I just... WHAT are we teaching these young girls to value about themselves? There's a difference between having a positive body image, and being taught that the most valuable thing about yourself is the way that you look. And the fact is that babies (because that is what these little girls are) are not old enough to make the distinction and consent to enter these compeitions themselves.
I think adult beauty pageants are demeaning and ridiculous enough - but at least the vast majority of those contestants are entering of their own voilition, with at least some understanding the world they are moving in and the wider implications of their participation. Children often simply cannot tell the difference between what they want and what their parents want and that is EXACTLY why beauty competitions for children shouldn't be allowed. These little girls don't understand what they're doing - to themselves, to the wider world - with their participation in these events. And apparently, their mothers don't care (or are so insecure about their own self-image that they have to project their aspirations onto their children).
It's horrible, and it shouldn't be allowed.
Child beauty pageants in the US are bad enough - and now they're cropping up in the UK too, and that documentary is startlingly horrible. A little girl who had plastic surgery on her ears at seven? Whose mother's main concern when she was born was that she wasn't cute enough? I just... WHAT are we teaching these young girls to value about themselves? There's a difference between having a positive body image, and being taught that the most valuable thing about yourself is the way that you look. And the fact is that babies (because that is what these little girls are) are not old enough to make the distinction and consent to enter these compeitions themselves.
I think adult beauty pageants are demeaning and ridiculous enough - but at least the vast majority of those contestants are entering of their own voilition, with at least some understanding the world they are moving in and the wider implications of their participation. Children often simply cannot tell the difference between what they want and what their parents want and that is EXACTLY why beauty competitions for children shouldn't be allowed. These little girls don't understand what they're doing - to themselves, to the wider world - with their participation in these events. And apparently, their mothers don't care (or are so insecure about their own self-image that they have to project their aspirations onto their children).
It's horrible, and it shouldn't be allowed.
