ETHICS OF BEAUTY PAGEANTS’ EFFECTS ON CONTESTANTS
ETHICS OF BEAUTY PAGEANTS’ EFFECT ON CONTESTANTS
To What Extent Are US Beauty Pageants Benefitting Their Contestants?
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ETHICS OF BEAUTY PAGEANTS’ EFFECTS ON CONTESTANTS
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Introduction
The first modern American beauty pageant was held in 1854 by the infamous P.T. Barnum, but it was quickly closed down after public protest (Latham, 1955). These contests
really became popularized in the 1920, when advances in visual technologies and entertainment allowed for new ways for women to enter the public eye (Tice, 2006). Beauty
pageants have a recognizable format, a girl (ranging ages) is put on display and judged
based on her looks, charisma and talent (De la Cruz, 2018). Girls as young as four
months participate in such events. Contestants go through several outfits some of which
include extravagant dresses, swimsuits, and skimpy costumes. The kids that participate in
these pageants are enrolled by their parents and they have no choice but to participate, after all they are under their care. Psychologist Cassie Browen from Brockport university
stated that young girls that take part in such pageants often suffer with mental health issues and eating disorders. This poses a question, to what extend are US beauty pageants
benefitting their contestants? In this essay we will be looking at beauty pageants through
an ethical standpoint, child beauty pageants and mental health, parents of said contestants
and their role in pageantry, and lastly Miss America and the benefits it brings its winners.
MENTAL HEALTH
We are most impressionable at a young age, it’s often the experiences in our lives at a
young age that impact us as adults. most young girls that participated in a pageant as a
young girl or a baby is more likely to suffer from mental health issues. A study done by
Anna Wonderlich of the university of Minnesota aimed to test that exact theory amongst
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child beauty pageant participants. Twenty-two women in total participated, 2 had partaken in child beauty pageants and the other 2 had not, they were asked questions and
their BMI was measured along with some eating disorder tests that were ran. The results
showed that former participants scored higher on body dissatisfaction (Wonderlich,
2005). This study showed child beauty pageants negatively impacting girl’s adult lives on
the long run. Dressing up and strutting for a crowd while trying to impress judges isn’t
ideal for any child to experience and it can really take a toll on them emotionally. Brooke
Breedwell a former child beauty pageant contestant took part in a documentary, the documentary took place over the span of about 10 years, it shows her as a pageant baby, and
she grown and how it affected her life in the future. Brooke spoke up about her childhood
and said that the pressure that she was exposed to cause her to suffer from stress and anxiety (Lieberman, 2010). Yet another example where girls pageant background affects
their adult life. The girls are encouraged to tan and show off and meet unrealistic beauty
standards. Girls are pit against each other, after all it’s all about beating the next pretty
girl, there is no doubt that all that can affect girls and translate into their adult life.
PAGEANT PARENTS
The legal age of consent in the US is 18, therefore whether or not kids participate in
beauty pageants is up to their parent. Some pageant parents live vicariously through their
pageant babies and put copious amounts of pressure on the young girls to fit a certain
beauty standard said Martina M. Cartwright, a dietician and adjunct professor from the
university of Arizona. Putting pressure on kids to fit an ideal image and putting them on
stage to be judged is not ideal and can cause them a lot of stress and mental health issues
overall. Not only do pageant parents push their kids to unrealistic measures but they
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spend a lot of money on it as well, between tanning, outfits, and even fake teeth up to
$70,000 over the years (Lieberman, 2010). Some pageants offer scholarships which is a
great opportunity for the girls but unpractical as well, the parents spend thousands of dollars to win such prize when it could just be going to the girl’s college fund, securing her
future. The parents of young contestants also give them something called “pageant crack”
this is a mix of sugary drinks and energy drinks (cartwright, 2012). Pageant parents are
willing to go to great lengths to win despite the harms it could have on their children, the
devotions they have to these beauty pageants and the amount of time and money devoted
to them is not in their kids best interest and can affect them mentally as well as physically
(pageant crack).
MISS AMERICA
We live in a generation where mostly everyone is open minded, the barbie doll that used
to represent just the blonde blue-eyed skinny girl now has a variety of dolls, different
races and body types. The first miss America idealized female beauty standards in the
US, and it was made up of strictly white girls but Much like barbie Miss America has
changed a lot through the years (causey, 2016). In America this beauty pageant is hosted
annually, through the years Miss America has opened its doors to different races and this
caused a lot of protests (causey, 2016). Miss America hosting people of color to essentially represent America is a positive effect that beauty pageants have on their contestants,
not only does it benefit the contestant’s self-esteem but the young girls watching. Miss
America has also stopped measuring waist size and appealing to beauty standards as
much, they now require their contestants to pick a social issue to fight for. According to
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the Miss America official website she who wins gets to speak on issues publicly and gets
to finish her studies on a full ride, this negates the negative stigma around miss America.
Miss America is a prime example of a beauty pageant improving a contestant’s life and
opening up opportunities for them.
Conclusion
Despite the positive impacts that Miss America has on contestants, other pageantries such
as child beauty pageants do nothing but harm their contestants on the long run. One possible solution would be banning beauty pageants overall. A downside to banning pageants would be the negative effect on our culture, Miss Universe and Miss America
would be putting an age limit on beauty pageants. This solution would have the least impact on said pageant babies, helping them in the future. On that note a con of the age limit
would be the limit of scholarships due to pageants. Overall child beauty pageants are unethical but that doesn’t mean that all pageants are. Pageants such as Miss America benefit
contestants and allow them to speak up about important social issues.
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Reference
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