Argument
Essay
Sarah
Hamal
Distorting
Kids’ Lives
December,
3, 2015
The big question
these days, is what to consider a sport? Most persons who perform or have a
somewhat active or competitive hobby that they enjoy, it usually is safe to
assume they consider it their sport. One example of this could be pageantry.
Kids perform, the parents provide money in order to do this, and someone always
wins. This twisted little sport has actually become very popular through a show
called Toddlers and Tiaras. This show
actually contorts the idea to young girls, that comparing yourself to another
girl in any way is okay, when it actually is a terrible influence on the young
mind. In every aspect, this type of performance and competition between girls
anywhere from six months old, to about ten, shows these girls acting way older
than they actually are. Some of them even compete with twenty years and older,
to take home the overall pageant supreme titles. With that the mothers will put
any amount of time or money into their child to make them the “prettiest” and
most polished girl to walk across the stage. In fact most parents are more
emotionally attached to this sport than their kid who participates. Mothers of
very young children do this to the same level and intensity of the much older
girls, including every makeup, nail, and hair piece routine your average model
would routinely go through. It is rare to see a child on this show who actually
enjoys the process, practice, and competition that these pageants bring. Clearly
the mothers and sometimes fathers really control the way that their kids become
involved in this, and with that it changes the goal from being the sweetest
little girl on stage, to who can be the biggest diva and take home the money,
trophies, and bragging rights to go along with it.
What
is most apparent here is the way the mothers are so controlling of all of this In
an article by Lucia Grosaru in Everyday
Psychology, the Psychologist states “Of course, these little beauties do
not enter the contests at their own request, but their mothers are the ones to
fill in the applications on time, pay the participation fee, create or buy the
outfit, establish the type of performance for the “talent” section … create and
exercise the hairstyle and make-up, keep a strict rehearsal schedule, hire
trainers if the mom herself cannot coach the whole thing, fill in the gas tank
and travel hundreds of miles with their children just to spend a weekend on an
emotional roller coaster that for most of the mother-daughter teams has its
last stop on “low.” (Quotation from an online magazine with no page numbers).
Some moms may easily over look this, but how or why could you willingly
enter your kid into a contest that is judged so harshly on appearance and meant
to prove which girl is better than the next? Since when is it an okay scene for
a parent to watch their toddlers acting like young adults?
A
more than common counter argument to this is that the mothers often had grown
up doing this, as it has always been a common thing, mostly in the south. They
feel like it is a great idea to then pass the torch on to their daughters
(sometimes sons) for them to then carry on with the so called fun loving contest
that they used to partake in themselves. In an article by Jessica Bennett
in Newsweek, the writer states, "Marleigh is one of many
pageant girls on the show, egged on by obsessive mothers who train their tots
to strut and swagger, flip their hair and pout their lips." (Quotation
from an online magazine with no page numbers.) Ultimately these mothers are
turning their small children into something they should not yet be! Anything
from fake teeth to heavily edited ‘head shots’ are what the pageantry world is
now like, not necessarily anything close to what it consisted of when it was
their mothers’ time. Another argument could be that the girls really truly
enjoy it. They have fun out on the stage, wearing the dresses or other
costumes, winning the money, and interacting with the other girls. But with the
emotional damage that comes with, the fun and prize money is absolutely nothing
compared to the hole they dig themselves emotionally.
Despite all those
objections, there are also a few simple solutions to the questions being
raised. It may be important for your child to find a way and break out of their
shell, but at what cost? You can watch just about any episode of Toddlers and Tiaras and the big bold
attitude of these youngsters will shine bright. In a YouTube video posted by, Taylor James Crawford, a great example of bold attitude lies within a four year old
named Makenzie from the show Toddlers and
Tiaras. Simply typing her name into YouTube brings up several highlight
videos of her tantrums and ridiculous behavior. Although Makenzie’s mom
basically sits back and rolls her eyes whenever she is acting out; most parents
promote this behavior thinking it is cute when they are sassy and have “big
personalities.” Parents shape their kids into demons and then act surprised
when that attitude follows them everywhere they go. Screaming, crying,
complaining, and even just saying “no” to a parent is a big funny joke to these
kids, all in an act for the cameras. Some could say it stops there, but at the
salon, or dance studio, the kids especially love to show their talents of defying
mom, in front of other people. Last but not least the atmosphere in these
environments is overly stressful, and in that case a lot of unhealthy
relationships are formed between children for various reasons. With everyone
getting ready, scoping the competition, and feeding their kids with as much
energy as possible it is a death race to get your kid out on the stage in time.
If two moms don’t like each other, their kids are basically in a competition
based on beating the rival, in order to make mom proud. In these cases it could be some good
competition between girls, but when one doesn’t win, even the mother of the
child gets sad that they didn’t win, or do better than the other girl. As if it
really mattered, there is no excuse to put your child in the position to feel
like that. The kids know, when you get an award in your age class as princess
that they did not do as good as the other girls that “pulled for a higher title.” This simply means that they have won a
supreme award instead of winning queen or princess of their age group. And In
that case they win money and a larger crown with the supreme title. But the
girls who didn’t do as good, know it, and often get visibly sad or upset about
it.
Pathos egos and logos are a large topic of
discussion here, effectively put in all aspects because this topic appeals to
peoples’ emotions and the connection they may have with pageants. A good representation
of the pathos is the appeal to the way people feel about raising their kids
this way, as well as the emotional connection with the sport itself, or what
those who participate feel it brings. Logos can be seen through the actual question
of choice to pit young girls against each other in a competition over beauty.
Even if it has always been a tradition popular in the south, now it should be
questioned whether the outfits, beauty processes, and practice are even ethical
for such young children. One must question if there really is a purpose, desire
or benefit behind performing other than that of the mothers influencing onto
them. These types of events should really only be allowed for girls, or boys at
least ten years old, somewhat close to growing up, who have the image of what a
pageant really is supposed to be. Kids
should have some actual ambition and drive to participate based on their own
desire too, not with a mother trying to live through her very young child. If people really could see, that nothing good
can come of such competition, then there wouldn’t be such a problem with the
way these children have grown up, and how they feel about themselves.
Works Cited
Bennett, Jessica. “Generation
Diva How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids.”
Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Crawford, Taylor James.
“Mackenzie in Toddlers & Tiaras- Top Best Moments.”
Online
video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 26 Feb.
Web.
28 Nov. 2015.
Grosaru, Lucia. “Toddlers and
child beauty pageants – Risk factors for severe psychological turmoil’s.”
Everyday Psychology. Everyday Psychology,
7 Sept. 2009. Web 23 Nov. 2015.
The
main idea of the first paper was to compare and analyze how different, yet
related ads target specific audiences, in very abrupt and direct ways just to
pull them in and try their product. Whereas the third and final paper was about
how to strategically present an argument, by supporting it with facts, opinions
and evidence to support it. We also were asked to include a counter argument to
acknowledge the other sides’ feelings. Although in the end I also list reason
as to why those reasons are wrong.
The
similar part about these two assignments were that we had to include a lot of
evidence, including pulling sources from the internet. But what was most important,
and in common was the expectation and reality that explanation, and a collected
presentation of thoughts was required in order to attract the reader enough to
persuade them of anything. Another thing in common was the number of sources,
roughly, and the presentation of a counter argument, because I have said that
was needed in the third paper, but it was suggested to include in the second
paper as well. For example I put two very similar hair product advertisements
that were both from a more recent time period, as well as an example of how
that differed to another ad from the 1970’s.
Although these ads are different brands of
hair product, the ad still is doing its job in a similar way. The Suave ad, and
the dry shampoo ad were very similar in concept. The Suave ad really draws the
eye with a large picture of a woman’s head, with an even large stack of dirty
dishes on top of it.
In
this instant shampoo ad, conceptually it is very similar to the Suave ad. The
hidden picture is communicating the idea that this shampoo may take just as
little time as it does to say the name; “Psssst!” Here you can see the same
exact text, side by side. It shows one message in two pictures. The (Psssst!)
Dry Shampoo ad reads “Between shampoos my hair starts feeling dirty and stringy
and I get very depressed. I feel ugly. So I handle the problem this simple way.
It’s quick. It’s easy. It doesn’t get my hair all wet. Now I never have to
worry about my hair not looking clean and shiny.” This ad is almost comical,
yet very efficient in delivering the main idea of the product. Side by side a
women who is smiling and holding what seems to be an unnamed beauty product, is
right next to a figure with a bag on their head, but the same message to
follow. This image brings the comedy, because the reality and thought of
someone actually trying to solve a problem by putting a bag on their head,
quickly becomes unrealistic. Whether it be suggesting that putting a bag over
your head would in fact take the same amount of time as it would to use this
product. The next thing that is appealing to the eye, is the brand name
“Psssst!”, this draws my eye towards the ad in the sense that there is some
sort of great secret to be told about this product.