Argument Essay
Sarah Hamal
The
big question these days, is what to consider a sport? Most persons who preform
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 preform, 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
completion between adolescent girls anywhere from 6 months old, to about 10
shows these girls acting way older than they actually are. Some of them even
compete with 20 year old women and up to take home to overall pageant supreme
titles. And 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. Not to mention they 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 that the mothers and sometimes fathers really control
the way that their kids become involved in this, and with that it changes the
goal of being the sweetest little girl on stage, to the competition of who can
be the biggest diva and take home 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.
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. 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 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? Beats me.
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 fun loving contest that
they used to partake in themselves. Bennett, Jessica. "Generation
Diva How our obsession with beauty is changing our kids." Newsweek Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2009. Web. 19
Nov. 2015. 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 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, interacting with the
other girls etc.
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. Not to mention the fact that their 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 stupid 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 death match to win. 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” which simply means that they have won a supreme
award instead of queen or princess, and in that case they win money and a
larger crown with the supreme title.
Personally, I
think that these types or events should really only be allowed for girls, or
boys at least 10 years old. Somewhat close to growing up, and has the image of
what a pageant really is supposed to be. With 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.
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