Argument Essay
Sarah Hamal
Distorting Kids’ Lives
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 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
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.
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. Logos can
be seen through the actual 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.
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