I watch What Not To Wear, maybe more often than I should. So of course, I often see the times for upcoming shows, like "Toddlers and Tiaras," a disturbing show about the beauty pageant industry, that makes young children, girls especially, act like sluts to win a prize. As disgusting as this is, the girls are also seemingly congratulated for being as bratty as possible, because this gives them an extra few minutes of the limelight on the episode. Everything about the show honestly scares me: if it were a documentary I might be able to swallow it, but the fact that it would be an actual series, seemingly in support of such a downright creepy industry freaks me out. In the movie "Little Miss Sunshine," the young girl Olive strongly desires to become the pageant winner, though her family's problems almost overshadow her dreams. While preparing backstage, Olive becomes hugely self-conscious as she watches the other moms dress their daughters in short, glittery dresses, and apply more make up and hairspray than anyone should ever use. Olive is a little geeky in appearance, with over sized glasses and a bit of baby fat still on her stomach. Yet she is the bravest, because she is the only real one in the entire pageant. She is the only one whose routine is amusing to watch, almost a parody of the others. Her innocence makes all the other girls, who really are a stand-in for their moms, seem fake and plastic-y.
And that brings me to the second most frightening part: the parents. Who could let their children act like this? No one in their right mind, of course. It's one thing if their children model, and see it as an extension of dress-up and play, but its another if their parents actually tell them to look slutty in front of the camera and judges. In the one part of the one episode I watched, every mom seemed to say the same thing, that they were living vicariously through their daughters. That's weird. Who would want that for their children? And moreover, what happens to these children in later life? Once they get wrinkles that make up can't hide, what do they do besides judge other young girls? What kind of life is that?
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I could not agree with you more on this issue, Anna. I too have seen commercials for this show, my sister and I have had in-depth discussions about it before, and to be honest I think that this show is downright scary. Parents who allow their daughters to partake in this industry clearly have no standards or classy expectations for their own children, and that is what scares me. Personally, I get more criticism from my mom and dad than anybody else in my life. It's always something: my shorts are too short, my tops too tight, or my hair too far in front of my face...It gets annoying, but it's also comforting because I know that they care about the way I present myself and my reputation. This is why when I see the kind of relaxed, friendly relationships that some of my peers share with their parents, it concerns me. Parents and their children should never be on that kind of level all the time, and honestly it just shows how little these parents care about actually disciplining their kids. "Toddlers and Tiaras" is basically a show about taking these kinds of unhealthy relationships to the EXTREME. In this case, the parents are even less mature than their children. They force them to do things that are too mature for their age in order to bridge the age gap. Maybe they are having a hard time getting older, or maybe they're just completely insane, but in my opinion the moms on "Toddlers and Tiaras" really need to take a step back and think about how their daughters are going to grow up.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen one episode of this show, but I was also struck by how the parents acted. I was confused by how they could teach their daughters at such a young age that appearance is so important. Most of the mothers on the show talk about how pageants are a place for their children to gain self-confidence, and that it's about inner beauty more than outer beauty. But I don't know if believe it. Why does a 4 year-old girl need to dress up and flippers on her baby teeth and gain self-confidence? It's not an issue they should have to worry about. This will only make them more aware of this issue in the future, and possibly even more self-conscious. If the parents really intend for their children to gain self-confidence, then I think the pageants have the opposite effect.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was funny when the parents make their 8 month old children do paegents. all they do is get held by their parents, while they drool. THis creates more problems because, as they grow up, the children are used to being in pagents. Creepy business
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