McPherson 1
Ashley McPherson
Mrs. Chessare
CCC 3rd hour
November 8, 2013
The Regulation of Beauty Pageants
"A five-year old begs not to have her eyebrows ripped out. Some girls are reportedly injected with Botox to smooth wrinkles" (Reist 79), and this all started in the 1960s. Although beauty pageants started out as a marketing tool (Nussbaum n. pag.), it has grown to be an even bigger industry than it ever has been. All across the nation young children participate in beauty pageants every year, and some even every month. Beauty pageants generally consist of swimwear/sportswear, evening attire, talent, and outfit of choice, and most of the participants wear makeup and have elaborate hairstyles to help boost their scores. Although young girls tend to play dress up, beauty pageants take it to a whole new level. As many people can imagine, this has a lot of damaging effects on children, which is why beauty pageants should be regulated by the government.
First of all,To start things off, beauty pageants have various health risks for children, which is a main reason why the government should regulate them. Research has shown that beauty pageants can cause mental health issues, especially in girls, and "participation in activities that focus on physical appearance at an early age can influence teen and/or adult self-esteem, body image and self-worth" (Cartwright Blue n. pag.). The disorders that girls develop are mainly eating disorders because of the pressure to be "perfect", and it may continue even through adulthood. There are also physical health hazards to children, mainly because of the high sugar intake that they endure while competing in a beauty pageant. Cartwright saw "several parents giving their children caffeinated beverages and Pixy Stix candy, often referred to as 'pageant crack', to keep their energy levels high" (...