Almost every little girl loves to play dress up. It makes them feel like the princesses they dream of being. Wearing a fancy dress and applying mom's makeup is harmless when you're five years old, right? Of course it is, when you're in the privacy of home or a friend's house. But what happens when it's done on stage? When the judges critique and compare children based on looks alone? Child beauty pageants are becoming more and more popular. Shows like TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras are bring pageants, and some harsh opinions, into the limelight. Beauty pageants exploit children.

Pageants send the message that outer beauty is necessary for success. Writer Andrew Stephen says that girls in pageants "learn that they are being valued only by conforming to an idealised, unreal version of feminine beauty" (Child). The girls in pageants try to make themselves look like society's idea of perfection by using spray tans, flippers, and makeup. They win by looking "ideal." In addition, the children are judged on looks instead of knowledge, personality, and talent. Eight year old Daisy May, showcased on TLC's Toddlers and Tiaras, says "Facial beauty is the most important thing, in life and in pageants" (Pageants.) An eight year old girl really believes that her beauty is what matters most, not her brain. Parents and teachers are constantly telling kids that it is on the inside that counts; not the outside, but is giving a child a trophy because they had the best hair dissolving those values? Also, girls in pageants are compared to the other competitors. Women scrutinize themselves based on the way other women look, be it celebrities or peers. Pageants encourage this behavior in young, developing girls. Losing a pageant sends the message that their is something wrong with the loser's appearance, while the winner assumes she is superior. The losing girl then looks to the winner to see how she should look, and contrasts herself to her. Pageants judge girls based on how they look.

Furthermore, pageants sexualize little girls. A three year old girl shown on Toddlers and Tiaras dressed in a prostitute costume for her pageant, including thigh-length boots, a tight tank top, and tight skirt (Henson). The outfit is promiscuous for an adult, let alone a toddler. That costume is normal for the pageant world. Everyone agrees that little kids should not look sexy, so why encourage an activity that promotes inappropriate dress? Along with that, the participants use provocative and mature moves on stage. Three year olds slap their butts. Four year olds hip thrust. Five year olds smoke fake cigarettes. All innocence is lost. Finally, the pageant girls make themselves look like young adults. Fake tans, fake teeth, and fake eyelashes are just a few examples of what girls do to prepare for the pageant. Some of the preparation is even painful. Girls get their eyebrows and legs waxed. Some even receive botox (Pageants). All of these examples are things most women do not even consider doing until early twenties, if at all. The pageant children are like sixteen year olds in disguise. Girls who participate in pageants look and act like sexy adults.

Finally, winning often means more to the parent, not the child. According to Martina Cartwright, dietitian and professor at the University of Arizona, some pageant parents exhibit "achievement by proxy distortion," where adults are motivated by social or financial gains from their child's success (Princess). Parents enter their children in pageants so they can receive the cash prizes. In addition, pageant parents live through their kids. Cartwright says parents "Experience pride and joy through their child's achievements" (Princess). Simply put, parents feel happy because their child is winning. Everyone likes to see their child win, but exploiting a child for one's own pleasure is morally wrong. Furthermore, many parents force their children to enter the pageants. Brooke Breedwell used to compete in pageants when she was young, and is now in her twenties. She says "Mum would pull me away from my friends and transform me from a tomboy into a beauty queen...I absolutely hated the make-up, the hairspray and fake teeth. But most of all I hated being forced to go on the tanning bed and I would cry every time" (Former). Her mother would force her to participate in pageants, even though it was obvious Breedwell disliked it. Pageant parents care more about winning than the children do.

Some might say that pageants help increase girls' self esteem. That simply is not true. In fact, it can decrease a child's confidence. Breedwell says, "My mum was always nagging at me to get things right and would point out every time I did something wrong...little by little it does chip away at your confidence." It's impossible not to focus on one self's flaws if they are constantly being pointed out, whether it's by judges, friends, or parents. Pageants increase confidence the same way cookies decrease weight. They do not.

Everyone loves to dress up and feel pretty, but to an extent. Pageants are over the top. Being judged based on beauty teaches children wrong values. Dressing children up as adults sends the wrong message. Forcing children to participate in something they do not want to do is damaging. Write to your local representative and tell them why you believe child beauty pageants should be banned in your state today.