Perfect Illusions
My hair was straightened, it was messy and frizzy, I cried. False teeth went in, my real teeth were squint, I cried. The dress was too tight, I was too fat, I cried. The make-up was applied, I had freckles, I cried. I looked in the mirror, I cried, to be immediately told to stop as the mascara would run. They forced me to eat powdered sugar, I breathed it in by mistake, I cried. Even my personality wasn't right. I looked in the mirror, but I didn't see myself, I saw a “pretty little princess”. Well, that's what Mummy told me I saw. She always said that, but only when I was like this. Without all my make-up, she only said bad things, that's why hated being without it. That's why I lied to her and told her that I liked doing this, just so I could feel pretty. I wished so much that Mummy hadn't made me do this. It was OK the first time, I just felt special, until I took my make-up off. Ever since then, I have been striving for ultimate perfection, striving to be the pretty little princess.
2.5 million girls compete in beauty pageants every year in the US. The number of beauty pageant held in the US every year is 100,000. The average BMI of a beauty contestant in 2010 was 18.9. The average BMI for a young woman is 24-26. In the past three years, 98 children aged between 5 and 10 were admitted to hospital suffering from anorexia, a further 499 children between he ages of 8 and 12, and 1,500 between 13 and 15 were also admitted, but that doesn’t include all the children that hide their disorder. Do these figures sound positive to you? Child beauty pageants in many aspects are indeed doing much more harm than good, both mentally, physically and emotionally. Throughout the years child beauty pageant popularity has grown an exponential amount. And now in the year 2012, seemingly, there is becoming an epidemic. It’s estimated in the United States alone each year, 250,000 children compete in child pageants of that, over 100,000 are girls under the age of twelve. The ages of contestants can be as low as 12 months. So you are willing to introduce a young baby into the world of spray tan and make-up? To prove that child beauty pageants should be abolished, it is essential to discuss the the psychological, physical and sexual abuse that is associated with beauty pageants.
On a mental level, pageants have been proven to cause in many cases mental distress; this is mainly due to the amount of pressure put on the contestants. Children aren’t equipped to handle high stress situations; and as a result they are more prone to suffer with some kind of mental strain. Of the children who participate in these pageants, studies have shown that approximately half of them are unhappy with the size that they are, and have or want to go on a diet. Comparing pageant children to others, they are sixty percent more likely to go on a diet by the age of ten. It's not uncommon for teens who used to be in pageants to develop eating disorders and have body image problems. Introducing young children to unnecessary falsities, it gives them a fake impression as to how beauty is portrayed, When children grow into their teenage years and beyond, they start to develop their owns styles and begin to tend to their appearance, and can be put under pressure to look a certain way. However, is it fair to acquaint children to beauty, when they are so young and influential? This could cause them to suffer great distress at the amount of pressure put on their young shoulders. Is trying to loose weight and there appearance really what young children should be focusing on? Physically these girls are striving for perfection, resulting in the possibility of eating disorders, extreme dieting and exercising. Emotionally, many girls actually acquire low-self-esteem; this is expected to carry on into ones adulthood if not handled with proper care. Not only that but many contestants that partake in child beauty pageants have a low level of self-worth, they many