Beauty pageants have been around in America for decades; however, they have not gained notoriety until the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" aired on national television. The airing of "Toddlers and Tiaras" has brought child pageants to the attention of many Americans. Not many people were aware of what took place in beauty pageants, but ever since the show debuted in 2009 there has been an intense controversy about children as young as newborns being entered into pageants. Some people say that pageants raise self-esteem and teach responsibility, whereas others say that pageants are necessary and children should take advantage of their youth. Although pageants teach etiquette and communication skills, ultimately they carry a vastly high
Out of 15 people, 2 said that pageants are beneficial and 13 said they were harmful.
Lee, Ahram. "Child Beauty Pageant Controversy." Survey. www.facebook.com. Publisher, 6 Mar. 2013. Web. 8 Mar. 2013

Children who frequently participate in pageants involuntarily develop different values of the way of life due to their surroundings. In figure 1, the number of people who said that beauty pageants teach harmful values outweighed the number of people who said that beauty pageants teach beneficial values. The looking-glass self is a collaborative process that says that people unfold images of themselves based on what they think others view them as. Individuals' opinions of themselves consistently change as their perceptions of how others view them shift (Thomas). According to the looking-glass self, if a child beauty pageant contestant is constantly told to that she is perfect, beautiful, and the best, eventually she will result in thinking that she is perfect, beautiful and the best. Those kinds of children will become more demanding and disrespectful because they create their own sense of superiority above others. " 'Toddlers and Tiaras' star Eden Wood, age 6, threw a tantrum at the Allure Fashion Week Lounge in New York when she could not get her teeth whitened, the New York Post reported