Toddlers in Tiaras

Earlier this week, in my other Women Studies course, Mothers and Daughters, we watched a short clip of a documentary on beauty pageants. In this clip, young girls from infants to ten year olds were paraded around by their mothers in garish makeup and overpriced, sparkly dresses. Overall the whole situation struck me as very bizarre and unsettling. There is no reason in this world to justify putting bright red lipstick on your two-year old or for a toddler to get a spray tan. It made me wonder about how our society, sometimes even mothers themselves impress certain gender expectations on to their children.

            One mother of a sweet 7-year-old girl was interviewed about the cost of these pageants. She said sometimes the pageant dresses cost upwards of $6,000. Yes. That’s three zeroes at the end. That is double the value of the car I’m currently driving around! It just seems silly to shell out so much money for a dress that will only be worn once for an hour or so. More shocking than the cost of these pageants is the appearance mothers try to give their children. Young girls, sometimes infants are made to look like women by the use of spray tans, heavy eye makeup, dresses with tulle that give even a pre-pubescent girl an “hourglass” silhouette. Honestly the blatant sexualization of these girls seems downright criminal and makes my stomach turn.

            Besides the general distaste of the whole situation, pageants must have a profound impact on a girl’s personality and sense of self-worth. There was one line in the documentary that emphasized this point, saying something along the lines of pageants, “teaching girls the source of their value as a woman.” Girls learn that a woman’s value in our society is strongly based on their appearance whether they’re entered in pageants or not just by the pervasive nature of the media in most peoples’ daily lives. However, pageants have always translated this value in a direct and unapologetic way, and I don’t believe it’s a really healthy activity to involve your child in especially when they aren’t event old enough to vocalize their opinion.

            Overall, this pageant documentary helped reveal yet another institutional practice that puts children through the “gendering” process starting at a very young age. Especially in this region of the south, beauty pageants are common and very popular among young mothers and girls. This process seems really damaging to these children because they sexualize the girls almost from infancy as well as openly base their value off of their physical appearance. This can have a profound affect on a girl’s self-esteem and body image later in life.