Are Beauty Pageants Good?
Beauty is the combination of qualities that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight. Over the last couple of years, beauty stereotypes have become a huge topic of discussion. These standards are a tendency, described by psychologists, that assumes people who are physically attractive. These stereotypes are what give the engine to the beauty industry among these, the beauty pageants. This is a competition that focuses on judging and ranking the physical attributes of the contestants. They promote the ideal of female beauty to which a minority of women can realistically aspire. So are beauty pageants actually good?
As beauty pageants are considered to encourage confidence, they are also considered harmful to women as they can encourage dieting, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgery. Beauty pageants judge mainly on physical beauty and winning. They focus on, who is the prettiest? Who has the best body? The best hair, skin, legs, etc. Instead of focusing on each personality and talent. This encourages women to focus on their external appearance rather than on their personality becoming superficial beings. All they want is to look “beautiful”. That’s why they start dieting, going to the gym for long hours, and start attending plastic surgeries. A study says “More than one in four women in the U.S. are currently considering a cosmetic procedure.” Women want to change their appearance in order to be physically attractive to others. They want to look like those models on the tv, in announcements, and in magazines because they think it is the only way for being beautiful when beauty is in reality diverse. Some women have issues with their self-image because of beauty standards so they need to commit to procedures such as plastic surgeries in order to feel better about themselves. This should not be like that. Everyone should be comfortable with their appearance without taking into account what others say or think about you. As so, beauty pageants encourage stereotypes and confidence issues that may affect physically and psychologically an individual.
Child beauty pageants are also part of the beauty industry which has brought a lot of polemics. These contests are basically the same as beauty pageants but for young girls. Can you imagine that!? Young ladies walking in tiny skirts with tons of makeup and fake hair! Personally I’m against child pageants. Starting with the fact that child beauty pageants are exploitative. In fact, any competition that calls for any type of beauty comparison between contestants is exploitative, inappropriate, and harmful. These girls have had psychological damage and pressure since a really young age when they should just be thinking about having a dignified childhood. Girls dress literally as prostitutes! I don’t know what are these contests really encouraging. They sexualize children! According to APA, sexualization happens once “a person’s value comes only from his or her sexual appeal or behavior.” It’s not only that, but parents support this, and some force their children to do it because they see this as an opportunity to gain money. This means they are exploiting their daughters! What in the world?! In conclusion, beauty pageants are cero beneficial, especially for kids.
