Gmira Houda
Dr Michelle Hansen
FAS 0210 02
12 December 2014
Research Paper “Are you beautiful ?”, asked one member of the filming crew, “Mommy, she is thinking I’m not beautiful, and I’m ALWAYS beautiful !”, answered the Barbie lookalike, crying and running away trying to hide from the cameras of Toddlers and Tiaras. This show is about toddlers participating to pageants, a competition where fake eyelashes, hair extensions, fake teeth, tons of makeup,and even sometimes waxed eyebrows merge all together to give birth to a little human doll. Those shows know a tremendous success in the USA, and attract more and more parents. Even though those pageants are appreciated for the cuteness of the toddlers, its increasing success is dismaying considering …show more content…
Wearing Lady Gaga or Marilyn Monroe clothes, stripping or dancing with a sexualized manner in front of everybody are also some of the toddlers’ recourses used to improve their chance for winning. According to Anita Gurian, sexualization refers to the definition of a person’s value based on the sexual behavior. Consequently, acting with a sexualized manner destroys the real human value and the childlike image of children. Karen Kataline, a woman who was urged by her mother to participate as a child in toddler pageants remembers the old men scratching their crotches when she has to perform in skimpy clothes. She added that she had, and still has, a constant fear about being perceived sexually. As it is the case for Karen Kataline, one of the principal factors of kids sexualization is their parents, (APA Task Force Report) . The sexualzation of kids can lead to a myriad of consequences, such as self-esteem problems, eating disorders, and depression. (APA Task Force …show more content…
For example, the phthalate contained in some hairspray used for toddlers’ hair during pageants could disrupt the growing kids’ hormones and lead to lung cancer and stunted growth. Moreover, wearing heels from a very young age can cause lower back pain. Indeed, heels push the weight forward, and result to pain in the lower back and also and the disruption of feet growth. For this particular reason, girls should wear their heels even outside the pageants because the development of their feet has be done in a way that doesn’t enable them to wear other shoes because it became uncomfortable for them.(Anonymous, 5 reasons pageants are bad for kids) One of the other hurtful habits are waxing eyebrows. Indeed, in Toddlers and Tiaras, a mom forced her daughter to wax her eyebrows. But unfortunately, the 5 years-old girl’s skin was burned and ripped off because of the hotness of the wax . The little girl started crying screaming because of the pain. Also, some mothers don’t hesitate to inject botox to their girls. But the side effects of botox on kids are numerous: botox contains a certain substance, botulinum toxin, that could be really harmful for kids’ health. Indeed, according to FDA, it could cause respiratory insufficiency that requires ventilatory support and gastric feeding. requiring gastric feeding tubes and ventilatory support.(US Food and Drug Administration
Dr Michelle Hansen
FAS 0210 02
12 December 2014
Research Paper “Are you beautiful ?”, asked one member of the filming crew, “Mommy, she is thinking I’m not beautiful, and I’m ALWAYS beautiful !”, answered the Barbie lookalike, crying and running away trying to hide from the cameras of Toddlers and Tiaras. This show is about toddlers participating to pageants, a competition where fake eyelashes, hair extensions, fake teeth, tons of makeup,and even sometimes waxed eyebrows merge all together to give birth to a little human doll. Those shows know a tremendous success in the USA, and attract more and more parents. Even though those pageants are appreciated for the cuteness of the toddlers, its increasing success is dismaying considering …show more content…
Wearing Lady Gaga or Marilyn Monroe clothes, stripping or dancing with a sexualized manner in front of everybody are also some of the toddlers’ recourses used to improve their chance for winning. According to Anita Gurian, sexualization refers to the definition of a person’s value based on the sexual behavior. Consequently, acting with a sexualized manner destroys the real human value and the childlike image of children. Karen Kataline, a woman who was urged by her mother to participate as a child in toddler pageants remembers the old men scratching their crotches when she has to perform in skimpy clothes. She added that she had, and still has, a constant fear about being perceived sexually. As it is the case for Karen Kataline, one of the principal factors of kids sexualization is their parents, (APA Task Force Report) . The sexualzation of kids can lead to a myriad of consequences, such as self-esteem problems, eating disorders, and depression. (APA Task Force …show more content…
For example, the phthalate contained in some hairspray used for toddlers’ hair during pageants could disrupt the growing kids’ hormones and lead to lung cancer and stunted growth. Moreover, wearing heels from a very young age can cause lower back pain. Indeed, heels push the weight forward, and result to pain in the lower back and also and the disruption of feet growth. For this particular reason, girls should wear their heels even outside the pageants because the development of their feet has be done in a way that doesn’t enable them to wear other shoes because it became uncomfortable for them.(Anonymous, 5 reasons pageants are bad for kids) One of the other hurtful habits are waxing eyebrows. Indeed, in Toddlers and Tiaras, a mom forced her daughter to wax her eyebrows. But unfortunately, the 5 years-old girl’s skin was burned and ripped off because of the hotness of the wax . The little girl started crying screaming because of the pain. Also, some mothers don’t hesitate to inject botox to their girls. But the side effects of botox on kids are numerous: botox contains a certain substance, botulinum toxin, that could be really harmful for kids’ health. Indeed, according to FDA, it could cause respiratory insufficiency that requires ventilatory support and gastric feeding. requiring gastric feeding tubes and ventilatory support.(US Food and Drug Administration