Why Should Glitz Pageants Be Banned?

Fancy outfits, loads of make-up, big hair and overly involved mothers, these are some of the sights you would find in a glitz pageant. Glitz pageants are defined as a different type of pageant that use makeup, spray tanning and a great deal of glitter, jewels on the dresses. They use “cupcake dresses”, which are short dresses made of several layers of fabric with several embellishments. These are usually custom-made.(Winning through Pageantry). These types of pageants are featured on the show Toddlers and Tiaras. They show what happens in the preparation for a pageant. They show their practice sessions, rooms, transformation. They interview the kids to know their opinions and their personality. I believe that glitz pageants should be banned.
Watching Toddlers and Tiaras for a few minutes, you can see the personalities of the child contestants.Some are quiet, nice and cooperative. However, the kids they focus on the most are the rich, bratty and the stubborn. That’s not all that can take place, according to the chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Dr.Phillip Brock, that pageants convey the adult standards of beauty. These pageants show these kids how they look like compared to their perceived beauty. Participating in pageants may send messages about being desirable & their self-worth. It also plays a part in their physical and psychological development. Pageants impact their identity and body perception. Dr. Brock theorizes that glitz pageants may cause anxiety and depression.(Park) Psychologist, Carleton Kendrick said that parents making kids compete against each other just to see who is more beautiful causes kids to grow up thinking that they have to behave and look a certain way for people to give them prizes or recognition. The kids being filmed in Toddler and Tiaras also get no help. The constant exposure to the cameras may cause them to also be more conscious. They are looked upon as regular pageant girls, they are already considered TV stars. Knox college in Illinois,conducted a study that asks girls ages 6-9 which person they want to look like. They showed the girls two dolls. one doll had a very tight and rather revealing outfit, while the other doll had a trendy yet modest appearance. They asked the girls who they want to look like and who they thought would be more popular in an environment such as a school. The girls picked the more “sexy”doll over the modest looking doll in both criterion. The focus on their appearance takes away the beauty of childhood. (Morgan) Tim McGraw, psychologist and TV host stated that a children in pageants should be taught that they should not focus on their appearance. Pageants are just