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Donalee Aalders
English 1010
Jolynne Berret
May 3, 2014
Research Paper
Beauty Pageants ar!"ul or Bene"icial "or Adults and #hildren
Beauty Pageants ha$e %een "or decades and the e""ects they ha$e on the participants are great& 'o!en
and children "ro! all around the (orld dress in e)tra$agant go(ns and parade on stage in "ront o" a
panel o" *udges, in hopes to %e na!ed the %est o" the %unch& + ha$e "ound there are "our groups o"
people that ha$e $ery strong opinions regarding pageants& ,hese groups are people (ho %elie$e
pageants are %ene"icial to adults, people (ho %elie$e pageants are har!"ul to adults, people (ho
%elie$e pageants are %ene"icial to children, and people (ho %elie$e pageants are har!"ul to children& +
ha$e researched these groups in hopes to "ind a !iddle ground to (hat is %est "or society and the
(o!en and children co!peting&
,he "irst group- people (ho %elie$e pageants are %ene"icial to adults, gi$e !any reasons to
support their %elie"s& Rhonda .happert, "or!er Mrs& /hio is a!ong !any (o!en (ho ha$e co!peted
in Beauty Pageants& Rhonda has turned her e)periences into a lucrati$e career as a pageant coach "or
others- she has (ritten %oo0s and runs her o(n %usiness Winning Through Pageantry, (here she uses
her o(n e)periences to teach others to (in at pageants and to succeed in li"e& .he says "or her pageants
ha$e taught her !any $alua%le lessons in her li"e, these lessons include recognition, personal
de$elop!ent, co!!unication s0ills, con"idence, handling stress, pressure, and disappoint!ent&
Adults are a%le to choose to enter into pageants, they o"ten choose to %e in pageantry to "eel young and
%eauti"ul again& ,o gain the con"idence they "eel they lost gro(ing up&
,hrough pageants you are a%le to recei$e recognition, so!e pageants o""er cash pri1es along (ith the
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recognition "or potential spea0ing careers, co!!ercials, !odeling opportunities, co!!unity a(areness
ser$ice, scholarships, and career ad$ance!ents&
Pageants o""er personal de$elop!ent sho(ing indi$iduals their strengths& +t o""ers a great satis"action
"or those (ho "ind that they can succeed in pageants&
#o!!unication s0ills and the a%ility to articulate your thoughts is a priceless tool learned in
pageants& 2By de$eloping your co!!unication s0ills, the relationships in your li"e (ill also de$elop in
a li"e gi$ing (ay3 says Rhonda .happert&
#on"idence and the a%ility to "ace your "ears is another %ene"it o" pageants& Being a%le to stand
in "ront o" a large cro(d o" people all *udging e$ery !o$e you !a0e&
Pageants help (ith handling stress, pressure, and disappoint!ent& .tress, pressure, and
disappoint!ent are usually loo0ed at as %eing negati$e things in li"e, %ut in the pageant (orld they are
$ie(ed as po(er"ul !oti$ators to accelerate to the ne)t le$el, teaching you to ne$er gi$e up and loo0
"or the easy (ay out in li"e&
Pageants help %uild co!!unity in$ol$e!ent, opening doors to net(or0 (ith organi1ations and
spread a(areness& Many (o!en ha$e used pageants to start organi1ations and %ring a(areness to the
co!!unity&
Miss 4ni$erse co!petition (as "ounded in 1562 and since then 73 (o!en ha$e %een cro(ned
(ith the prestigious title o" Miss 4ni$erse& a$ing this co!petition along (ith the !any other Miss
and Mrs& pageants a$aila%le "or those (o!en ha$e opened !any doors "or success& A!ong the success
stories "ro! pageants are E$a 8ongoria, (ho %eca!e a (ell 0no(n actress on the hit AB# sho(
2Desperate ouse(i$es3 and (as na!ed 2Philanthropist o" the year&3 alle Berry, %eca!e the "irst
%lac0 (o!an to (in an Acade!y A(ard "or Best Actress& .arah Palin, %eca!e the "irst (o!an and
youngest person to %eco!e go$ernor o" Alas0a, and also ran "or 9ice President o" the 4.A in 200:&
/prah 'in"rey;e "irst ti!e in the li!elight (as as Miss Blac0 ,ennessee in 15<2, and her career as a
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,9 tal0 sho( host and actress has a(arded her (ith a =3 Billion net (orth& .he has also gi$en o$er
=400 Million to charita%le causes& ,he list o" $ery in"luential (o!en goes on and on& >etting their
start in pageants and %ene"iting "ro! the lessons they learned "ro! the!&
>roup 2 %elie$e pageants are har!"ul to adults, they state these opinions to support their %elie"&
.heila Moeschen a "reelance (riter "or the u""ington Post, (rote and article a%out (hy she %elie$es
2Beauty Pageants are Bad "or E$eryone&3 .heila states in her article that pageants are carni$al
sidesho(s& .he %elie$es pageants use di""erences in indi$iduals to e)ploit the! as %eing e)otic or
supernatural ?.heila Moeschen u""ington Post@&
Pageants are also $ery e)pensi$e, !any contestants pay high "ees to enter each contest, the high
price o" pro"essional coaches, photographs, hair and !a0eup, and o" course the %eauti"ul out"its
associated (ith Beauty Pageants& ,hese costs are put into the pageants (ith no guarantee o" getting
anything %ac0 out o" it&
Pageants can %e da!aging to a contestants ego& +" a participant doesn;t per"or! (ell they can
%e le"t "eeling physically inadeAuate& ,hese "eelings !ay lead to %ody disB!orphia issues and eating
disorders&
Alternately, contestants (ho do (ell !ay de$elop an o$erde$eloped sense o" (orth and
superiority&
Physical pro%le!s caused "ro! regulating "ood, or de$eloping an eating disorder caused "ro! the
perception to !aintain a certain (eight and loo0, can cause $ery serious and de%ilitating e""ects on an
indi$idual;s %ody&
>roup 3 %elie$e #hild Pageants are %ene"icial to children& Many children are also in the
li!elight o" the pageant (orld& Parents enter their children into pageants as soon as they are a%le to sit
up, dressing the! up and displaying the! to a *udging panel&
Ashley Berry is currently per"or!ing in child %eauty pageants, she uses pageants to raise
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a(areness and has %eco!e a nationally recogni1ed antiB%ullying ad$ocate ?Anna Berry Deseret Ce(s@&
#hild pageants are thought o" li0e a sport "or your child, it %uilds a co!petiti$e nature&
.o!e people %elie$e that child pageants !a0e children %etter people and teach the! to gi$e to
the co!!unity&
Pageants o""er scholarships to children gi$ing the! an opportunity to go to college and ha$e a
%etter path in li"e& Pageants teach children poise and grace, and gi$e the! con"idence& Pageants also
gi$e children a !ore di$erse group o" li"e long "riendships (ith the other children in the pageant (orld&
Doing pageants also gi$e "a!ilies an opportunity to spend ti!e together& Da!ilies o"ten spend
!any hours (or0ing on the preparation and tra$el on pageants, the ti!e spent gi$es the "a!ilies to
%ond and co!!unicate&
#hild pageants %uild sel" estee!& Eoung children lo$e to play dress up and pageants gi$e those
children a (ay to li$e in a (orld o" dress up and play&
Ro%%ie Meshell per"or!ed in o$er 100 %eauty pageants throughout her young li"e& .he used
pageants as a (ay to o$erco!e the death o" her !other& .he (as a%le to raise a(areness to suicide as
her plat"or!& Ro%%ie (as $ery antisocial and pageants %rought her out o" her shell&
#rystal Bro(nB,atu! used child pageants to %uild a relationship (ith her !other, and to ha$e
her Auadriplegic "ather %e a%le to (atch her on ,9 (hile he (as in the hospital& .eeing her parents so
proud o" her !oti$ated her to (ell&
>roup 4 %elie$e that #hild Pageants are har!"ul to children& Reality tele$ision no( has !any
sho(s on child pageants& ,hese sho(s such as Toddlers and Tiaras sho(s the har!"ul side o" child
pageants& ,he use o" >o >o Juice, highly ca""einated drin0s and candies loaded (ith sugar cause a
negati$e reaction on children&
Martha M& #art(right, Ph&D, R&D& (rote an article in the Journal o" the A!erican Acade!y o"
#hild and Adolescent Psychiatry on (hat she calls& 2,he Princess .yndro!e, sel"Bi!age and eating
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disorders&3 Martha states that child pageants are co!petiti$e, de!anding, and stress"ul on children&
#hildren are placed under enor!ous pressures& #hildren o"ten ha$e tantru!s and "its under the
enor!ous stress& #hild per"or!ers !ay gro( to %elie$e that lo$e is conditional and %ased on their
per"or!ance and ho( per"ectly they loo0 and act&
#hild pageants inter"ere (ith nor!al day to day needs o" children, including sleep routines,
ho!e(or0, and other social acti$ities&
#hild pageants also opens early door to se)uality& Dressing young girls in tight "itting, re$ealing
clothing& #hild pageants also open doors "or Pedophiles to loo0 up these children online and prey on
their innocence& Dr& Cancy +r(in said& 2Men can pose as agentsF!anagers and trac0 youFyour girl
do(n through the sho(& Durther, 0no( that they (ill %e pleasuring the!sel$es (hile loo0ing at your
daughter;s Eou,u%e clip&3
#hildren are una%le to separate the co!petition "ro! reality, (hich can !a0e participation e$en
!ore da!aging to their sel" estee!&
Drance has decided to %an child pageants in the (a0e o" all the contro$ersy a%out the!& As o"
right no( pageants are not regulated, so anyone organi1ing a pageant can choose to ha$e any type o"
pageant they (ant& ,his !eans they can ha$e a "ull glit1 pageant (here they ha$e "ull !a0eup and hair
e)tensions, "lippers "or !issing teeth and o" course the spray tans& ,here is also all natural pageants
that ha$e no !a0eup and only nor!al little girl dresses in the line up, so!ething your little girl (ould
(ant to (ear "or a nor!al ga!e o" dress up& + %elie$e that pageants are only as har!"ul as (e let the!
%e& + "eel that they ha$e gotten a %ad reputation "ro! the o$er dra!ati1ed reality sho(s& Portraying
only the %ad things that co!e "ro! child pageants& Pageants ha$e pro$ed to %e a stepping stone "or
a!a1ing acco!plish!ents& Many organi1ations ha$e %een "or!ed to raise a(areness on su%*ects
ranging "ro! %ullying to dea"ness to A+D.& + "eel that i" could regulate child pageants to not allo(
igh >lit1 pageants portraying young girls as %eing !uch older than they really are, child pageants
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could %eco!e a $ery %ene"icial part o" young girls li$es& + also "eel that they should li!it the ti!e that
the pageants go "or during a day& Brea0ing up the ti!e and not ha$ing pageants go all day, (ould help
(ith the children and the e)haustion they endure "ro! a day o" pri!ping and talents& + "eel that the
lessons leaned and "ro! pageants are in$alua%le& ,eaching girls and (o!en to %e strong and
acco!plished (o!en& /pening up the eyes o" the co!!unities "or organi1ations that (ould other(ise
%e loo0ed at as a (aste o" ti!e and !oney to so!e& Pageants o""er so !uch !ore that *ust a pretty
"ace, they o""er strength and deter!ination needed to succeed in li"e&

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#itations
#art(right, Martina& 2#hild Beauty PageantsG 'hat Are 'e ,eaching /ur >irlsH3 Food For Thought.
Psychology ,oday& 12 Aug& 2011& 'e%& 23 Apr& 2014&
>oode, 8aura& 2+ (as a #hild Pageant .tarG .i) Adult 'o!en 8oo0 Bac0&3 The Cut. Ce( Eor0
Maga1ine& 14 Co$& 2012& 'e%& 23 Apr& 2014
&>uerrero, Pin0y& 2< Reasons to Enter a Beauty Pageant&3 All Women Stalk. 8i"estyle. n&d& 'e%& 22 Apr&
2014
a!!ond, Iristyn& 2Disad$antages o" Beauty #ontests&3 eHow. De!and Media& n&d& 'e%& 22 Apr&
2014&
McIay, ollie& 2Parents o" #hild on ,8#;s 2,oddlers in ,iaras3 urting their Iids, #ritics .ay&3 Fox
News. Do) Ce(s Entertain!ent& 3 Jun& 2010& 'e%& 23 Apr& 2014&
Michals0i, Jenni"er& 2'here are ,hey Co(G ,he 22 Most +n"luential Dor!er Beauty Jueens&3 Business
Insider. Business +nsider +nc& 13 Dec& 2013& 'e%& 22 Apr& 2014
Moeschen, .heila& 2Beauty Pageants are Bad "or E$eryone&3 Huinton Post. ,he u""ington Post&co!,
+nc& 20 Jun& 2013& 'e%& 22 Apr& 2014&
Morgan, Mandy& 2,oddlers and ,earsG A Positi$e 8oo0 at #hild Beauty Pageants&3 !eseret News.
Deseret Ce(s& 1< Co$& 2012& 'e%& 22 Apr& 2014&
.happert, Rhonda& 2'hat are the Bene"its o" Beauty PageantsH3 Winning Through Pageantry. 2 July
2010& 'e%& 22 Apr& 2014&