A shout out to the
peeps at
TLC for inspiring this
node--
today there was a
documentary on
child beauty pageants. I
disdain events that allow
parents to
exploit their
children in order to
live out fantasies that went unfulfilled throughout their
lifetimes. I honestly can't see how
forcing children (mostly girls) to dress up in
obscene outfits and
prance about on stage can be
healthy to a young
child; some of these
children are only three years old. Now, assuming that these poor
kids can overcome the
stress of traveling from
pageant to
pageant knowing that they have to
win in order to
gain their parents' love, do
you really think that they'll overcome the
deep sense of
vanity instilled by this so-called competition? The entire
concept of having
children dress up like
adults--makeup, skimpy clothing, and all--is just not
right,
moral, or
just by my standards.
Now, some people reading this may think that I'm against all childhood activities brought about by parental inspiration. This is not the case. I can understand why parents would want their children to have a reading list or want their children to take violin lessons; these things will have a positive influence later on these children's lives--please note the emphasis on the enhancement of the children. Forcing children to participate in something because of gains for the parent, monetary or otherwise, is nothing short of disgusting.